Delouze Aerodrome
| Delouze Aerodrome | |
|---|---|
| Part of American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) | |
| Located near: Delouze-Rosières, France | |
|
Delouze Aerodrome looking eastward. Note the numerous buildings in the forest, at the bottom of the photo, to the west of the open airfield, using cut agricultural fields, their furrow lines evident. | |
  Delouze Aerodrome | |
| Coordinates | 48°34′18″N 005°32′03″E / 48.57167°N 5.53417°E |
| Type | Combat Airfield |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
 Air Service, United States Army |
| Condition | Agricultural area |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1918 |
| In use | 1918–1919 |
| Battles/wars |
 World War I |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison |
1st Day Bombardment Group United States First Army Air Service |
Delouze Aerodrome was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was located 0.8 miles (1.3 km) NE of Delouze-Rosières, in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.
Overview
A lease was signed by the Air Service for 210 acres of land on 21 December 1917. Delouze Aerodrome was designed to be the home of four day bombardment squadron, and construction of the Aerodrome did not begin until the middle of April 1918 due to labor shortages. Engineers began to erect a total of 26 buildings for barracks and a mess hall, and two additional buildings for maintenance shops. The ground station was built in the woods to the northeast of the airfield, to camouflage the facility. A headquarters complex of ten buildings and a hospital that constituted of a Nissen Hut was erected, along with a telephone and electrical system. To support the aircraft, sixteen French Bessonnenux aircraft hangars were erected at the field.[1]
The airfield was finally turned over to the First Army Air Service First Day Bombardment Group in mid-August 1918, which moved four Dayton-Wright DH-4 bombing squadrons into it. Delouze was used during the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Campaigns. Known units that were stationed there were:[2]
- 11th Aero Squadron (Day Bombardment), 26 August – 6 September 1918
- 20th Aero Squadron (Day Bombardment), 26 August – 7 September 1918
- 100th Aero Squadron (Day Bombardment), 16 August – 30 October 1918
- 163d Aero Squadron (Day Bombardment), 30 September – 1 November 1918
- 166th Aero Squadron (Day Bombardment), 26 August – 1 September 1918; 7–12 September 1918
Shortly after the armistice in November 1918, the American squadrons were reassigned and the airfield was abandoned. It was turned over to the 1st Air Depot for de-construction. All hangars and other structures were dismantled and all useful supplies and equipment were removed and sent back to the Depot for storage. Upon completion, the land turned over to the French government.[3]
Eventually the land was returned to agricultural use by the local farmers. Today, what was Delouze Airdrome is a series of cultivated fields located just to the northwest of Rosiers en Blois, with no indications of its wartime use.
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
- ↑ Series L, Miscellaneous Sections of the Air Service, Volume 11, History of the Design and Projects Section of the Construction Division, Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
- ↑ Series "D", Volume 2, Squadron histories,. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
- ↑ Series 1, Paris Headquarters and Supply Section, Volume 30 History of the 1st Air Depot at Colombey-led-Belles, Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.