Lunéville-Croismare Airport Explained

Lunéville-Croismare Airport
Icao:LFQC
Type:Civil
Location:Croismare, France
Elevation-F:790
Elevation-M:241
Pushpin Map:France
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Lunéville-Croismare Airport
Pushpin Label:LFQC
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Metric-Rwy:Y
R1-Number:09/27
R1-Length-F:3410
R1-Length-M:1039
R1-Surface:Paved

Lunéville-Croismare Airport is an airport in France, located approximately 3 km (2 miles) east-southeast of Lunéville in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department. The airport is used for general aviation, with no commercial airline service.

History

The airbase was constructed during World War II, as an all-weather temporary field, built by the United States Army Air Forces XII Engineer Command during December 1944, after German forces were removed from the area. It was built on a graded surface using Pierced Steel Planking for runways and parking areas, as well as for dispersal sites. In addition, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure, plus a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with drinkable water and a minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting. The airfield was known as Lunéville Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-2.

It was turned over for operational use by the Twelfth Air Force on December 25, 1944. The 324th Fighter Group flew P-47 Thunderbolts from the airfield from January through May 1945.

With the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, the Americans began to withdraw their aircraft and personnel. Control of the airfield was turned over to French authorities on May 29, 1945.[1]

In 1950-1951 when as a result of the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union, the airfield at Lunéville was proposed by the United States Air Force to become a NATO fighter airbase, as part of a NATO commitment to establish a modern air force base at the site. In the ongoing negotiations, the site was ultimately rejected.[2]

See also

References

    • Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
    • Book: Maurer, Maurer. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II. 1969. reprint. 1982. Office of Air Force History. Washington, DC. 0-405-12194-6. 72556. 70605402.
    • Johnson, David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day. Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
  1. McAuliffe, Jerome J. (2005). U.S. Air Force in France 1950-1967. Chapter 2, Base Selection and Movement to France, 1950-1954.