| DA 273 Romorantin - Pruniers Air Detachment | |
| Partof: | French Air Force Armée de l'Air |
| Location: | Located near: Romorantin-Lanthenay, France |
| Pushpin Map: | France |
| Pushpin Label: | DA 273 Romorantin - Pruniers |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 300 |
| Ownership: |  |
| Controlledby: | French Air Force |
| Condition: | Air Force Station |
| Built: | 1912 |
| Used: | 1913–Present |
| Battles: | World War I World War II |
| Garrison: | DA 273 |
Romorantin - Pruniers Air Detachment (DA 273) is a French Air Force military facility, located southwest of Romorantin-Lanthenay, in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France.
Pruniers airfield was part of a huge depot built for the United States Army Air Service during World War I as an aircraft engineering facility. After the Armistice, the airfield stayed operational, with a French Air Force depot built in 1934. The airfield is slightly widened during World War II by the German Luftwaffe, but not much used. It returned to French control in September 1944, still as a depot.
DA 273 is primarily a logistics base for repairing aircraft by maintaining warehouses of spare parts. It is also a center for printing and issuing the technical documentation for the French Air Force. It also operates a small grass airfield as center for glider pilot training. It has a worldwide reputation as the gliding training site for the air Air Force for national and international competitions.[1] The base employs approximately 650; half of the workforce are civilian personnel.[1]
The first aviation use of Romorantin was in 1911, when a professor at the Collège Maurice Genevoix in Romorantin set up a "Society pour le Développement de l'Aéronautique". On 3 June 1911, the new society organized the demonstration of a Blériot Aéronautique monoplane which was flown for eight and one-half minutes from the military training and firing range of "La Butte". After the flight, the crowd went wild and the Mayor offered champagne. After a second flight, this aviation event remained deeply marked in local annals. According to the elected officials at the time, there were more than 10,000 people in attendance at the demonstration.[2]
On 31 March 1912, the city council received a letter from the Ligue National Aéronautique (an aviation lobbying association whose president was Georges Clemenceau) suggesting that some land be provided for an airfield. With the help of the LNA, a "station aéronautique" is set on the military range of La Butte, one miles out of Romorantin, on the road leading to the futur Pruniers airfield, with one hangar at the edge of the field; the new aerodrome was inaugurated in June 1913. No civil aircraft were permanently based as the station was mostly designed to bring shelter for passing aircraft: in 1913, during military manoeuvres, some French Aeronautique Militaire's planes landed at the airfield, on a stop-over to Limoges.[2]
From 1915, the "La Butte" airfield was often used by the trainer aircraft from the Avord air school; it was event projected for a time to build a flying school on the airfield. With the construction of the American depot at Pruniers, the "old" airfield was abandoned and used to store disused aircraft.
In early 1917, after the entry of the United States into the war, the site of Pruniesr was chosen over eight others for use by the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Forces for the establishment of a large Air Force Depot, eventually known as the Air Service Production Center No. 2. Romorantin was selected due to the low population density, the flatness of the terrain, the large presence of timber and also the fact that a large number or railroads between the Atlantic shipping ports converged there and also went into the Zone of the Advance (Western Front).[2]
On 28 June 1917, the first American forces arrived, the 75th, 109th and 116th Aero Squadrons (Construction) which initially established quarters for themselves in the French Army Camp des Bluets about three miles away from the facility. The first construction was that of a railroad line and barracks for themselves at the field.[3]
Within two weeks, the barracks were ready and construction of the actual base was begun. The 116th Squadron was transferred out and the 75th and 109th were re-designated as the 487th Aero (Construction) and 803d Aero (Repair). Construction then began in earnest on the base facilities and also two landing field. Additional units brought in for construction were the 465th and 493d Aero Squadrons (Construction).[3]
A compound for the American soldiers assigned to Romorantin was established at a French barracks named North Camp Gièvres in the nearby town of Pruniers-en-Sologne. The camp eventually became the home of almost 30,000 personnel, living in barracks. However, their influence in Pruniers, along with the towns of Gièvres, Villefranche-sur-Cher and Romorantin was evident. They made many friends with the local inhabitants and frequented the shops, restaurants and taverns daily. Also the Americans relied on the local economy for civilian workers such as bakers, cooks, and various tradesmen.[2]
Eventually the facility consisted of over 200 buildings on of land; a gasoline and oil depot; refrigerator plant; weapons storage area, a workshop for locomotive repair; three aircraft landing fields along with extensive aircraft assembly and repair buildings along with aircraft hangars at the landing fields and a large balloon hangar. Major buildings on the base were:
There were four airfield hangars (H-1/2/3/4) and a Balloon Hangar (BH-2) on two main airfields.[3]
What was unique about the center was that the American-built railroads on the site amounted to over 200km (100miles) of narrow-gauge and standard-gauge trackage. Over 14,000 railroad cars of all types and 200 locomotives were assigned to the facility by the time of the Armistice in November 1918.[2]
Initially, the main purpose of the center was the assembly and final testing of airplanes and engines manufactured in the United States. However the center also developed into a major supply depot for the Dayton-Wright built DH-4 along with the Liberty Engines. It also was a storage and repair depot for all balloons used by the Air Service.[3]
Experiences in combat resulted in certain modifications to the aircraft and engines be performed before being released for operational use. This increased their effectiveness. Once certified ready for flight, the aircraft would be taken to one of eventually three flying fields where pilots would perform a checkout flight and insure everything was in working order. The assembled aircraft were then flown to the 1st Air Depot at Colombey-les-Belles Aerodrome where they would be assigned to the combat squadrons at the front.[3]
The aircraft assembly and dispatch being the primary mission of Romorantin, secondary work performed at the base was performed by a large Engineering Department. This department included a large storage depot for all hardware fasteners, spare parts, spruce lumber, machine shops, metal workshops, along with armament, radio and camera repair shops for damaged equipment. Beginning in September 1918, a separate facility for Italian Caproni Ca.5 heavy bomber aircraft was established, however the Armistice in November 1918 ended the war before it could be put into production[3]
The Engineering Department also established an aircraft salvage and repair facility in Building B-1 to salvage, reclaim and repair crashed airplanes retrieved from the front. All aircraft engine installation was done by this department, however engines salvaged from crashed aircraft were turned over to the Engine Overhaul Shop. When an aircraft was damaged in combat, or would crash on our side of the front line, a crew would be sent from the 1st Air Depot to dismantle the plane and bring it back to be repaired, if possible. French aircraft were taken to Colombey, while American aircraft were sent to Romorantin. Here if the aircraft could be repaired, it was, or it was placed on a salvage pile where it could be cannibalized for usable parts.[3]
A scarcity of railroad rolling stock meant that cars arriving at the Depot needed to be unloaded quickly so they could be released for other uses. This activity was carried out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Also a shortage of trucks was another problem which meant that each truck leaving the Depot had to have its shipment organized for quick unloading at its destination so it could complete its convoy shipment and return to the Depot for re-loading. During the big offensives of the war during 1918, it was necessary to rush the materiel to the various field depots and combat squadrons at the front. During these periods, men frequently remained at their posts between 12 and 16 hours a day processing requisitions to get the shipments out the same day if possible.[3]
With the end of combat in November 1918, the mission of Romorantin was wound down. The depot began receiving large numbers of DH-4 Combat Aircraft from the 1st Air Depot that were used in combat. The aircraft, basically having no further use, were disassembled, and their engines either piled in storage or sold. Also captured German aircraft, abandoned on airfields in France, were sent to Romorantin for various testing and then dis-assembly for shipment back to the United States.[3]
When the Air Service in France was ordered demobilized in April 1919, the Americans at Romorantin turned the facility over to the French Government, leaving warehouses full of supplies, equipment, tools dis-assembled aircraft and trucks to the care of the French, abandoning almost everything in place.[3]
The French, in turn, contracted with a private company for the sale and disposal of the facility for liquidation. Sales were held for clothing, hardware and small tools. Entire buildings were sold to buyers and everything inside it. In the countryside, many farms found themselves with former American buildings being used for various purposes. A group of 200 guards were hired to protect the facility, however many people looted and ransacked the deserted buildings still filled with goods. Fortunes were made at the expense of the public good.[2]
In the 1920s, a small portion of the former American depot (137ha) was used as Aviation General Store # 3. It became an aircraft equipment and training center. It was later designated as BA 304, Camp Blume. It grew during the 1920s and 1930s and became a major employer in the region, with the salaries of its civilian employees being 30% higher than the private sector.[2]
During the Battle of France in 1940, Camp Blume was attacked by 18 bombers of the German Luftwaffe on 25 May. The entire facility was severely damaged. The defenses of the base at the time consisted of only three aircraft, flown by Polish pilots who gave chase. Later that night, the airfield was again attacked and the Luftwaffe again dropped bombs on the field. On 5 June, in the beginning of the afternoon, 17 Luftwaffe bombers again bombed the facility and the main warehouse was evacuated. On the morning of 19 June the German Army entered Romorantin and seized control of the airfield and facilities.[2]
With the Armistice with Germany on 22 June, the airfield was placed in control of the Luftwaffe, the airfield being renamed Feldluftpark Romorantin.[4] Some of the former civilian employees of Camp Blume were rehired for the rehabilitation of the airfield and the construction of hangars for aircraft.[2]
An unidentified Luftwaffe unit, flying Heinkel He 111 bombers used Romorantin in the fall of 1940 flying bombing missions over England. Many do not return[2] During the occupation, known Luftwaffe units assigned to the airfield were:[4]
Romorantin was attacked by twenty-one American Eighth Air Force B-24 Liberators (Mission 295) on 10 April 1944, destroying most of 1./JG105 and its facilities.[5] One can still see bomb craters on the airfield. The Germans abandoned the airfield in the last days of August 1944 and the Free French Army moved into the area on 2 September.[2]
The French Air Force has used Romorantin as a storage depot and the Technical Documentation Center of Air Force (CDTAA) since 15 December 1944. In 1973, CVA 602, the Center Gliding Force was created which trains French Glider Pilots. Today, the depot is located in the site of the main World War I American 1-A and 1-B DH-4 assembly buildings and primarily supports the Dassault Rafale F1 Advanced Technology Fighter.
The former American Flying Field #1 remains a grass field, and is used by the glider training school.[2]