Delouze Aerodrome was a temporary
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
airfield in France. It was located NE of
Delouze-Rosières
Delouze-Rosières () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
File:Lavoir de Delouze interieur 1a.JPG
File:Lavoir de Delouze interieur 1b.JPG
File:Lavoir de Delouze interieur 3.JPG
File:Église de Delouse.JP ...
, in the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
in north-eastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
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, works been done by the 462nd Aero Squadron (Construction), which stayed at Delouze from 29 April to 20 August 1918. 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 shelter the aircraft, sixteen French Bessonneau aircraft hangars were erected at the field.
[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.]
Eventually, if the airfield saw three Dayton-Wright DH-4 bomber squadrons (First Army Air Service) landing on 26 August 1918, they had already all three departed to
Amanty Aerodrome
: ''see also: Organization of the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force''
When the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, the Air Service of the United States Army existed only as a branch of the Signal Corps, and was kno ...
on 7 September, three days before the 1st (day) Bombardment Group was effectively formed.
Known units that were stationed there were:
*
166th Aero Squadron
The 166th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
The squadron was assigned as a Day Bombardment Squadron, performing long-range bombing attacks on roads and railroads; destr ...
(Day Bombardment, 1st Army AS), 26 August – 1 September 1918; back (1st BG/1st Army) on 7–12 September 1918
*
11th Aero Squadron (Day Bombardment, 1st Army AS), 26 August – 6 September 1918
*
20th Aero Squadron (Day Bombardment, 1st Army AS), 26 August – 7 September 1918
*
100th Aero Squadron
The 100th Aero Squadron was an Air Service, United States Army squadron during World War I. Ordered to serve on the Western Front, it boarded the SS Tuscania on 23 January 1918. The ship was torpedoed on 5 February and most of the survivor ...
(Day Bombardment, 1st Army, then HQ/AEF), 16 August – 26 October 1918.
*
163d Aero Squadron
The 163d Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
The squadron was assigned as a Day Bombardment Squadron, assigned to the 2d Day Bombardment Group, United States Second Army. ...
(Day Bombardment), 30 September – 1 November 1918.
All the squadrons had already left the airfield when the Armistice was signed on 11 November 1918. It was soon abandoned and turned over to the
1st Air Depot
Colombey-les-Belles Aerodrome, was a temporary World War I airfield in France used by the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force. It was located near Colombey-les-Belles, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.
...
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.
[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.]
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
External links
{{authority control
World War I sites of the United States
World War I airfields in France