Lay-Saint-Remy 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 West-Northwest of the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Lay-Saint-Remy Lay-Saint-Remy is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department of France. T ...

, in the

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.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 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

The airfield was built at the end of the summer of 1918 and allocated to the

Second Army Air Service The Second Army Air Service was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I as part of the Air Service, Second United States Army. It was demobilized in France on 15 April 1919 with the demobilizati ...

for combat operations during a planned drive against

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

in the fall. The first unit to reach the field was

138th Aero Squadron The 138th 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 Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 5th Pursuit Group, Second United States Army. ...

- ready to be part of the newly formed

5th Pursuit Group The 5th Pursuit Group was an Air Service, United States Army unit that was assigned to the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. It was demobilized in Germany after serving with the Third Army Air Service as part of the American Occu ...

, but as a result of the 11 November armistice, it did not see any combat operations. Subsequently, the HQ and the two other squadrons (41st and 638th) of the

arrived on 14–15 November, flying non-combat operations from the field. From Lay-Saint-Remy, the squadrons moved to Coblenz Airdrome, Fort Kaiser Alexander, in April 1919, as part of the Third Army of Occupation, and the aerodrome was turned over to the French Government, to be returned to agricultural use. The map, taken from Gorrell's papers, shows that the airfield was located on the plateau west of Lay Saint Remy.

Known units assigned

HQ, 15 November 1918 - 15 April 1919 *

(Pursuit), 5 November 1918With 5th PG from 15 Nov. - 15 April 1919 *

41st Aero Squadron The 41st 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 Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 5th Pursuit Group, Second United States Army. I ...

(Pursuit) 15 November 1918 - 15 April 1919 *

638th Aero Squadron The 638th Aero Squadron was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 5th Pursuit Group, Second United States Army ...

(Pursuit), 14–30 November 1918 - 15 April 1919

References

* Series "D", Volume 2, Squadron histories,. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

External links

{{authority control World War I sites of the United States World War I airfields in France