Maulan 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 South-Southwest 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 ...

Maulan Maulan () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 communes of the Meuse department of France. The communes cooperate in the fo ...

, 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 ...

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in north-eastern

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Overview

A small airfield was set up in September, 1914 by the French "Aeronautique Militaire" at "Le Petit Maulan", but soon to be wrecked by a storm and given up. Then, a French flying unit, escadrille F 25 (French 2nd Army) spent few months (31 March - 16 September) in 1917 at "Maulan" and again three weeks (14 March - 5 April) in 1918 as VR 25, this time been "barracked", with seems to imply that an airfield had been organized at least early in 1918 in Maulan before the

Air Service, United States Army The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

squadrons arrived in the area, 2 miles further south from the initial spot of "Le Petit Maulan", at the west rim of the wood of Charmois. After some works performed by a detachment of 484th Aero Squadron (Construct.) on 1–11 September, Maulan was used as a main operating base by the

1st Day Bombardment Group First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

during both the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives, with four squadrons of aircraft (11th, 20th, 96th and 166th) from 23 September onwards. In support of the flying squadrons, the 4th Air Park's 648th Aero Squadron had a flight of mechanics for repair of both aircraft and vehicles. Also, the airfield was the home of Photo Section #12 for processing and analyzing aerial photography. The ground support station consisted of various aircraft hangars, support buildings and quarters for personnel, primarily in the woods to the north and west of the field. After the armistice, the 1st Day Bombardment Group stayed there until 17 January 1919, when its HQ and three remaining squadrons166th had already left to join the 3rd US Army Air Service at Joppécourt moved to Colombey les Belles to be demob'ed. The airfield was then soon returned to agricultural use. The first airfield of "Le Petit Maulan" was 1/2 miles south of Maulan, along the RN 4, and the larger - as already said - was a further 2 miles south, by the wood of Charmois. Today, both are cultivated fields, with no indications of their wartime use.

Known units assigned

* Headquarters,

, 25 September-11 November 1918 *

11th Aero Squadron The 11th 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; destru ...

(Day Bombardment), 24 September 1918 – 17 January 1919 *

20th Aero Squadron The 20th 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), 23 September 1918 – 16 January 1919 *

96th Aero Squadron The 96th 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 bombardment squadron, performing long-range bombing attacks on roads and railroads: des ...

(Day Bombardment), 23 September 1918 – 10 January 1919 *

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 ...

(Dau Bombardment), 25 September-22 November 1918

References

* Series "D", Volume 2, Squadron histories,. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C. * Series "N", Volume 16, History of the Air Service AND Special Aviation Maps AND Station Lists for Air Service Units, Oct-Dec 1918

External links

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