After the Armistice was signed on 11 November 1918, American Aero Squadrons moved ahead to former German airfields located in previously occupied France, waiting for permission to enter Germany's Rhineland on 1 December with the Third Army of Occupation (granted on 1 December). Among those airfields, quite a few were located near the city of
Longuyon
Longuyon () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The inhabitants are called ''Longuyonnais''.
Geography
Longuyon is located at the confluence of the Chiers and Crusnes rivers and ...
, 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 in north-eastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, near the German border.
Overview
Noërs Aerodrome, on a plateau southwest of the city of
Longuyon
Longuyon () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The inhabitants are called ''Longuyonnais''.
Geography
Longuyon is located at the confluence of the Chiers and Crusnes rivers and ...
. It was used by 94th Aero Squadron from 20 November 1918, flying to Germany on 31 December.
A cluster of airfields were set about on the southeast of Longuyon:
Joppécourt Aerodrome, position unknown. Used by 166th Aero Squadron 21 November - 5 December 1918, then flew to Trier, in Germany.
Mercy-le-Bas Aerodrome, located North 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 ...
of Mercy-le-Bas, with 1st Aero Squadron from 21 November to 6 December 1918, then to Germany.
Mercy le Haut Aerodrome, position unknown. 462nd Aero Squadron (Construct.) stayed 20 November - 2 December 1918, doing some construction works as IV Corps Observation Group HQ arrived on 21 November 1918 with 12th Aero Squadron. All those units would have been gone by 6 December.
Preutin Aerodrome, position unknown. 9thdesignated to perform communication tasks for the US Third Army's HQ and 91st Aero Squadrons arrived on 21 November 1918, gone to Germany by 5 December.
Once the American squadrons had departed, the airfields were most probably quickly returned to agricultural use, today with no indications of their wartime use.
See also
*
List of Air Service American Expeditionary Force aerodromes in France
: ''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 ...
References
* Series "D", Volume 2, Squadron histories,. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.