Nancy-Ochey Air Base (french: Base aérienne 133 Nancy-Ochey) is a front-line

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

(Armée de l'air et de l'espace) base located approximately 11 km west-southwest of

Neuves-Maisons Neuves-Maisons (, literally ''New Houses'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France, on the banks of the Moselle. The city had a great steel industry during the 19th and ...

in the Département de

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.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 ...

History

World War I, Interwar period and French Use in World War II

Ochey Ochey () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department *Nancy – Ochey Air Base Nancy-Ochey Air Base (french: Base aérienne 133 Nancy-Ochey) is a front-lin ...

airfield was of particular importance to air operations during the latter stages of

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 ...

. From at least March 1917 onwards it was used by No. 3 Wing

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

(later

No. 207 Squadron RAF ("Always prepared")Halley 1988, p. 268. , colors = , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , equipment = Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning , equipment_label = Aircraft , battles = , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = ...

), flying

Handley Page O/100 The Handley Page Type O was a biplane bomber used by Britain during the First World War. When built, the Type O was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world. There were two main variants, the Handle ...

bombers. From October 1917 four HP O/100s of 'A' Squadron RNAS were joined with Nos. 55 Squadron ( Airco DH4s) and 100 Squadron ( FE2bs), to form No. 41 Wing of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. Commanded by Lt.-Col. Cyril L Newall (later

Marshal of the RAF Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom), Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to reti ...

Lord Newall, KCB, OM, CMG, CBE, AM), the wing flew a considerable number of sorties against strategic targets in Southwest Germany. Nancy Air Base is a pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

airfield. In May 1940, it served as headquarter for the

Zone D'Opérations Aériennes Est Zone or The Zone may refer to: Places Climate and altitude zones * Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span * Frigid zone, ...

(ZOAE). This translates as Area of Air Operations - East. Aircraft assigned were: * 1 Curtiss H-75 Hawk Single-engine Fighter * 10 Potez 63.11 Twin-engined heavy fighters

German use during World War II

The base was seized by the Germans in June 1940 during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

. The

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

, however did not station any flying units at the airfield until April 1943, when a glider unit, Luftlandegeschwader 2 (LLG 2), equipped with

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

s medium bombers being used to tow

Gotha Go 242 The Gotha Go 242 was a transport glider used by the ''Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luf ...

transport gliders. LLG 2 moved out in June, being replaced by Luftlandegeschwader 1 (LLG 1) in September 1943, equipped with

Dornier Do 17 The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing a ...

DFS 230 The DFS 230 was a German transport glider operated by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It was developed in 1933 by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") with Hans Jacobs as the head ...

gliders. The glider units remained until August 1944. The Luftwaffe, 1933-45
/ref> In the spring of 1944, as a result of the Luftwaffe going on a defensive footing as part of the "

Defense of the Reich The Defence of the Reich (german: Reichsverteidigung) is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany over German-occupied Europe and Germany during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the ...

" campaign,

Jagdgeschwader 26 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26 (JG 26) ''Schlageter'' was a German fighter-wing of World War II. It was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran, Freikorps member, and posthumous Nazi martyr, arrested and executed by the French for ...

(JG 26) moved to Nancy, equipped with

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

G day interceptor fighters to attack the American

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

heavy bomber fleets attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany. The interceptors remained until June 1944, when they were moved out and replaced by

Kampfgeschwader 53 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 53 "Legion Condor" (KG 53; English: ''Condor Legion'') was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II. Its units participated on all of the fronts in the European Theatre until it was disbanded in May 1945. At all times it ...

(KG 53), a bomber unit which was moved in from the Eastern Front, flying

s, the unit used the bombers to air launch the

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

. The Heinkels would carry the V-1 airborne and launch it, negating the need for a long launch ramp for the weapon. KG 53 remained at Nancy until September when the Luftwaffe was removed from the base by the advancing

United States Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

moving east towards the

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

Allied use

Nancy Air Base was liberated by

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

ground forces about 20 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign. Almost immediately, the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

IX Engineering Command 826th Engineer Aviation Battalions began clearing the airport of mines and destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft, and repairing operational facilities for use by American aircraft. Subsequently, it became a USAAF

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

combat airfield, designated as

Advanced Landing Ground Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) were temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II during the liberation of Europe. They were built in the UK prior to the invasion and thereafter in northwest Europe from 6 June 19 ...

"A-96" Toul/Ochey Airfield about 29 August. Under American control, Toul/Ochey was turned over to the

, and the

50th Fighter Group 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

moved into the repaired airfield on 3 November with three squadrons of

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

s, flying combat missions from the field until moving east into Germany in April 1945.Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . Also, during March and April 1945, the

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

27th Fighter Group operated P-47s from the airfield. Another Twelfth Air Force unit, the

415th Night Fighter Squadron 415th may refer to: * 415th Bombardment Group, inactive United States Air Force unit *415th Flight Test Flight (415 FLTF), squadron of the United States Air Force Reserves * 415th Tactical Fighter Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit Se ...

operated

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

s from the airfield between November 1944 and March 1945, flying night interceptor missions against

aircraft. With the end of the war in Europe in May, 1945 the airfield became a central collection point for captured German aircraft as part of

Operation Lusty Operation LUSTY (LUftwaffe Secret TechnologY) was the United States Army Air Forces' effort to capture and evaluate German aeronautical technology during and after World War II. Overview During World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces Intelligence ...

. Various Luftwaffe aircraft, both piston and jet propelled were flown to Ochey for storage prior to being flown to airfields near

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

where they were loaded on ships and sent to the United States. After Lusty began to phase down in the fall of 1945, the Americans began to withdraw their aircraft and personnel. Control of the airfield was turned over to French authorities on 5 November.

Cold War

During the early years of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the French Government allocated Ochey airfield to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

as an emergency NATO Dispersed Operating Base for its fighter aircraft stationed in France in the 1950s and 1960s.McAuliffe, Jerome J: U.S. Air Force in France 1950-1967 (2005), Chapter 17, Dispersed Operating Bases

Postwar and modern use

In French control after the war, Nancy-Ochey Air Base was completely rebuilt. The wartime east–west (07/25) concrete runway, severely damaged by the war was removed, and a modern 8000' asphalt jet runway was laid down 01/19. In addition, three circular marguerite () system of hardstands that could be

revetted A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water a ...

later with earth for added protection were laid out, two on the north end of the runway and one on the south. Each marguerite consisted of fifteen to eighteen hardstands around a large central hangar, with each hardstand capable of one or two aircraft, and allowed the planes to be spaced approximately 150 feet (46 m) apart. Each squadron was assigned to a separate hangar/hardstand complex. Today, Nancy Air Base is a front line French airfield, well equipped, flying state of the art aircraft. It is the home of 4 squadrons of

Dassault Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...

D multirole fighters (60 aircraft). *

3e Escadre de Chasse The 3e Escadre de Chasse 3e EC or 3rd Fighter Wing is a fighter formation of the Fighter Brigade (french: Brigade Aérienne de l'Aviation de Chasse) of the French Air and Space Force. History Second World War The 3rd Fighter Wing was for ...

Escadron de Chasse 1/3 Navarre Escadron de Chasse 1/3 Navarre (Fighter Squadron 1/3 Navarre) is a French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter squadron currently stationed at BA 133 Nancy – Ochey Air Base which flies the Dassault Mirage 2000D. See a ...

: SPA.95 Oriflamme chargé d'un Martinet : SPA.153 Gypaéte : SPA.62 Coq de Combat :

Escadron de Chasse 2/3 Champagne Escadron de Chasse 2/3 Champagne (Fighter Squadron 2/3 Champagne) is a French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter squadron currently stationed at BA 133 Nancy – Ochey Air Base which flies the Dassault Mirage 2000D. S ...

: SPA.67 Cigogne de Navarre : SPA.75 Charognard : SPA.102 Soleil de Rhodes :

Escadron de Chasse 3/3 Ardennes Escadron de Chasse 3/3 Ardennes (Fighter Squadron 3/3 Ardennes) is a French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) fighter squadron currently stationed at BA 133 Nancy – Ochey Air Base which flies the Dassault Mirage 2000D. See ...

: 1° Esc GC III/3 Hure Barre bleue : 2° Esc GC III/3 Hure Barre rouge : BR.44 Sanglier assis ou Hure Barre verte * Escadron de Transformation Mirage 2000D 4/3 Argonne

References

French Senate Document, LIST AIR BASES, AND THEIR MAIN ACTIVITIES

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nancy - Ochey Air Base French Air and Space Force bases World War II airfields in France Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in France Airports established in 1915 Buildings and structures in Meurthe-et-Moselle