Souilly 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 Northeast of

Souilly Souilly () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The Town Hall, fronting on the Voie Sacrée, served as headquarters for general Pétain and, later, general Nivelle during the Battle of Verdun The Batt ...

, 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 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

With the Battle of Verdun raging on in the early part of 1917, a cluster of new airfields were built for the benefit on the French Air Service north of Souilly, sheltered by the forest of Souilly, such as Souilly, Lemmes or Julvécourt, which were to be used in 1918 by the American Air Service. Early in September 1918, a detachment of 484th Aero Squadron (Construct.) arrived on the airfield to make some improvements, as a French fighter "escadrille" - SPA 23 - was still flying from Souilly for the benefit of the American First Army.

V Corps Observation Group The V Corps Observation Group was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I as part of the Air Service, First United States Army. It was demobilized in France on 15 February 1919. There is no mod ...

arrived on 7 September, with HQ,

99th Aero Squadron The 99th 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 Corps Observation Squadron, performing short-range, tactical reconnaissance over the V Corps ...

and

104th Aero Squadron The 104th 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 Corps Observation Squadron, performing short-range, tactical reconnaissance over the V Corp ...

, but it soon left for the

Foucaucourt Aerodrome :''Please note there was another temporary WWI aerodrome called Foucaucourt at Foucaucourt-en-Santerre in the Somme department, used by the Germans, then by the RAF at the very end of the war'' Foucaucourt Aerodrome was a temporary World War I a ...

, on 20 September, flying observation/reconnaissance missions for the United States First Army.

88th Aero Squadron The 88th 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 Corps Observation Squadron, performing short-range, tactical reconnaissance over the III Cor ...

showed up 12–14 September, flying missions for the American III Army Corps, and it came back on 20 September as part of the newly formed III Corps Observation Group, together with

90th Aero Squadron The 90th 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 Corps Observation Squadron, performing short-range, tactical reconnaissance over the III Co ...

and the Group's HQ. During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the men at Souilly worked night and day directing the operations, coordinating the work, and suggesting and sending out missions carried out by the squadrons, which returned with valuable and complete information. The progress of the attack was followed the line taken at intervals during each day of the attack. Many of the planes were damaged during the attack due to enemy fire and the engines were constantly overworked. By October 1918, Souilly Aerodrome had become one of the major American airfields near Verdun, and it saw units from the First Army Observation Group flying from Souilly, such as a detachment of

91st Aero Squadron The 91st Aero Squadron was a unit of the Air Service, United States Army that fought on the Western Front during World War I. The 91st was one of the first five American flying squadrons to reach France, arriving at Chaumont Hill 402 Aerodrom ...

for a few days from 16 October, and 186th Aero Squadron, which arrived on 29 October and stayed until 15 April 1919 when it became part of the Rhineland occupation forces. Just before the Armistice was signed, the four squadrons which formed the

2d Pursuit Group The 2nd Pursuit Group was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I as part of the Air Service, First United States Army. It was demobilized in France on 10 April 1919. There is no modern United ...

landed at Souilly, while the Group's HQ stayed at

Belrain Aerodrome Belrain Aerodrome was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was located South of Belrain, in the Meuse department in the Lorraine region in northeastern France. Overview Construction of Belrain Aerodrome was originally started by th ...

. The Group was finally disbanded on 11 December, while its squadrons progressively left Souilly, eventually to reach Colombey les Belles Air Depot in early 1919, where they left their aircraft before sailing back to the United States. As most of the others airfields, Souilly was returned to agricultural use. Today it is a series of cultivated fields located northeast of Souilly, on the east side of D 159, with no indications of its wartime use, although the remains of primitive concrete cross-shaped runways probably built in 1918, as shown on the above picture, were still visible as late as 1970.

Known units assigned

* Headquarters,

, 7–20 September 1918 *

(Observation) 12–14 September 1918; 20 September-4 November 1918 *

(Observation) 7–20 September 1918 *

(Observation) 8–20 September 1918 * Headquarters, III Corps Observation Group, 20 September-29 October 1918 * 13th Aero Squadron (Pursuit) 23 September-16 December 1918 *

49th Aero Squadron The 49th 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 2d Pursuit Group, First United States Army. Its ...

(Pursuit) 7 November 1918 – 7 December 1919 *

22d Aero Squadron The 22nd 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 2nd Pursuit Group, First United States Army. ...

(Pursuit) 7 November 1918 – 29 January 1919 * Detachment of

24th Aero Squadron The 24th 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 an Army Observation Squadron, performing long-range, strategic reconnaissance over the entire len ...

(Observation), 9–18 Oct 1918, 27 Oct - 6 Nov 1918 * Detachment of

(Observation), 16 Oct - Nov 1918 * 186th Aero Squadron (Observation), 29 Oct 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

Overview

Known units assigned

See also

References

External links