Chartres – Champhol Aerodrome () is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

serving

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

and Champhol, in the

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.department in north-central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The airport is located

east-northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

of Chartres and it is southeast of Champhol. It supports

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

with no commercial airline service scheduled.

History

The facility was a military field, prior to 1870, dedicated to cavalry.

Pilots' school during World War I

The first plane designed by engineer

Clément Ader Clément Ader (; 2 April 1841 – 3 May 1925) was a French inventor and engineer who was born near Toulouse in Muret, Haute-Garonne, and died in Toulouse. He is remembered primarily for his pioneering work in aviation. In 1870 he was also one o ...

was tested there, yet failed to take off on October 9, 1890. Chartres' airfield started in 1909. From March 1915 to the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, an important military training center for pilots was set up; it was on the top of military flying schools in France, and many famous pilots were trained in Chartres. At this time, the airfield was opened to civil aircraft as well as military. In 1923, the "22^e Régiment Aérien de bombardement de nuit" (22nd Night Bombardment Squadron) was located in Chartres, with

Amiot 143 The Amiot 143 (sometimes written as 143M or 143 M.5) was a 1930s France, French 5-seat ''Multiplace de Combat'' (M.5) designed to meet 1928 specifications for a monoplane capable of bomber, day and night bombing, long-range Aerial reconnaissance ...

bombers and, later, the Bloch 131.

From WW I to WW II: Bomber and fighter squadrons

An important bombing squadron, the "22e Régiment Aérien de Bombardement de Nuit" (Night Bombing Squadron), settled in Chartres, in 1923. The French Air Force was born on 1 April 1933. The 6e Escadre de Chasse (6th Fighting Squadron) landed in Chartres in 1936. It was reinforced by the Armée de l'Air as a military airfield after the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

in September 1939. The French Air Force based Morane-Saulnier MS-230 fighters at the airfield for the defense of the

region. Bloch 151s were also assigned, with Czechoslovakian pilots being assigned to the airfield.

World War II

Training for fighter pilots

From 1939 to May, 1940 a training unit for fighter pilots worked in Chartres: the "Centre d'Instruction de la Chasse" (Fighting Training Centre). Many of them fought against German planes. The airfield was first attacked by the German

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

on 3 June 1940 by a formation of 15 twin engine

Dornier Do 17 The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Dornier Flugzeugwerke. Large numbers were operated by the ''Luftwaffe'' throughout the Second World War. The Do 17 was designed during ...

light bombers. It was surrendered along with the rest of the French Air Force bases in France at the

Second Armistice at Compiègne The Armistice of 22 June 1940, sometimes referred to as the Second Armistice at Compiègne, was an agreement signed at 18:36 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, France by officials of Nazi Germany and the French Third Republic. It became effective a ...

on 22 June and was seized by the occupying German Army.

German use

After the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

, Chartres was used as a

military airfield during the occupation. Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV):The Luftwaffe, 1933-45
/ref> *

Kampfgeschwader 100 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 100 (KG 100) was a ''Luftwaffe'' medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II and the first military aviation unit to use a precision-guided munition (the Fritz X anti-ship glide bomb) in combat to sink a warship (the Itali ...

(KG 100) 17 June-19 July 1941; 29 November 1941 – 21 April 1942

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium 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 a ...

H (Fuselage Code 6N+) * Lehr & Erprobungskommando 100 (LEKG 100) January–June 1942

H * Kampfgeschwader 53 (KG 53) 15 July-16 August 1942

H (Fuselage Code A1+) * Kampfgeschwader 66 (KG 66) April–June 1943

Dornier Do 217 The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. It was a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937-38 as a heavy bomber ...

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...

A (Fuselage Code Z6+) * Nahaufklärungsgruppe 13 (NKG 13) 7 June–August 1944

* Kampfgeschwader 55 (KG 55) 27 July 1943 – 18 June 1944

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...

(Fuselage Code G1+) KG 100, KG 53, KG 66 were all night bombardment units that engaged in operations over

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

; LEKG 100 was a Luftwaffe Commando unit capable of dropping parachutists; KG 55 was a day interceptor unit against Eighth Air Force daylight bombing raids; NKG 13 was a night interceptor unit against Royal Air Force night bombing attacks. The Chartres area was heavily attacked on several missions by

United States Army Air Force 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 ...

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 Forces S ...

bombers in 1943 and 1944 and the airport was singularly attacked on 15 September 1943 by 22

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

s of the 44th Bombardment Group. Additional attacks on the airfield were made on 2 March and 25 March 1944 by

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

es of the 94th Bombardment Group and

388th Bombardment Group 388th may refer to: * 388th Electronic Combat Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 388th Fighter Squadron or 132nd Fighter Wing (132d W), United States Air Force unit assigned to the Iowa Air National Guard, located at Des Moines Inter ...

of the 4th Bombardment Wing. Just prior to the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

landings in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, additional attacks were made on the airfield by

B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

medium bombers of the IX Bomber Command

322d Bombardment Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

during May 1944. It was attacked again during June and July after the landings by the 397th and 416th Bombardment Groups.

American use

It was liberated by Allied ground forces about 21 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign. Almost immediately, the USAAF IX Engineer Command 832nd and 833rd Engineer Aviation Battalions began clearing the airport of mines and destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft, and repairing operational facilities for use by American aircraft. Subsequently, Chartres Airport 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 D ...

combat airfield, designated as "A-40" about 26 August, only a week after its capture from German forces.Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Once declared operationally ready, the airfield had a concrete runway 5500' long aligned 08/26, with much

Pierced Steel Planking Marston Mat, more properly called pierced (or perforated) steel planking (PSP), is standardized, perforated steel matting material developed by the United States at the Waterways Experiment Station shortly before World War II, primarily for the r ...

used to repair the damage caused by the frequent Allied bombing. Most hangars and support buildings were destroyed and subsequently, tents had to be used for billeting and also for support facilities along with a drinkable water supply and minimal electrical grid established for communications and station lighting. Under American control, Chartres initially became the home of the

368th Fighter Group 368th may refer to: *368th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *368th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group The 368th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group is a combat support unit of the United States Air Force. ...

, which flew

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 from the field starting on 23 August, remaining until 11 September. They were replaced by the

-equipped 323d Bombardment Group on 21 September, flying combat missions until 13 October 1944.Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . The combat units moved out at the end of October 1944, and until the end of the war, Chartres became a resupply and combat casualty evacuation airfield, and performing other support roles for the Allies. It was returned to French civil control in June 1945.

French Air Force use

World War II had almost totally destroyed Champhol Airport. Much unexploded and excess wartime ordnance needed to be removed and the entire infrastructure was in ruins. The previous airfield of the "22^e Régiment de Bombardement Aérien" was reconstructed as Chartres Air Base (BA 122) (Base Aérienne 122 Chartres-Champhol) and used by the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

. This base was very active, mainly with flying squadrons specialised in tactical transport, such as the 61e Escadre de Transport. Those planes were involved in battles of the French wars in Indochine (Vietnam) and Algeria. In 1953, planes and flying squadrons were based on the French Air Force base of

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

. It remained an important Air Force base after 1953, and included technical units, a military training center (CIMCA 41.122) and a broadcasting station. The French Air Force closed the military air base in 1997.

Current

The field was replaced by a totally new civilian facility which is much smaller than the prewar airport. It has an asphalt main runway and a secondary turf runway for small aircraft and glider use. The runway and ground support buildings are on the south side of the former airport and wartime runway. In addition, an industrial park was built on part of the former airport What appear to be hangars are on the north side of the airport, about 200m north of the runway, and unconnected with the current airport, were probably part of the former military airfield. Also it appears that the north side of the airport, the location of the prewar airport and wartime airfield, remains under French military control, as aerial photography and satellite images of the area are either intentionally blurred or blanked for undetermined reasons. What appears to be remains of the old main runway, part of the 26 end of the runway, and old taxiways and possibly dispersal hardstands are in the blurred area.

Facilities

The airport resides at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of above

mean sea level A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...

. It has one paved

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

designated 10/28 which measures . It also has a parallel unpaved runway with a

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

surface measuring .

References

External links

* * *
Chartres Air Force Base in 1925 Map and Flight rules
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome Airports in Centre-Val de Loire Buildings and structures in Eure-et-Loir Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in France Transport in Centre-Val de Loire Airports established in 1909 Chartres