Quartier Colonel Dio is a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

installation in

Meyenheim Meyenheim () is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies on the Ill river, 12km east of Soultz-Haut-Rhin. Population See also * Communes of the Haut-Rhin département The following is a list of ...

, in the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

region of

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 ...

, near the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

borders. From 1963, when it was opened, it was Colmar–Meyenheim Air Base (Base aérienne d'opérations 132 Colmar-Meyenheim) after being an airfield for Strasbourg-Entzheim. The French Air Force used the base until 2010, when it was turned over to the French Army. It is now the home of the

Régiment de marche du Tchad The ''Régiment de marche du Tchad'' (RMT, " ''Ad hoc'' Regiment of Chad") is a mechanised unit of the French Army, belonging to the '' Troupes de Marine''. It is part of the 2nd Armoured Brigade. Formerly garrisoned north of Noyon it was moved ...

(RMT) (free-translation roughly 'Chad provisional regiment'), one of the most famous and decorated units in the French Army. The base is 15 km south of

Colmar Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...

, east of Autoroute A35. The base is bordered by farmland to the west, and surrounded by forest on its other sides.

History

The construction of Colmar–Meyenheim Air Base began in 1951. The first unit to arrive was the 13th Fighter Wing with

F-86 Sabres The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

and T-33 trainer aircraft in 1957. Fighter Wing 013 members lived on the base until the unit disbanded on 23 June 1995. Fighter Wing 030 Alsace and Normandie-Niemen were the two squadrons in operation on the base after the disbandment of the 13th Fighter Wing. The

Fighter Squadron A squadron in an air force, or naval or army aviation service, is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, ...

01/030 Normandie-Niémen was formed six months after

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

invaded the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in June 1941. The unit was created for cooperation between the

Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

and the Soviet Union governments. There were initially 12 fighter pilots serving the German-Russian front, but the group was officially declared Groupe de Chasse GC 3 Normandie on 1 September 1942 with

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

Pouliquen in command. After training on

Yakovlev Yak-7 The Yakovlev Yak-7 (; NATO reporting name: Mark)Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1955-56 p. 188 was developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, initially as a trainer but converted into a fighter. As both a fighter and later reverting to its ori ...

s in January 1943, Commandant Jean Tulasne took command of the group. Between 22 March 1943 and 9 May 1945 the unit destroyed 273 enemy aircraft. It received awards from both France and the Soviet Union: the French

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and the Soviet

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

awarded the name "Niémen" after the Battle of the Neman River in 1944. The group flew to Morocco in March 1947, trading Vulture 11s for the first of the Mirage F1Cs. The EC 02/30 unit departed North Africa on 13 March 1962. In December 1973, the base turned to

Air Defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

. Fighter Squadron 02/030 Normandie – Niémen was merged with The Fighter Squadron 01/030 Normandie – Niémen in 2007. The French Government announced in July 2008 that all flying activities at the base would cease one year later. General

Jean-Paul Paloméros Jean-Paul Paloméros (born 13 August 1953 in Paris) is a retired general of the French Air Force and served as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, a senior military post in NATO. Paloméros previously served as Chief of Staff of the French ...

, the Chief of Air Force Staff, led the ceremony for dissolution of the base. The closure of the base was part of a restructuring of the air force. Six Mirage F1Bs and about twelve F1CTs were planned to relocate to

Reims – Champagne Air Base Reims – Champagne Air Base () is a former Front-line French Air and Space Force () air base. The base is located approximately north of Reims; about northeast of Paris. Squadrons and aircraft * 2 reconnaissance squadrons equipped with Dassa ...

. The last stage in the base's Air Force history came on 16 June 2010 when the base banner of BAO 132 was furled and transferred to the ''Service historique de la Défense/Armée de l'air'' (Defence Historical Service/Air Force) at

Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...

. On 1 July 2010 at midnight, the base became

barracks Quartier Colonel Dio.

Air Force equipment and units

Several different aircraft and units were stationed at the base. ;Aircraft *

F86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

and

T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

(1957–62) *

Mirage IIIC The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

(1962–65) * Mirage IIIB (1965–66, 1986–94) *

Mirage IIIE The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

(1965–77) *

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...

(1966–67) * Mirage 5F (1972–94) *

Mirage F1 The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the Mirage III family. During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would become t ...

CT (1992–2009) *

B (2005–2009) ;Units *3/11 "Corsica" Fighter Squadron (1966–67) *3/13 "Auvergne" Fighter Squadron (1972–1994) * 13th Fighter Wing (1957 – 23 June 1995) *2/13 "Alps" Fighter Squadron (Until 27 June 2008) *1/13 "Artois" Fighter Squadron (Until 2009)

Meteorological station

The air base hosted a meteorological station maintained by

Météo-France Météo-France is the official French meteorological administration, also offering services to Andorra and Monaco. It has the powers of the state and can exercise them in relation to meteorology. Météo-France is in charge of observing, study ...

; the station was the sixth-driest in France (after

Marignane Marignane (; ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. Geography It is a component of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, and the largest suburb of the city of Marsei ...

–

Marseille Provence Airport Marseille Provence Airport () is an international airport located 27 km (17 miles) northwest of Marseille, on the territory of Marignane, both '' communes'' of the Bouches-du-Rhône ''département'' in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regi ...

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

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

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

) of the French meteorological service network.

References

{{Reflist French Army installations Military installations established in 2010 21st-century architecture in France