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<\/a>From Wikipedia<\/a>:<\/p>\n Saint-Dizier has a long aviation history, with an early French military aircraft landing close to the city on 11 August 1910. An Arm\u00e9e de l’Air airdrome was established in 1913, which has been in use ever since, being used for combat operations during both 20th-Century World Wars.<\/em><\/p>\n Some of the pre-World War II French Air Force aircraft assigned to the base were\u00a0Bl\u00e9riot A\u00e9ronautique<\/a>,\u00a0Morane-Saulnier<\/a>,\u00a0Stampe<\/a>,\u00a0de Havilland Tiger Moth<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Dewoitine D.520s<\/a>[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n Seized by the Germans in June 1940 during the\u00a0Battle of France<\/a>, St. Dizier was used as a\u00a0Luftwaffe<\/a>\u00a0military airfield during the occupation. Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV):[4]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n JG 54 flew missions over England during the\u00a0Battle of Britain<\/a>; NJG 4, NJG 1, and NJG 5 were night interceptor units which attacked Royal Air Force bomber attacks. JG 27 and JG 301 were day interceptor units that engaged American\u00a0Eighth Air Force<\/a>\u00a0heavy bomber units over Occupied France.<\/em><\/p>\n Largely due to its use as a base for Bf 109 interceptors, Saint-Dizier was attacked by USAAF\u00a0Ninth Air Force<\/a>\u00a0B-26 Marauder<\/a>\u00a0medium bombers and\u00a0P-47 Thunderbolts<\/a>\u00a0mostly with 500-pound General-Purpose bombs; unguided rockets and .50 caliber machine gun sweeps when\u00a0Eighth Air Force<\/a>\u00a0heavy bombers (B-17s<\/a>,\u00a0B-24s<\/a>) were within interception range of the Luftwaffe aircraft assigned to the base. The attacks were timed to have the maximum effect possible to keep the interceptors pinned down on the ground and be unable to attack the heavy bombers. Also the\u00a0P-51 Mustang<\/a>\u00a0fighter-escort groups of\u00a0Eighth Air Force<\/a>\u00a0would drop down on their return to England and attack the base with a fighter sweep and attack any target of opportunity to be found at the airfield.[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n North American P-51C-5-NT Mustang (F-6C) Serial 42-103368 of the\u00a015th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron<\/a>, 10th TRG at A-64, St. Dizler, France, Autumn 1944.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n During the Liberation of France, the airfield was seized by Allied Forces during September, 1944 and taken over by the\u00a0United States Army Air Force<\/a>. The IX Engineer Command repaired the war-damaged base and it was designated by the Americans as\u00a0Saint-Dizier Airfield<\/b>\u00a0or\u00a0Advanced Landing Ground<\/a>\u00a0A-64<\/b>. It was turned over to the\u00a0Ninth Air Force<\/a>\u00a0for operational use on 9 October for fighter and reconnaissance units, as well as for command and control. The following known USAAF units operated from the airfield:<\/em><\/p>\n With the end of the war in Europe in May, 1945 the Americans began to withdraw their aircraft and personnel. Right after the war, some captured\u00a0Messerschmitt Me 262s<\/a>\u00a0landed at the base, on their way to channel ports to be shipped to the United States for evaluation (Operation Lusty<\/a>). Control of the airfield was turned over to French authorities on 5 July.[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This airfield was used by the French Air Force from 1911, until captured by the Germans during WWII. It then was used as a Luftwaffe base until captured by the Americans in September of 1944. Tom’s 417th Night Fighter Squadron was briefly stationed there, from April 7th until April 23rd, 1945. From Wikipedia: Saint-Dizier has … Continue reading St. Dizier Airfield, France<\/span> German use during World War II<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
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