Type Combat Airfield Built 1918 | Condition Agricultural area In use 1918–1919 | |
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Controlled by Air Service, United States Army | ||
Chaumont-sur-Aire Airdrome, also known as Hill 402, was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was located 3.9 miles (6.3 km) East South East of the commune of Chaumont, in the Haute-Marne department in the Champagne-Ardenne region of north-eastern France.
Overview
The airfield was first leased by the Air Service on 11 October 1917 as an observation airfield, consisting of 89 acres. Air Service engineers constructed 12 wooden barracks and a mess hall on the site, plus five buildings to be used as warehouses and maintenance shops. A station administration building and a hospital clinic were constructed, plus an electrical grid and a telephone grid. The airfield had four French Bessonneau hangars erected.
In mid-November 1917, the facility was turned over to the First Army Air Service I Corps Observation Group, which flew tactical reconnaissance aircraft from it. Later, it was the headquarters of the 1st Pursuit Wing. Operational squadrons which operated from the field were:
Chaumont Airdrome was selected as the Headquarters airfield for the nearby Headquarters, Air Service, AEF, which was stationed in the city of Chaumont. After February 1918, it was only occupied by a small detail of men, whose duty was to guard the Headquarters' aircraft. It was placed back into combat status in September 1918, when two squadrons from the I Corps Observation Group moved back to the field during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The airfield was maintained for use by Headquarters until June 1919, when the Air Service in France was ordered demobilized and was turned over to the 1st Air Depot for de-construction. All hangars and other structures were dismantled, and all useful supplies and equipment were removed and sent back to the Depot for storage. Upon completion, the land was turned over to the French government.
Eventually, the land was returned to agricultural use by local farmers. Today, what was Chaumont-sur-Aire Airdrome it is a series of cultivated fields located on the south side of the Départmental 417 (D417), about four miles east-southeast of Chaumont, with no indications of its wartime use.