Type Combat airfield Built 1918 Battles/wars World War I | Condition Agricultural area In use 1918–19 | |
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Controlled by Air Service, United States Army | ||
Francheville Aerodrome was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was located 1.9 miles (3.1 km) North of Mouroux, in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.
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Overview
The airfield was built during the summer of 1918 as a primary operating base for the I Corps Observation Group. The mission of the base was battlefield reconnaissance over the I Corps area, providing aerial reconnaissance, written observations of enemy forces and performing artillery adjustments.
From Francheville, the squadrons of the group, the 1st, 12th and 88th Aero Squadrons, began flying over the lines northwest of Château-Thierry. It was a very active sector with many enemy aircraft. The aircraft flew reconnaissance from 3am to 8pm and nearly every sortie meant combat with the enemy. At the end of July, the group again moved to the Vesle Sector to perform reconnaissance prior to the St. Mihiel Offensive, and Francefille was abandoned. It was not used again by the Americans during the war.
After the armistice, the airfield was returned to the French and it was dismantled, being returned to agricultural use. Today it is a series of cultivated fields located to the northwest of Giremoutiers. The nearby World War II Coulommiers Airfield is about 1 km to the west. Today, the agricultural fields of Francheville show no indication of its aviation past.