Malbouhans

47°42'21"N 006°33'06"E

 

runway: 04/22 - 2500x50m/7874x148ft - asphalt/concrete 

 

Malbouhans airfield (French: Aérodrome de Lure-Malbouhans, ICAO: LFYL) was an airfield 335 kilometers east-southeast of Paris.

Construction of the NATO airfield began in 1951 at a site that had been an airfield before 1947. It was to serve as a Dispersed Operations Base for NATO. The airfield was used primarily for the dispersion of Air Force F-100 Super Sabre and Mirage III aircraft based at Luxeuil. Equipped with two Marguerite dispersion zones and trumpets dispersalson both ends of the runway, it also counted a few buildings of light contruction. During unit deployments, removable canvas hangars with a metal frame structure were installed to perform the most demanding maintenance while sheltered. 

When France left the NATO Command Structure, the base was assigned to Base Aerienne 116 Luxeuil-Saint Sauveur as a dispersed airfield.
The base was closed in 1998 and acquired by the General Counsil of Haute-Saône in 2005, with the aim of reviving the complex. Environmental concerns have slowed this down considereably however.

Construction of the airfield was well underway in this June 1951 photo (IGN, via Géoportail)

The difference in heat retention between concrete and asphalt is clearly visible in this 29 June 1961 InfraRed photo (IGN, via Géoportail)

 

The airfield has not been used as such for years. It is however used for major events several times a year.

Malbouhans airfield marked with large Xs on the runway in 2008 (Google Earth)