Péronne

49°52'11"N 003°01'43"E

Runway: 04/22 - 1500x50meters/5250x164feet - concrete (CLOSED)
Runway: 09/27 - 2550x45meters/7900x..feet - concrete (CLOSED)
Runway: 09/29 - 1390x30meters/4560x98feet - asphalt/concrete

Péronne Airport (french: Aérodrome de Péronne, also known as Aérodrome Péronne-St.Quentin, Péronne-St.Quentin Airport, "A-72 Péronne Airfield" and Saint Quentin-Estres Air Base) is an airfield 121 miles/195 kilometers north of Paris, France.
The airport was built before World War II to serve St.Quentin and consisted of a terminal, some support buildings and a grass airfield.

Peronne airfield in June 1939 (IGN).

In June 1940 the airfield was seized by the Germans during the Battle of France. The Germans did not use the airfield for several years however, they returned only in 1944 to base FLAK units at the airfield. Additionally they began building two 1500m all weather concrete runways, taxiways and dispersals at the airport. They did so presumably in support of fortifications of Pas-de-Calais, which is where the Germans believed the Allied invasion would take place. From mid-June Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG5 or Fighter Wing 5) was assigned to the airfield with Messerschmidt Bf109G day interceptors. JG5 was to defend against USAAF 8Air Force bomber formations that were attacking mainland Europe. From that moment on it also came under frequent attack from 9 Air Force B-26 bombers and P-47 fighter bombers whenever 8 Air Force was within range of the German interceptors. 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.

In early September 1944 the US 9th Army swept through the area, heading towards St.Quentin. On 5 September the 862nd Engineer Aviation Battallion moved in to rehablitiate the base for the use by American aircraft. They declared the airfield operationally ready for Ninth Air Force combat units a day later (only a few days after its capture from German forces), under the designator Advanced Landing Ground "A-72 Peronne Airfield". Both runways were operational: 04/22 at 5250x164feet, and 09/27 at 5400x164feet. In addition to the clearing of the airfield, they built tents for billeting and support facilities, along with a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, facilities for drinkable water and a minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting.
The following 9 Air Force units are known to have used the airfield:
474th Fighter Group, from September until 1 October 1944 flying P-38 Lightnings
397th Bombardment Group, from 6 October 1944 until 25 April 1945 flying B-26 Marauders
When the combat units moved out, Peronne was turned over to Air Technical Service Command, and became an Air Depot and a storage depot for large numbers of surplus aircraft, whose units had returned to the United States via ship. Ultimately Peronne air field was turned over to the French Air Ministry on 30 June 1945.


Aircrew posing in front of their B-26 Marauder at A-72 Peronne airfield in 1944/1945 (source).

Peronne airfield in August 1947 (IGN).

Under French control the base sat abandoned for several years. It is said that there were too much unexploded munitions at the site which needed to be removed and too many wrecks of German and American aircraft. Many of the buildings at the base were destroyed during the war and although some had been repaired by the American combat engineers, most were in ruins. While there may be some truth in the above statement, there are no aircraft wrecks visible in 1947 aerial photography.
The French Air Force had no interest in what they considered a German facility. Even if they were interested, there was no money available to restore and rebuilt the prewar airport. The French Air Ministry therefore leased the land, concrete runways, structures and all, out to farmers for agricultural use, after having sent in unexploded ordnance teams to remove the dangerous munitions.
5 years after the war, as a result of the perceived Cold War threat of the Soviet Union, the air base at Peronne was offered to the United States Air Force. The offer by the French Air Ministry was to demonstrate to NATO the French commitment to establish a modern Air Force Base at the site. NATO faced several problems when attempting to solve the air power survival equation in the face of a Warsaw Pact first strike. Survival in case of both conventional and nuclear wars had to be considered. As the main air bases were built on relatively small parcels of land with very limited dispersal space, it was decided to use Peronne airfield as an emergency "backup" airfield, consisting of a "bare bones" facility of a runway with minimal facilities intended for use by all NATO air forces to disperse their aircraft in case of all-out war. It was to be known as Saint Quentin-Estres Air Base, and reconstruction began in 1954 when French demolition companies returned to Peronne and began demolishing the structures and removing the wreckage of the World War II air base. French Army Explosive demolition teams were brought in to safely remove unexploded ordinance remaining from the war and the site was prepared for construction.
A modern all-weather concrete NATO-standard jet runway of 2550m/7,900feet was laid down over the former German 09/27, along with taxiways and dispersal areas for three fighter squadrons. The usual dispersal areas (one per squadron), designed in a circular system of hardstands called marguerites, were omitted however. The airfield only received a single runway, a parallel taxi track, and a small platform on either end of the runway. Other than the occasional touch-and-go landing of NATO (mostly USAF) aircraft, Saint Quentin-Estres Air Base was never used, not even for exercises.
When the French decided to withdraw from the integrated military component of NATO in 1967, the base was abandoned.

April 1955 overview of Peronne (IGN)

May 1958 overview of Peronne (IGN).


March 1963 overview of Peronne (IGN)

After NATO had abandoned the air base, it was acquired by local government and redeveloped into a commercial airport. A small part of the old german 22 runway was used as a parking ramp. A new tower, terminal and a small hangar for private aircraft were erected.
In 2007 the French government decided to hand over about 150 terrains to local organisations with the aim of developing them for the common good. Péronne was given to the joint communities of Haute Somme with the air to run it as a regional airfield.
Today the NATO runway and taxiway are still used by the airport, although the active runway has been shortened to about half the length of the NATO runway. The wartime 04/22 still exists, but in a very deteriorated condition. With the exception of the part that is now the platform, it is unused.
North of the platform is now an industrial area, where a small portion of the old wartime 04/22 runway can still be seen.


2001 overview of Peronne (IGN).


Airfield tower in 2008 (© 2008 Marc Roussel, via Wikipedia).


2008 airfield map of Peronne


Peronne air field in 2010 (Google Earth)