49°09'54"N 002°18'42"E
runway: 10/28 - 1600x..m - concrete (CLOSED)
runway: 10L/28R - 830x20meters/2723x60feet - concrete/asphalt
runway: 10R/28L - 880x90meters/2887x270feet - grass
runway: 05/23 - 1600x..m - concrete (CLOSED)
runway: 05/23 - 975x100meters/3199x300feet - grass
runway: 05/23 - 150x8m - concrete (Ultralight/model aircraft only)
runway: 05/23 - 120x10m - concrete (Ultralight/model aircraft only)
Air field Persan-Beaumont (Aérodrome Persan-Beaumont, also known as Bernes-sur-Oise, Beaumont-Le Roger, Advanced Landing Ground A-60 'Beaumont-sur-Oise', or Base Aérienne 218 Persan Beaumont (BA218), ICAO: LFPA) is a regional airfield 35 kilometers north of Paris, France.
The airfield was built in the 1930s for the Armée de l'Air. Before World War II it was the home base of Groupe de Bombardement II/12, equipped with 14 Loiré et Olivier 451 Medium bombers.
After the Luftwaffe seized the airfield during the Battle of France they used it only sparingly. Luftlandegeschwader 1 (LLG1), a glider unit, used the airfield between April and May 1943, equipped with Hs126 and D017s to pull DFS230 gliders. By the end of that year the airfield was used by FW-190s of Schlachtgeschwader 4 (SLG4) in the ground atack role. During 1943 and 1944 Beaumont was attacked by 8th Air Force and IX Bomber Command bombers several times. One of these attacks resulted in the 95% destruction of the nearby village of Bernes-sur-Oise in 1943. Reason for this was that the Germans had built the airfields' aircraft shelters in the village. The Germans abandoned the airfield on 28 August 1944.
He111 of KG76 at Bernes (Persan-Beaumont) in 1940.
The same He111 moments later, after it dropped off an unknown (to me) German general.
The airfield was liberated by Allied ground forces about 5 days later during the Northern France Campaign. Almost immediately, the United States Army Air Force IX Engineering Command 818th Engineer Aviation Battalion cleared the airport of mines and destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft. Fortunately, little battle damage was sustained and the airfield became a USAAF Ninth Air Force combat airfield, designated "A-60" around 26 September. Ninth Air Force assigned the 386th Bombardment Group to the airport flying B-26 Marauder medium bombers from the facility between 2 October 1944 and 9 April 1945. 386BG carried out 107 missions from the airfield and lost 60 men during that time. They were replaced by the 410th Bombardment Group, a A-26 Invader group, which operated from the airport until June 1945. The Americans returned full control of the airport to French authorities on 17 July 1945.
Martin B-26B Marauder "Rat Poison", 41-31606, AN-S of 553rd BS, 386th BG, 9th AF, an aircraft with more than 160 combat missions at this point, is seen parked at Persan-Beaumont in February 1945. The photo gives a good impresion of the conditions at the airfield at the time (coll. Doug Sheley).
A line of 386th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force Douglas A-26 Invaders taxy at Beaumont (coll Doug Sheley).In early 1946, the Air Force stationed ELA 1./56 "Vaucluse" on what became known as Base Aérienne 218 (BA218). A few hundred meters south of the East West runway a new civilian airport was created, using much of the air base infrastructure. The unit flew a variety of aircraft, such as Morane-Saulnier MS.500, Junkers Ju-52/3m, Caudron Goeland, Martin Baltimore and Fairey Barracuda. In the 1950s the Junkers and Goelands were replaced by C-47/DC-3 "Dakota" and Siebel204. In 1956 they were joined by a number of Broussards and a Hurel-Dubois HD-321. Nord Noratlas 2501 were based at Persan-Beaumont from 1963, until ELA56 was transferred to Evreux and the base closed on 31 October 1967.
Persan-Beaumont in 1947, operational with Armée de l'Air transport aircraft on the north side and civilian glider activity on the south side of the airfield (IGN.fr).
Overview of the airfield, photographed on 22 January 1955.
Enlargement of above photo, the Air Force part of the airfield containing a number of transport aircraft, including at least one C-47 (IGN.fr).
Persan-Beaumont in September 1965. Notice the German dispersals around the airfield are getting overgrown from lack of use. A C-47 is preparing for takeoff on the 05 runway, while another is parked on the Air Force site along a Nord Noratlas (IGN.fr).
On 13 July 1967, the year the Armée de l'Air left the air base, two Noratlases and a C-47 could still be seen parked on the Air Force side of the airfield (IGN.fr).
The closure of the airbase did not end flying activity at Persan-Beaumont however. The civilian airport continued to use much of the old airfields infrastructure. Today, managed by Aeroports de Paris, this airfield is very active and used for a variety of activities including light aviation, ultralights, helicopters, parasailing and model aircraft flying. some of the taxitracks were converted to local roads. The old air force site still exists to the northwest. At least one hangar remains there, at the end of the taxiway to the runways.
Persan-Beaumont airfield in 1987. At some time during the 20 years since the 1967 photo above, the northeast-southwest grass runway was reorientated to its current heading (IGN.fr).
Crop of above photo, focusing on the former Air Force site (IGN.fr).
Persan-Beaumont in 2001 (IGN.fr).
Taken at FL60 looking west: From a distance the old military runways are easily recognisable, the grass runways are to the left of the leftmost concrete runway (navigeo.org)
The current GA airfield, looking northeast (navigeo.org)
Naviagational chart, showing the density of aviation activities north of Paris.
Persan-Beaumont 
Persan-Beaumont