Rosières/Méharicourt

49°48'53"N 002°42'11"E

Runway: 15/33 - 1630x50meters - concrete (CLOSED)
Runway: 03/21 - 1650x50meters - concrete (CLOSED)
Runway: 10/28 - 1620x50meters - concrete (CLOSED)

Airfield Rosières/Méharicourt (french: Aérodrome Rosières/Méharicourt, also known as ALG B87 "Rosieres-en-Santerre") was an airfield 110 kilometers north of Paris, France.
The airfield was built by the Royal Air Force for the British Expeditionary Forces in France. The airfield opened on 18 October 1939, and was home to 18Sqn and 57Sqn (Blenheims). Both squadrons served at the airfield during the "Phoney War" and ultimately the Battle of France in the spring of 1940.
While deployed the British built three runways:
1. 1630x50meters
2. 1650x50meters
3. 1620x50meters
The first two were built (crossing each other) between the villages of Méharicourt and Maucourt, the third was to their north. With the German advance closing in on the air base, the British withdrew from the airfield on 17 May 1940.

When the Battle of France was over, the Germans immediately began preparing for the Battle of Britain. Rosières/Méharicourt became home to III.Gruppe/Kampfgeschwader1 (III./KG1), an attack unit flying the Heinkel He111H medium bomber. Between 1940 and 1941 different units of KG1 stayed at the base for longer or shorter periods of time. By June 1941 KG1 left for duty at the eastern front. Between spring 1943 and summer 1944 the airfield hosted I.Gruppe/Schlachtkampfgeschwader10 (I./SKG10).
It is unclear when the airfield was liberated, or when it was put into service by the Allies, but it must have been around August/September 1944. On 2 February 1945 the airfield became home to 21Sqn, 464Sqn and 487(NZ)Sqn , flying Mosquito FB.VI medium bombers. They stayed until they left for Brussels-Melsbroek on 17 April 1945.
When the war ended the airfield became home to B-26 Marauders of the 387BG. They moved in on 24 May until they were withdrawn to the USA on 1 November 1945. The airfield closed shortly after that.


French Air Ministry map of Rosières en Santerre in May 1945, when the airfield was still active.


Rosières en Santerre was located only 17kilometers north of Roye-Amy airfield, as is clearly visible from this map


Rosières en Santerre photographed in September 1947 clearly showing the fighter dispersals in the neighbouring villages (IGN).


Rosières en Santerre photographed in June 1961. The airfield had not really changed since the end of the war (IGN).

Today, nothing remains of the former airfield. Its runways and most of its taxyways were broken up and returned to agricultural use in 1965. Some minor parts of taxiways remain in use as local roads. Very faint scarring on aerial photography from 2007 (Google Earth), caused by one of the runways, is still visible.


Rosières en Santerre photographed in July 1967. The airfields runways and taxiways were largely broken up during the previous years, but could still be made out in the soil (IGN).


Map overlaid on the area around 2004 (Geoportail, via).