The first airfield at Chièvres was established in 1914 by the
German Empire during their occupation of Belgium in
World War I. The current airfield was built by the Belgian Army in the 1930s, and at the end of 1939, the Belgian military began converting Chièvres into a diversion airfield. It was captured during the
Battle of Belgium by the invading German
Wehrmacht in May 1940.
German use during World War II Shortly after its capture, the airfield was turned over to the
Luftwaffe, and Chièvres became a major air base during the
Battle of France. On 2 June,
Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) moved
Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighters to the airfield and on 9 June
Kampfgeschwader 30 (KG 30) moved
Junkers Ju 88A attack bombers to the field. Both of these units were heavily engaged in combat operations with the French and the
British Expeditionary Force in France.
KG 26 moved into France within a few days, while KG 30 remained at Chièvres until September, taking part in the
Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe was forced to withdraw from the base by 1 September 1944, leaving the installation heavily damaged.
Allied use On September 3, Allied troops arrived and assumed command of the airbase. Once in American hands, combat engineers of the IX Engineering Command 846th Engineer Aviation Regiment repaired the damaged airfield and applied numerous patches to the two concrete runways and taxiways of the field. It was declared operationally ready for combat units on 16 September, only a few days after its capture from German forces, being designated as
Advanced Landing Ground A-84 or "Chievres Airfield". Although operationally usable, Chièvres was a wrecked base from the numerous Allied air attacks and what was blown up by the Germans as they withdrew. The Americans made do with what could be repaired, with the 843d Engineer Aviation Regiment moving in what equipment was necessary to conduct combat operations. In October 1944, the
P-47D Thunderbolts of the
USAAF Ninth Air Force 368th Fighter Group and
Eighth Air Force P-51 Mustangs of the
361st Fighter Group were stationed at Chièvres. During the
Battle of the Bulge the base was also used by the
Hawker Typhoons of 123 Wing
RAF. In March 1945 the
352d Fighter Group, equipped with P-51D Mustangs, were stationed at the base. After the
German surrender Chièvres became both a transit station for US soldiers returning home and a German
POW camp. By the end of 1945 the base was turned over to the Belgian authorities. operating
Spitfire XIV. After converting to the
F-84E Thunderjet the 10th Wing left Chièvres in 1953 for
Kleine Brogel in Limburg. In June 1956 the 7th Wing converted to the
Hawker Hunter Mk. 4, and two years later to the Hunter F6. In 1963, the 7th Wing was disbanded, and on 31 December 1967 the Belgian authorities officially turned over Chièvres Airbase to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The Americans established the NATO/SHAPE Support Group (US) in 1968 at Caserne Daumerie adjacent to the air base and just east of the town of Chièvres to operate the base and provide logistic support to NATO and SHAPE. This small unit was part of Theater Army Support Command (TASCOM), which was part of U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR). The NATO/SHAPE Support Group was later renamed 80th Area Support Group (NATO/SHAPE Support Group). The air base did serve as rehearsal and arrival point of US Precision Helicopter Team that competed in September France 1989. The US Team would take the first seven places over teams from
USSR in overall competition.
Post Cold War years The 80th Area Support Group (NATO/SHAPE Support Group) was renamed USAG BENELUX (NATO/SHAPE Support Group) in 2005. In 2007 construction work started on a 94-room Army lodge. A $17 million commissary at Chièvres opened in 2010. One major project nearing completion is the runway renovation effort which sees the runway lengthened and resurfaced.
309th Airlift Squadron was the last
USAF operational flying unit at Chièvres Air Base. It was attached to the
86th Operations Group at
Ramstein Air Base,
Germany. It primarily operated
Gulfstream V aircraft (Designated C-37A) providing executive airlift for senior personnel assigned to SHAPE and NATO headquarters. ==Role and operations==