Denain Airport began as a pre-
World War II airport in France, most likely with a grass runway and several support buildings and a hangar serving the nearby city of
Prouvy and surrounding region.
German use during World War II It was seized by the Germans in late May 1940 during the early part of the
Battle of France. In July 1940, the
Luftwaffe stationed
Erprobungsgruppe 210, a
Messerschmitt Bf 110C/D heavy fighter/bomber unit at the airport, taking part in the
Battle of Britain that summer. Later the unit switched to attacks on British shipping. In February 1941, the unit was re-equipped with
Messerschmitt Bf 109 Es, flying bomber escort missions.
Jagdgeschwader 51, another Bf 109E unit briefly used the airport in October 1940. In addition, a reconnaissance unit, Aufklärungsgruppe 12 was assigned to Denain in October 1940 with
Henschel Hs 126 twin-seat light observation planes. The unit stayed until May 1941.
American use Denain Airport was cleared of German forces by Allied ground forces about 11 September 1944 during the Northern France Campaign. Almost immediately, the
United States Army Air Forces IX Engineering Command 862d Engineer Aviation Battalion cleared the airport of mines and destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft.
Pierced steel planking was laid down on the bomb-damaged runway in order to make it serviceable and available for operational use. The airport immediately became a combat supply and casualty evacuation airfield, designated as
Advanced Landing Ground "A-83" about 14 September, also being known as "Denain/Prouvy Airfield".
Douglas C-47 Skytrain transports moved in and out of the American-controlled airfield almost immediately after the runway was repaired, supplying the front line forces with the necessary materiel to support their advance. A small cadre of personnel was assigned to the field, still largely in ruins due to the
Martin B-26 Marauder and fighter strafing/bombing runs on the field. In January 1945, the 833d Engineer Aviation Battalion moved back to Denain and improved the facilities enough to support combat units. The
Ninth Air Force 323d Bombardment Group, moved in with B-26 Marauder medium bombers in February, remaining until 15 May 1945.
Royal Air Force use It is known that Denain was used by the
Royal Air Force, as it was assigned ALG "B-74". The RAF's use of the base has not been determined. After being used for a brief time as a storage depot for excess aircraft after the war ended by
Air Technical Service Command, the Americans turned the airfield back over to French authorities on 25 June 1945.
Postwar and modern use In French control after the war, the airport sat abandoned for several years. There was much unexploded ordnance at the site which needed to be removed, as well as the wreckage of German and American aircraft. Many of the buildings at the base were destroyed by the war, and although some had been repaired by the American combat engineers, most were in ruins. It was uneconomical to repair the prewar airport, and as a result the facility was demolished, with the French Army sending in unexploded ordnance teams to remove the dangerous munitions. Reconstruction of the airport included an entirely new asphalt runway, aligned 11/29, along with appropriate taxiways, ramp space and new infrastructure buildings on the north-west side of the airfield. Today the airport is a modern, well-equipped facility. The wartime air base is still evident with the 5500-foot concrete NE/SW runway remaining, complete with patched bomb craters and expansion joints allowing grass to grow between the concrete pads. The taxiway is the only wartime structures of the base that still exists, mostly as a single lane concrete access road. Very few constructions are still visible today (2021), but the restaurant l'Escale is one of the buildings built to store bombers on the airport. ==See also==