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Évreux-Fauville Air Base (''Base aérienne 105 Évreux'' or BA 105) is a French Air Force base located about 2 miles (3 km) east of the town of Évreux in the Eure ''département'', on the north side of the Route nationale 13 (N13) Highway. During the Cold War, Évreux-Fauville was a front-line base for the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) as part of NATO's Allied Forces Central Europe. In 1967, the US forces withdrew and the French air force began again using the base, initially flying the Nord 2501 Noratlas. At present, the base is home of two French tactical transport squadrons flying mostly Transall C-160 transportation planes.〔http://www.senat.fr/rap/a05-102-6/a05-102-616.html〕 ==Origins== The origins of Évreux Air Base go back to the 1920s, when a civil aerodrome was built to accommodate sport flying. In the 1930s concrete runways were constructed along with several hangars. During the Phony War period of 1939/40, the French Air Force maintained Dewoitine D.510 fighters and Potez 630 bombers. In addition, American built Curtis P-36 Hawk, Martin A-22 Maryland and Douglas DB-7 light bombers provided by President Roosevelt's "cash and carry" program were stationed at Évreux. With the fall of France, the Luftwaffe took up residence at Évreux, flying Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Junkers Ju 88 aircraft during the Battle of Britain. During the war, the Germans improved the runways and other facilities. Later, they stationed Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters on the base. Évreux was heavily bombed and attacked by Allied fighters and bombers, especially those of the U.S. Army Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. By July 1944, within a month of the Normandy invasion of 6 June, the runways and taxiways were useless, pockmarked with bomb craters and debris. With the liberation of France, the Royal Air Force used Évreux Air Base until May 1945. After the war, the base was left mostly unused, with the exception of a small aero club. With the outbreak of the Cold War in the late 1940s, with the Berlin Airlift and the ongoing threat from the Soviet Union to Western Europe, negotiations began in November 1950 between NATO and the United States to establish air bases and station combat wings in France to meet European defense needs. During the negotiations, the World War II airfield at Évreux was proposed for expansion into a modern air base for troop carrier and cargo aircraft. However, the airfield was under local jurisdiction and the facility was being used as a civilian airport. Final approval was obtained in 1951 from the City of Évreux and the Department of Eure. Development of Évreux Air Base was managed by the 7305th Air Base Squadron for the next three years. The USAF planned that a troop carrier wing, flying C-119s could be in place at Évreux by 1954. Preliminary surveys were conducted in April 1952, and construction of a new base began in July. The World War II damage was removed and new runways laid down. The design of the airfield was to space parked aircraft as far apart as possible by the construction of a circular marguerite system of hardstands that could be revetted later with earth for added protection. Typically the margueriete consisted of fifteen to eighteen hardstands around a large central hangar. Each hardstand held one or two aircraft, and allowed the planes to be spaced approximately 150 feet (50 m) apart. Each squadron was assigned to a separate hangar/hardstand complex. This construction can be seen clearly in the satellite image link at the bottom of this article. Roads and buildings were constructed, communications, and other infrastructure was completed and the facilities were ready by the summer of 1955. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Évreux-Fauville Air Base」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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