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Chambley-Bussieres Air Base is a former USAF base in France. It is located about ten miles west of the French city of Metz , and just south of the road leading to Verdun near France’s strategic northeastern border with Luxembourg , Belgium , and Germany . During the Cold War, Chambley-Bussieres was a front-line base for the United States Air Forces In Europe (USAFE). ORIGINS The first use of Chambley-Bussieres as an airfield was in 1940 , when the French Armée de l'Air stationed 9 Potez 631 fighters and 5 Mureaux 117 observation aircraft on farmland. The aircraft were assigned to the 2/506. After the Battle of France ended in May , 1940 , Chambley-Bussieres was abandoned as an air base and returned to agricultural use. NATO ACQUISITION In 1951 as a result of the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union , Chambley-Bussieres was provided to NATO for use by the United States Air Force Construction of the base on former farmland started started in 1952 , although construction delays prevented the facility from being ready for wing operations until mid- 1955 . UNITED STATES AIR FORCE USE Enough construction was completed by February 1954 that USAFE established the 7002nd Air Base Squadron at Chambley to coordinate the set-up of various facilities, such as security, supply, transportation and communications. Chambley Air Base was formally dedicated and turned over to the USAF on 12 June 1956 . 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing The first USAF unit to use Chambley AB was the 21st Figher-Bomber Wing , being transferred from George AFB , California. The wing’s deployment to France had to be carried out in stages. Four echelons of wing personnel variously traveled by train, ship, and air to reach Chambley between November 1954 and January 1955 . The 21st FBW officially established its headquarters at Chambley on 12 December 1954 . The 21st FBW consisted of three air squadrons, the 72nd, 416th and 531st Fighter-Bomber Squadrons, equipped with the F-86F "Sabre" . Upon their arrival, the facilites at Chambley were not ready for aircraft use, and the squadrons had to deploy elsewhere. The 72nd deployed to Chateauroux AB , while the 416th and 531st operated out of Toul-Rosieres AB . After many construction delays, the wing combined its figher squadrons at Chambley on 15 April 1955 . The squadrons carried out Close Air Support training missions with the Army, then took first place at the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) "Gunnery Meet" at Wheelus Air Base , Libya . The 21st FBW participated in the Atomic Warfare exercise "Carte Blanche," and went on to take an overall second place in the Nellis AFB , Nevada "Gunnery Meet" in 1956 . Morever, they won the USAFE "Award for Tactical Proficiency" for the January - June period of 1957 . In 1957 , the French Government decreed that all nuclear weapons and delivery aircraft had to be removed from French soil by July 1958 . As a result, the F-86's of the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing had to be removed from France. During October 1957 it was announced that the 21st FBW would be inactivated on 8 February 1958 , and that its assets would be dispersed among existing USAFE units. With the departure of the wing, Chambley-Bussieres AB was placed in reserve status. 366th Tactical Fighter Wing On 1 October 1961 , as a result of the Berlin Crisis , the mobilzed Indiana Air National Guard (ANG) 122d Tactical Fighter Wing was deployed to Chambley from Baer Field, Fort Wayne , Indiana. Its 163rd TFS flew the F-84F "Thunderstreak" . The 366th Tactical Fighter Wing was activated on 8 May 1962 at Chaumont AB . The 366th TFW was activated as a result of the Berlin Crisis and it represented the first peacetime activation of a tactical unit completely overseas. The 366th absorbed the personnel and equipment of the federalized Air National Guard units which had been serving at several bases in France. The 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron absorbed the 163rd TFS at Chambley. In August 1962 , the Air National Guardsmen of the 122nd TFW/163rd TFS returned to Indiana. The 366th operated until July 1963 when it was no longer needed in Europe and was transferred to Holloman AFB , New Mexico . With the departure of the 366th TFW, Chambley-Bussieres AB was again placed in reserve status, being used for various USAFE exercises ovver the next two years. The facility was turned over to the 7367th Combat Support Group which acted as the host USAF unit. 25th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing The 25th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was activated on 1 July 1965 at Chambley AB, and absorbed the 19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and 42nd Electronic Countermeasures Squadron . The squadrons were transferred from Toul-Rosieres AB , where they operated as a detachment of the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing , based at RAF Alconbury , UK. The 25th flew variants of the B-66 "Destroyers" on photo reconnaissance and electronic warfare missions. The escalation of the conflict in SE Asia prompted the establishment of Detachment 1 of the 42nd ECS at Takhli RTAFB during February , 1966 . 5 of its B-66's were sent to Thailand . On 7 March 1966 , French President Charles De Gaulle announced that France would withdraw from NATO's integrated military structure. The United States was informed that it must remove its military forces from France by 1 April 1967 . On 1 May 1966 , the 42nd was inactivated and the squadrons remaining aircraft were deployed to Takhli RTAFB, with all of its assets in Thailand being assigned to the 41st Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron (TEWS). The remaining aircraft of the 25th TRW were assigned to the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing , Shaw AFB , South Carolina. On 15 October 1966 the 25th TRW was deactivated. The 7367th Combat Support Group was activated to close the facility. On 1 April 1967 , the last USAF personnel left Chambley AB, and the base was returned to French control. USAF Aircraft Types At Chambley-Bussieres AB Chambley AB USAF Patch Collection CURRENT USES After the USAF's departure in 1967, the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) assumed control of Chambley AB. It was used for various flight operations and also by airbone forces for many years. Today, Chambley is being developed into a commercial business park. The runway and various taxiways are intact and useable. Many of the old USAF buildings and hangars are used for various non-military purposes. The airfield is still classified as being a military airfield, however large hot air balloon contests have been held at Chambley over the years. REFERENCES
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