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Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base is a former United States Air Force base in France . It is located two miles southwest of the city of Chaumont , in the Haute-Marne Département of northeast France. ORIGINS The Marne was one of the bloodiest battlefields during World War I . The Headquarters of the American Expeditionary Force was located at Haute-Marne . A bronze tablet in the city commemorates the efforts of two million American soldiers under General John J. Pershing . Starting in the mid- 1930 's, a grass airstrip was used near Chaumont by the French Air Force for training. After the fall of France, the Luftwaffe also used the facility as a training station. During the liberation of France, the American Third Army defeated a German counter-attack in the area on 13 September 1944 . After the war, the airstrip was left unused. NATO ACQUISITION With the outbreak of the Cold War in the late 1940's, with the Berlin Airlift and the ongoing threat from the Soviet Union to Western Europe, negotations begain 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 for selection sites, the World War II airfield at Chaumont was proposed for expansion into a modern air base. The airfield was unused since the war and there were no plans for French civil or military use. An agreement was reached to develop Chaumont into a NATO facility and station United States Air Force tactical fighter-bombers there by 1953 . USAF USE Construction of Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base started on 25 Janurary 1951 , with minimum facilities being ready for USAF use by April 1952 . 137th Fighter-Bomber Wing In May 1952 , the 137th Fighter-Bomber Wing activated at Chaumont with the The 125th, 127th, and 128th Fighter Squadrons flying the Republic F-84G "Thunderjet" . However, the 137th inherited a base that was little more than acres of mud where wheat fields used to be. The only hardened facilities on the base were a concrete runway and a handful of tarpaper shacks. For the first two years of residence at Chaumont, the wing headed up an engineering project that resulted in the construction of permanent barracks, a wing headquarters, flightline shops, and warehouses. 48th Fighter-Bomber Wing On 10 July 1952 , the 137th was redesignated the 48th Fighter-Bomber Wing , with the fighter squadrons being redesignated the 492nd, 493rd, and 494th respectivley. The 137th FBW was reassigned without personnel and equipment, to the control of Oklahoma Air National Guard . With the F-84, the 48th FBW supported NATO and the United States Air Forces In Europe (USAFE), activities, participating in exercises with the US Seventh Army. In addition, the 48th conducted operational readiness exercises and tactical evaluations. Honing bombing and gunnery skills. The 48th frequently deployed to Wheelus AFB , Libya for training. In 1954 , the wing exchanged its F-84Cs for newer F-86F "Sabers" . The 48th also received its name, the Liberty Wing. Chaumont AB is located not far from the workshops of Frédéric Bartholdi - the French Architect which designed the Statue of Liberty. On 4 July 1954 the mayor of the town of Chaumont bestowed the honorary title of the Statue de la Liberty (Statue Of Liberty) Wing upon the 48th. It is the only USAF unit with both an official name and a numerical designation. In addition, the town of Chaumont donated a 9-foot bronze statue to the wing which was cast from from an original Bartholdi mold built for creating a design model of the Statue of Liberty. The wing received word in late . The larger-bodied F-100 was capable of carrying more ordnance than the F-86 and was one of the first fighters designed to operate at Supersonic speeds. The wing began realigning its units 15 March 1957 , as part of an Air Force worldwide reorganization. Combat groups were inactivated, assigning the unit’s fighter mission to the wing. As part of yet another organization change, the 48th dropped the "Fighter Bomber" designation 8 July 1958 , becoming the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing. The three flying units also changed designation, becoming tactical fighter squadrons. A change in residence, however, loomed on the horizon for the 48th. Disagreements arose concerning atomic storage and custody issues within NATO, resulting in a decision to remove Air Force atomic-capable units from French soil. On 15 Janurary 1960 , the 48th TFW redeployed to RAF Lakenheath , UK where it operates to this day. With the departure of the 48th, Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base was placed in reserve status. The base became a satellite of Toul AB , being maintained by the 7544th Combat Support Group. 1961 Berlin Crisis On 1 October 1961, as a result of the Berlin crisis, the mobilzed New Jersey Air National Guard (ANG) 108th Tactical Fighter Wing was deployed to Chaumont from McGuire AFB . In France, the 108th operated as the 7108th Tactical Fighter Wing, with it's flying unit being 141st Tactical Fighter Squadron, equipped with the F-84F "Thunderstreak" . In addition to the 108th TFW, the Alabama ANG 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing deployed it's 106th TRS to Chaumont, although the wing's headquarters was at Dreux AB , France. As the Berlin situation subsided, all activated ANG units were ordered to be returned to the United States and released from active duty. The 7108th departed from Chaumont and was relieved from active duty in August 1962 . 366th Tactical Fighter Wing On on 8 May 1962 , the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing was activated with two squadrons at Chaumont AB, one at Chambley AB and one at Etan AB. The 366th was the last USAFE tactical fighter wing based in France. It was initally formed by absorbing the assets and personnel of the Air National Guard squadrons rushed to Europe in the wake of the Berlin Crisis, then as the ANG personnel were demobilized, personnel were drawn from the active-duty ranks. The flying squadrons of the 366th TFW were the 389th, 390th, 391st and 480th Tactical Figher Squadrons. The 390th TFS operated from Chambley AB , and the 391st operated from Etain AB . At Chaumont, the 398th absorbed the personnel and equipment of the NJ ANG 141st Tactical Fighter Squadron, and the 480th the Alabama ANG 106th Tactical Reconnacence squadron. The 366th initally operated the F-84F "Thunderstreak" aircraft absorbed from the ANG squadrons, then later transitioning to the F-100D "Super Sabre" . As a result of French president Charles DeGaulle's deep suspicion of “supranational organizations” and France's shift away from the NATO orbit in the early 1960s that ultimately led to the decision in November 1962 to the decision that Chambley , Chaumont, Etain and Phalsbourg air bases would be returned to reserve status. On 26 April 1963 the 366th TFW was notified of its pending relocation to Holloman AFB , New Mexico . The initial deployment of personnel began on 4 June . Personnel and equipment were either moved to Holloman, or reassigned throughout USAFE. The 366th officially departed Chaumont on 22 July 1963 . USAF Closure After the departure of the 366th TFW, Chaumont was in a reserve status, being used occasionally for NATO exercises and deployments. A small USAF contingent group, the 7544th Combat Support Group operated at the base to maintain it's facilities. On 7 March 1966 , French President Charles De Gaulle announced that France would withdraw from NATO's integrated military military structure. The United States was informed that it must remove it's military forces from France by 1 April 1967 . By the end of 1966 all USAF equipment was removed from Chaumont, and on 26 March 1967 the last American assigned to Chaumont left the facility and the base was turned over to French Control. Chaumont-Somuntiers AB USAF USAF Emblems USAF Aircraft Types At Chaumont AB CURRENT USES After the USAF withdrawal from France in 1967 , the French Army took up residence at Chaumont, changing it's name to Quartier General d'Aboville. The 403e Régiment d'artillerie (403e RA) operated from the facility until 1998 . In 1999 , the French Army 61e Régiment d'artillerie (61e RA) Aerial Surveillance Regiment arrived at Chaumont equipped with CL 289 drone. The 61st Artillery regiment has deployed on NATO exercises to Bosnia and Kosovo. In addition to the Army, the French National Military Police Force (Gendarmerie Nationale) has also taken up residence at Chaumont-Semoutiers. REFERENCES
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