Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Quartier La Horie
Quartier La Horie is a French Army base. It is located in the Moselle département, about 2 miles(3 km) west of the town of Phalsbourg, on the north side of the Route nationale 4 (N4) Highway adjacent to the village Saint-Jean-Kourtzerode; 29 miles (47 km) northwest of Strasbourg.
During the Cold War, Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base was a front-line base for the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).
Prior to 1950, there were no existing airfields in the Phalsbourg area. With the advent of the Cold War in the late 1940s and the formation of NATO, agreements were made to expand the United States military presence in western Europe. The United States would also provide some of the tactical air power. This led to the expansion of the United States Air Forces in Europe. The United States would eventually base combat aircraft and personnel in Belgium, England, France, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and West Germany.
In 1950, U.S. representatives began a series of discussions with the French to select air bases and negotiate the details of establishing a large USAF presence. USAFE desired an air field in Alsace or Lorraine due to their eastern location near the Rhine River, but at the time, there were no existing airfields that could meet NATO requirements. The agreed airfield site was west of the city of Phalsbourg, adjacent to French National Route N4 on gently rolling farmland.
The USAF wanted to base a fighter wing at Phalsbourg by 1955. In February 1952 the 7040th Air Base Squadron was activated to administer the base and provide coordination for the various construction activities. Highway N4 was moved a half-mile to the south, and by the summer of 1952, work began on the site preparation of the base.
Construction continued during 1953, and in 1954, the base was nearing completion. By the spring of 1955 the runways, taxiways and hangars were constructed, however the base was barely habitable because few roads were paved and the utilities were not yet installed. On 4 February 1955 Twelfth Air Force took possession of Phalsbourg AB, although no combat wing or aircraft had been assigned. Tactical Air Command advised USAFE that due to budget limitations, it would be unable to establish a tactical air fighter/bomber wing at the base until 1961.
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 Marguerite 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.
The 7040th ABS continued as the caretaker unit of the base until being replaced by the 7486th Air Base Group in 1955. Phalsbourg was kept in a reserve standby status after the construction was completed.
Hub AI
Quartier La Horie AI simulator
(@Quartier La Horie_simulator)
Quartier La Horie
Quartier La Horie is a French Army base. It is located in the Moselle département, about 2 miles(3 km) west of the town of Phalsbourg, on the north side of the Route nationale 4 (N4) Highway adjacent to the village Saint-Jean-Kourtzerode; 29 miles (47 km) northwest of Strasbourg.
During the Cold War, Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base was a front-line base for the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).
Prior to 1950, there were no existing airfields in the Phalsbourg area. With the advent of the Cold War in the late 1940s and the formation of NATO, agreements were made to expand the United States military presence in western Europe. The United States would also provide some of the tactical air power. This led to the expansion of the United States Air Forces in Europe. The United States would eventually base combat aircraft and personnel in Belgium, England, France, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and West Germany.
In 1950, U.S. representatives began a series of discussions with the French to select air bases and negotiate the details of establishing a large USAF presence. USAFE desired an air field in Alsace or Lorraine due to their eastern location near the Rhine River, but at the time, there were no existing airfields that could meet NATO requirements. The agreed airfield site was west of the city of Phalsbourg, adjacent to French National Route N4 on gently rolling farmland.
The USAF wanted to base a fighter wing at Phalsbourg by 1955. In February 1952 the 7040th Air Base Squadron was activated to administer the base and provide coordination for the various construction activities. Highway N4 was moved a half-mile to the south, and by the summer of 1952, work began on the site preparation of the base.
Construction continued during 1953, and in 1954, the base was nearing completion. By the spring of 1955 the runways, taxiways and hangars were constructed, however the base was barely habitable because few roads were paved and the utilities were not yet installed. On 4 February 1955 Twelfth Air Force took possession of Phalsbourg AB, although no combat wing or aircraft had been assigned. Tactical Air Command advised USAFE that due to budget limitations, it would be unable to establish a tactical air fighter/bomber wing at the base until 1961.
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 Marguerite 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.
The 7040th ABS continued as the caretaker unit of the base until being replaced by the 7486th Air Base Group in 1955. Phalsbourg was kept in a reserve standby status after the construction was completed.