Luftwaffe Jet Operations in France: Juvincourt Airfield, August 1944

Juvincourt was imaged on 22 August, the day that Einsatzkommando Schenck was reported to have arrived (Graphic). The base was heavily damaged, but the East-West runway had been repaired and was probably operational. There was no evidence of active operations, but five fighter aircraft that were likely at the base to support the jets could be seen in revetments at the east side of the airfield. All but one of the aircraft had departed by 1 September.

Kommando Götz’s Ar 234s --early-model aircraft using skids for landing and jettisonable dollies and rocket packs for take-offs-- reportedly operated from a dispersal area along a road northwest of the operational runway. The aircraft landed parallel to the road and were towed to four newly-constructed covered parking revetments (Graphic). At 1800-meters-in length, the road could have been used as a highway strip, but it was also connected to the operational runway.

Storage revetments along a road in the center of the airfield appeared to contain covered supplies. Other activity of note was a number of defensive trenches being constructed around the airfield, which was defended by a number of anti-aircraft sites.

Kommando Schenck and KG 51 or units supporting them were reported to have used three other French bases by mid-July. Châteaudun, 240km southwest of Juvincourt, was occupied from 20 July to 8 August. With a runway of more than 2200-meters-in length, Châteaudun was an obvious choice to base the jets, but its forward location made it vulnerable to Allied occupation. As a result, the units withdrew East, passing through Étampes (12-15 Aug; no hard-surface runway) and Creil (15-22 Aug; 1600 & 1700-meter runways;) before arriving at Juvincourt (Map). All three units withdrew from France on 28 August, flying to bases in Belgium and the Netherlands. Neither Châteaudun or Creil was imaged during the period of occupation (Graphics); there was no coverage of Étampes (Map, Graphics).

Thanks to an airfield construction program that began soon after the occupation there was no need for the emergency construction of jet-capable such as took place elsewhere near the end of the war (see Luftwaffe Jet Airfield Construction); an exception to this was the lengthening of a runway at Saint Dizier, France and construction of a new one at Lìege, Belgium in August and October 1944, respectively. By that time there were more than 40 airfields with hard-surface runways greater than 1600-meters in length in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most of these were clustered along the English Channel and North Sea. In this area, only Châteaudun, Conches, Coulommiers, Roye-Amy (Beauvraignes), Brüssel-Melsbroek, and Volkel had runways over 1800 meters.

References:
1. ghostbombers; :"Kommandos Götz, Sperling, Hecht and 1.(F)/123, July-September 1944"
2. anciens-aerodromes.com; "Visite Juvincourt en 2009"
3. ghostbombers; "Einsatzkommando KG 51 in France: August 1944", pp 1-5
4. "Me 262 Bomber and reconnaissance Units"; Osprey Publishing