Bicqueley Aerodrome


Bicqueley Aerodrome was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was located East-Southeast from the commune of Bicqueley, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in northeastern France.

Overview

The airfield was secretly constructed by the 477th Aero Squadron in seven days in late August 1918. It had eight French "Bessonneau" aircraft hangars and two British RAF type hangars. The construction also erected eight wooden barracks and 7 other buildings for maintenance shops, headquarters and a small clinic.
First to arrive were two French escadrilles, BR 208 and BR 214, on 6 September, from the French 2nd Army Aviation, and working with the American First Army. They were followed on 8 September by the 50th Aero Squadron, flying De Havilland DH-4s, from the First Army Air Service's I Corps Observation Group, ready for the heavy push towards Saint Mihiel in the following days.
They had all gone by the end of September, and the airfield was quiet until early November, before the Armistice: two French escadrilles stayed for a few days, then giving way the three escadrilles of the "Groupe de Bombardement no 6" which were stationed at Bicqueley until 10 January 1919.
Eventually the land was returned to agricultural use by the local farmers. Today, what was Bicqueley
Airdrome is a series of cultivated fields located about one and one-half miles east-southeast of Bicqueley, with no indications of its wartime use.