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Etain-Rouvres Air Base is a former USAF base in France. It is located on the Lorraine Plateau in northeastern France , about 12 miles east of Verdun . ORIGINS Rouvres airdrome was built by the French Air Force in 1937 . They flew Bloch-131 tactical reconnaisance aircraft. When World War II began, the Royal Air Force moved in flying Hawker Hurricanes of 72 Squadron. After the fall of France, the Luftwaffe used the base, flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190D's . When the German Army was driven out by the U S Third Army, the United States Army Air Force 9th Air Force 362nd Fighter Group used Rouves Air Base from 5 November 1944 until early April 1945 . Three squadrons of P-47 "Thunderbotls" bombed and strafed such targets as flak positions, armored vehicles, and troop concentrations during the Battle Of The Bulge . The 362nd received a Distinguished Unit Citation for action over the Moselle-Rhine River triangle. Despite the intense antiaircraft fire encountered while flying armed reconnaissance in close cooperation with infantry forces in that area on 16 March 1945 , the 362nd hit enemy forces, equipment, and facilities, its targets including motor transports, armored vehicles, railroads, railway cars, and gun emplacements. In the immediate postwar years, Etan Air Base was 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, in May 1952 the World War II airfield at Etain was proposed for expansion into a modern air base. An agreement was reached to develop Etain into a NATO facility and station United States Air Force tactical fighter-bombers there by the end of 1954 . USAF USE Enough construction was performed at Etan by February 1953 that USAFE activated the 7005th Air Base Squadron to bring the base up to operational status. 388th Fighter-Bomber Wing The first USAF unit to use Etan AB was the 388th Fightr-Bomber Wing, deploying to France from Clovis AFB , New Mexico in December 1954 . The 388th flew F-86F "Sabre's" , later upgrading to the F-100D/F "Super Sabre" fighter in October 1956 . On 8 December 1957 HQ USAFE inactiated the 388th FBW due to budgetary constraints. On 9 December the personnel and assets of the 388th were transferred to the 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing. 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing Headquarters, 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing was assigned to Etan Air Base, absorbing the assets of the 388th FBW. The wing was relocated to France from Misawa Air Base , Japan . Budget reductions in the Far East Air Force forced the reassignment and consolidation of Air Force assets. The mission of the 49th FBW was exactly the same as the 388th's. The fighter squadrons were redesignated the 7th, 8th and 9th Fighter-bomber Squadrons On 8 July 1958 the name of the wing was changed to the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing as a rsult of an Air Force wide redesignation. It's squadrons were renamed Tactical Fighter Squadrons. Detachments of the 49th TFW were established at Chambley Air Base on 15 February 1958 and at Vouziers-Sechault DOB (Dispersed Operating Base) on 1 January 1958 . 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-100's of the 49th TFW had to be removed from France. On 25 August 1959 , the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing relocted to Spangdahlem Air Base , Germany . After the departure of the 49th TFW, no USAFE wings operated from Etain AB. The base was maintained by Detachment 1, 7514th Support Group, headquarted at Toul Air Base . Etain AB was put into a standby status by the USAF. However, U. S. Army units were moved onto the base from the Metz area to relieve overcrowding there. 1961 Berlin Crisis On 5 September 1961 after two years of relative inactivity, Etain AB was reactivated for aircraft of the Ohio Air National Guard 121st Tactical Fighter Wing , flying F-84F's . The 121st TFW consisted of the 162nd and 164th TFS, and were deployed from Springfield Municipal Airport and Lockbourne AFB, Ohio. Additionally, several of the ground support units were deployed to Etain. In France, the wing was redesignatd the 7121st Tactical Fighter Wing on 11 December 1961 . In July 1962 the deployed Air National Guardsmen were no longer needed in Europe and the 7121st began to redeploy it's personnel to Ohio. All the aircraft and support equipment, however, remained at Etan to equip a new wing at Etan, the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing . The last of the ANG personnel departed on 9 August 1962 . The 7368th Combat Support Group was activated to operate the base after their departure. 366th Tactical Fighter Wing The 366th TFW was activated officially on 8 May 1962 at Chaumont Air Base with Air National Guard equipment left by returning wings at Chambley , Phalsbourg , and the equipment and aircraft at Etain. The 391st TFS absorbed these assets for it's flying and support echelons. The 366th TFW/391 TFS remaind at Etain until 16 July 1963 when the 366th moved to Holloman AFB , New Mexico . USAF Closure The 7368th CSG remained to maintain the base in a reserve status for the next several years. The Royal Canadian Air Force Wing 1 from Marville AB used Etain during May 1965 for NATO exercises, but otherwise the base remained largely unoccupied. 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 16 November all American equipment was removed from the facility and on 15 March 1967 Etain Air Base was returned to the French. Etain-Rouvres AB USAF Emblems USAF Aircraft Types At Etain AB CURRENT USES from 1st combat helicopter regiment]] After the USAF departure, Etain AB was used by the French Army as a helicopter baase. Currently, the 3e Régiment d'Hélicoptères de Combat (3e RHC) Combat Helicopter Regiment operates from the base and flys SA341D "Gazelles" , and SA 330 "Pumas" . The base is well-maintained and has been expanded over the years, and remains a front-line French military facility. REFERENCES
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