22 Aug 44 P-47 near Tours sur Marne (nr Athis)

[Larry deZeng]

Thanks for the link, Rob. More grist for the mill and more conflicts for Chris to try and sort out.

II./JG 3: Athis (10-22 Aug 44)
III./JG 3: Chalons-sur-Marne (10-27 Aug 44)

AirMin A.I.2.b coordinates for Épernay-Plivot 49 00 25 N – 04 05 10 E
Wiki Athis coordinates: 49 00 28 N – 04 06 50 E

The Wiki coordinates for Athis are a little less than 2 km E of the AirMin coordinates for Épernay-Plivot. There is no Google Earth evidence of there ever being an airfield at the Wiki coordinates. The difference in the coordinates may be that the AirMin ones are from 1944 while the Wiki ones are from May 2012. Since coordinates change over time, the passage of 68 years may account for this slight difference. If so, then this is further evidence that Épernay-Plivot and Athis are one and the same.

Châlons-sur-Marne is a different problem - see below:


Châlons-sur-Marne (FR) (a.k.a. L’Épine, Écury-sur-Coole) (48 54 N – 04 19 E or 48 54 20N – 04 21 05 E?)
General: a former landing ground in E France 6 km S of Châlons-sur-Marne that was inactive and unserviceable from 1940 until late spring 1944 (Jun 44?) when the Luftwaffe hastily restored it to active status. Only operational for two months, no airfield details are available from British Air Ministry sources. History: no information. Surface and Dimensions: no information. Fuel and Ammunition: no information. Infrastructure: no information. Dispersal: no information.
Remarks:
27 Jun 44: low-level attack on Châlons by VIII Fighter Command P-47s – claimed 1 x Bf 109 destroyed and 1 more damaged on the ground.
8 Jul 44: low-level attack by VIII Fighter Command P-51s SW of Châlons – claimed 9 x Bf 109s, 6 x Me 410s and 5 x Fw 190s destroyed, plus 9 x Bf 109s, 6 x Me 410s and 7 x Fw 190s damaged. [Note: “SW of Châlons” is assumed to be this airfield as it was the only one in that location.]
Operational Units: III./JG 3 (10-27 Aug 44).
Station Commands: none identified.
Lw. Station Units (on the airfield, in the town or nearby on various dates – not complete): schw.Flak-Abt. 278 (Eisb.) (Châlons Jun-Aug 44); Stab and elements of Ln.-Telegrafenbau-Abt. z.b.V. 11 (Châlons Dec 42 – Aug 44).
[Sources: chronologies; BA-MA; NARA; PRO/NA; web site ww2.dk]

The landing ground at Châlons-sur-Marne is 22.5 km SE of Plivot (Athis), so it seems unlikely that this two could be confused one for the other.

Larry