19-423: VAF may stand for: Valence-Chabeuil Airport , a French airport Variety Artistes' Federation , a former British trade union Vernacular Architecture Forum , an American scholarly organisation Volunteer Army Foundation , a New Zealand student movement Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
38-581: A radio broadcast objecting to the violation of the armistice of 1940 . The German government countered that it was the French who violated the armistice first by not offering a determined resistance to the Allied landings in North Africa. The 50,000-strong Vichy French Army took defensive positions around Toulon, but when confronted by German demands to disband, it did so since it lacked the military capability to resist
57-473: A small enclave here for many years operating a small number of diverse helicopter types as part of the test unit GALSTA/STAT. Closure of this facility (with the unit moving to Le Luc) was announced some years ago, but it would appear this has been rescinded. The airport's origin dates from the 1930s when the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) established Valence-Chabeuil Air Base. It was the headquarters for
76-451: A transport airfield, supporting C-47 Skytrain resupply and also casualty evacuation flights until being returned to French control on 20 November 1944. In 1945 the Armée de l'Air returned to its airfield and it returned to its prewar status as an active air base. A 2100m all-weather asphalt runway was laid down for jet aircraft operations, and the damage caused by World War II was repaired. It
95-658: Is an airport in France , located about 5 miles (8 km) east of Valence (in the Drôme department, Rhone-Alpes region) and approximately 300 miles (483 km) south-southeast of Paris . The airport was a pre- World War II French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) airfield. After the Battle of France , it was seized by Nazi Germany in November 1942. It was later used by the Luftwaffe , and after
114-495: Is undetermined when it was converted to a civilian airport. Today the airport is a modern, fully equipped facility with two additional parallel grass runways available for use. A large aircraft parking ramp along with a hangar and support buildings are available. Case Anton Axis victory 1941 1942 1944 1945 Case Anton ( German : Fall Anton ) was the military occupation of Vichy France carried out by Germany and Italy in November 1942. It marked
133-694: The Second Armistice at Compiègne the Armée de l'Air units assigned to the airfield were ordered to French North Africa , and the airport was closed by the Vichy France government. After the forceful occupation of Vichy France in November 1942 as a result of Case Anton Wehrmacht units moved into the Valence area and the airport came under the control of the Luftwaffe . It was not, however, used as an operational base until July 1943 when XI. Fliegerkorps moved Luftlandegeschwader 1 (LLG 1) (Airborne Squadron 1) to
152-657: The Allied Invasion of southern France in August 1944, by the United States Army Air Forces Twelfth Air Force . Used by the French Air Force base after the war, it was closed and today the airport is used for general aviation , with no commercial airline service. It is still occasionally used by military aircraft. The French army aviation (Aviation légère de l'Armée de terre) have maintained
171-626: The Axis forces. Although it became little more than a puppet government , the Vichy regime continued to exercise nominal civil authority over the whole of Metropolitan France except Alsace-Lorraine , as it had done since 1940. The Italian occupation zone was abolished following the removal of Mussolini from office and the Italian government's subsequent request for an armistice in 1943. France subsequently remained under exclusively German occupation from then until
190-628: The French Mediterranean. After a final conversation with French Prime Minister Pierre Laval , Hitler gave orders for Corsica to be occupied on 11 November and Vichy France the following day. By the evening of 10 November 1942, Axis forces had completed their preparations for Case Anton . The 1st Army advanced from the Atlantic coast, parallel to the Spanish border, while the 7th Army advanced from central France towards Vichy and Toulon , under
209-649: The Germans could seize them, preventing three battleships , seven cruisers , 28 destroyers and 20 submarines from falling into the hands of the Axis powers. Despite the disappointment of the German Naval War Staff, Hitler considered that the elimination of the French fleet sealed the success of Operation Anton since the destruction of the fleet denied it to Charles de Gaulle and the Free French Navy . Vichy France offered no resistance, contenting itself with
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#1732847657624228-608: The Zone d'Opérations Aériennes des Alpes - Z.O.A.A. (Alps Air Operations Area). Known operational units assigned were: The Potez was a heavy twin-engined fighter. With the outbreak of war in May 1940, the unit did not see action against the Germans in the Battle of France . However, operations were flown against the Italian Army ( Regio Esercito ) after the Italian invasion of France on 10 June. After
247-430: The airport of mines and destroyed German aircraft. It was declared ready for operational use on 2 September 1944. It was designated as Advanced Landing Ground "Y-23 Valence". The 79th Fighter Group was assigned to the airport and operated P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber aircraft until the end of September 1944, until moving north with the advancing Allied forces. Once the combat unit moved out, Valence-Chabeuil became
266-497: The airport, equipped with 32 Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft and 120 DFS 230 light transport gliders. In early August 1944, Kampfgeschwader 26 (KG 26) moved Junkers Ju 88s to the airfield to attack advancing United States Seventh Army forces moving north, but the Luftwaffe was driven out by Twelfth Air Force attacks. Twelfth Air Force combat engineers moved into Valence-Chabeuil Airport in late August 1944, and cleared
285-400: The codename of Operation Attila and soon came to be considered with Operation Camellia, the plan to occupy Corsica . Operation Anton updated the original Operation Attila, including different German units and adding Italian involvement. For Adolf Hitler , the main rationale for permitting a nominally-independent France to exist was that it was, in the absence of German naval superiority,
304-578: The command of General Johannes Blaskowitz . The Italian 4th Army occupied the French Riviera and an Italian division landed on Corsica. By the evening of 11 November, German tanks had reached the Mediterranean coast. The Germans had planned Operation Lila to capture intact the demobilised French fleet at Toulon. French naval commanders managed to delay the Germans by negotiation and subterfuge long enough to scuttle their ships on 27 November, before
323-618: The end of the Vichy regime as a nominally-independent state and the disbanding of its army (the severely-limited Armistice Army ), but it continued its existence as a puppet government in Occupied France . One of the last actions of the Vichy armed forces before their dissolution was the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon to prevent it from falling into Axis hands. A German plan to occupy Vichy France had been drawn up in December 1940 under
342-615: The only practical means to deny the use of the French colonies to the Allies . However, the Allied landings in French North Africa on 8 November 1942 caused that rationale to disappear, especially since it quickly became apparent that the Vichy government possessed neither the political will nor the practical means to prevent French colonial authorities from submitting to Allied occupation. Moreover, Hitler knew he could not risk an exposed flank on
361-509: The title VAF . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VAF&oldid=846625352 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Valence-Chabeuil Airport Valence - Chabeuil Airport ( IATA : VAF , ICAO : LFLU )
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