Toul - Croix De Metz Airfield Toul - Croix De Metz Airfield is a former military airfield which is located approximately 1 mile northeast of Toul ( Département de Meurthe - et - Moselle , Lorraine ) ; 160 miles east of Paris . The airfield had its origins in the World War I Western Front as an Armée de L ' Air airfield , later being extensively used by the United States Army Air Service . It became a permanent airfield between the wars and during the Phony War with Nazi Germany ( 1939 – 1940 ) was the home of G . C . II / 5 ( The French Air Force descendant of the World War I Lafayette Escadrille ) equipped with American Curtis Hawk 75A fighters . Seized in the Battle of France , it became a Luftwaffe airfield until being captured by the United States Third Army in September 1944 . It then became a United States Army Air Forces combat airfield until the end of the war . After the war , the airfield was redeveloped into a private industrial estate . History . World War I . Gengault Aerodrome was established about 1916 by the French Air Force as a combat airfield on the World War I Western Front . It is undetermined which French units were stationed at the airfield during the war . In April 1918 it was turned over to the American Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) . When first deployed to France , the Aero Squadrons of the AEF were dispersed among the various army organizations . This made it difficult , however , to obtain coordination of aerial activities . Some higher organization was required . The United States Army Air Service Aero Squadrons were organized as part of the 2d , 3d and 4th Pursuit Groups . Known American units at Toul were : American Units at Toul During World War I . Headquarters Squadrons Other Units It is known that other American air units were assigned to Toul during World War I , however they are unidentified . The Americans at Toul flew reconnaissance sorties , protected observation aircraft , attacked enemy observation balloons , strafed enemy troops , flew counter - air patrols , and bombed towns , bridges , and railroad stations behind the enemy ' s lines . Some of the most illustrious names in early American Army aviation were assigned to Toul during World War I , including Eddie Rickenbacker ; Quentin Roosevelt ; Frank Luke ; Carl Spaatz ; Billy Mitchell and others . The Americans at Toul demobilized and left France after the Amistice on 11 November 1918 , the last leaving in early 1919 . Between the wars . Various French Air Force air regiments were assigned to the base during the 1920s , during which the wartime grass field became a permanent base , with a large technical support area , hangars , barracks and other facilities being constructed . When World War II broke out in September 1939 , the 35th Aero Regiment was assigned to Toul - Croix De Metz , the 7th squadron of which was the descendant of the World War I Lafayette Escadrille , " Groupe de Chasse II / 5 , the Escadron Lafayette " . The Regiment was equipped with obsolete Curtiss Hawk Model 75s . From surviving accounts of the squadron during the Battle of France the Hawk - equipped Regiment claimed 230 confirmed and 80 probable victories in H75s against only 29 aircraft lost in aerial combat . However the German Blitzkrieg and the breakout of the Wehrmacht at Sedan overwhelmed the French and the British Expeditionary Force , and the unit surrendered to the Germans along with the French Armed Forces at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940 . German use during World War II . Shortly after its capture , the airfield was turned over to the Luftwaffe . The airfield was initially used primarily as a training base for ground support units . In September 1942 , Zerstörerschule 2 ( Fighter - Destroyer School 2 ) ( ZS 2 ) used the base as a training facility for Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter pilots until February 1944 . Toul became an operational airfield in July 1944 , when Kampfgeschwader 53 ( KG 53 ) arrived at the airfield with Heinkel He 111 medium bombers . The He 111s were used as carrier aircraft for launching V - 1 Flying Bomb s , aimed at targets in Britain . KG 53 withdrew from the airfield at the end of August , ahead of the advancing American Third Army which was moving into the area . Toul - Croix De Metz was attacked by USAAF Eighth Air Force B - 17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers to attempt to stop these V - 1 attacks . American use during World War II . The IX Engineer Command moved the 826th Engineer Aviation Battalion to Toul arifield on 14 September 1944 . The airfield was relatively intact , and began clearing the airport of mines ; destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft , and repairing operational facilities for use by American aircraft . Subsequently , it became a USAAF Ninth Air Force combat airfield , designated as Advanced Landing Ground " A - 90 " Toul - Croix De Metz the next day . Under American control , Toul - Croix De Metz was initially used as a resupply and causality evacuation ( S & E ) airfield , with C - 47 Skytrain transports using the airfield frequently , carrying in supplies and moving wounded personnel to hospitals in the rear . In October , the 862d EAB moved in and laid down a 5000 ' Pierced Steel Planking all - weather runway . The engineers also repaired the barracks and other facilities at the base , allowing it to be used though the winter months . In November , the 358th Fighter Group moved in with P - 47 Thunderbolts and flew operational missions from the base until the beginning of April 1945 . The airfield was closed , and returned to French control after the war on 30 October 1945 . Postwar use . In French control after the war , the airfield was closed and for years was left unused . The growing urban area of Toul and the need for other , more pressing reconstruction after the war led the Air Ministry to sell off the property to private interests , and not rebuild it as a military airfield . A major reason was that the airfield was physically small , and the cost to purchase additional land to build a jet runway , and other facilities was very high . In addition , the prospect of jet fighter aircraft taking off and landing over the urbanized area around the airfield was highly undesirable . In 1950 when NATO was looking to locate an American Air Force fighter airfield in the area , given the historical American association with Toul , the World War II airfield at Rosieres En Haye was made available . The site eventually was cleared of buildings and wreckage , some of the concrete from the runways and taxiways were used as streets , and industrial buildings were constructed on the site . Today in aerial photography , clear outlines of former buildings can be seen in grassy areas , as well as the runways and taxiways of the former airfield , now reused as streets .