Bordeaux - Mérignac Air Base Bordeaux - Mérignac Air Base is a former ( 1951 – 1958 ) United States Air Force base in France . It is located in the Gironde département , 6 miles west of the city of Bordeaux . During the early years of the Cold War , Bordeaux - Mérignac was a front - line base for the United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) . Origins . Bordeaux - Mérignac Air Base originated in the 1920s , when a joint civilian / military air field was established there . The facility was a major hub for Air France , flying from Bordeaux to various destinations in Europe and North Africa . Military uses by the French Air Force was as a training center and also as a bomber base . During World War II the German Luftwaffe took control of the base and used it as a center for maritime reconnaissance . German unit was based in the base , patrolling the Atlantic and engaging RAF and USAF planes . Focke - Wulf Fw - 200 " Condor " aircraft flew from the base roaming the Atlantic Ocean looking for Allied shipping . Junkers Ju - 88 long range fighters also operated from the base , protecting submarines and Condors and fighting Allied antisubmarine planes . Fights over the Gulf of Biscay were not strange . The United States Army Air Forces 8th Air Force and the Royal Air Force attacked the base in 1943 . Chuck Yeager was shot down in one of these missions over Bordeaux . After the war Air France resumed commercial operations out of Bordeaux and the reestablished French Air Force returned to use the facility . NATO acquisition . In 1951 Bordeaux was turned over to NATO for use by the United States Air Force . Construction of a modern air base suitable for jet aircraft began on 1 August . Much evidence of the war remained with many warning signs still in German , scattered munitions around the facility ; the perimeter was still mined ; large quantities of practice bombs , and destroyed hangars and other buildings as a result of Allied air raids . Site preparation and construction of the new runways was performed by the U . S . Army ' s 469th Engineer Aviation Battalion ( EAB ) - - a newly formed SCARWAF ( Special Category Army With Air Force ) unit . USAF use . 126th Bombardment Wing ( Light ) . The 126th Bombardment Wing was the first USAF organization to arrive at Bordeaux AB on 7 December 1951 . The wing flew the World War II vintage Douglas B - 26C " Invaders " . The 126th was part of the Illinois Air National Guard which was ordered to active service on 1 April 1951 as a result of the Korean War . The unit was initially assigned to Tactical Air Command at Langley AFB , Virginia . The Korean War was a turning point for the U . S . military establishment including the Air Guard . The callup exposed the glaring weaknesses of the ANG . Units and individuals lacked specific wartime missions . Their equipment , especially aircraft , was obsolete . Their training was usually marginal . Once mobilized , they proved to be almost totally unprepared for combat . The wing moved to Bordeaux AB , France from Langley AFB Virginia , with the first elements arriving in November 1951 . The 126th BW was assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe . By 10 November , Bordeaux was considered an operational base and was assigned to the 12th Air Force . At Bordeaux , the 126th BW consisted of the 108th , 168th and 180th Bomb Squadrons ( Light ) . The aircraft were marked by various color bands on the vertical stabilizer and rudder . Black / Yellow / Blue for the 108th ; Black / Yellow / Red for the 168th , and Black / Yellow / Green for the 180th . It flew B - 26 ' s for training and maneuvers and stayed at Bordeaux AB until being transferred Laon AB , France on 25 May 1952 where it remained for the balance of the year . The 126th was relieved from active duty and transferred , without personnel and equipment , back to the control of the Illinois ANG on 1 January 1953 . As a result of the uproar that the poorly managed reserve mobilizations during 1950 - 51 created . The Congress was much more willing than either the Department of Defense or the military services to fund the reserves properly . Moreover , beginning with the passage of the Armed Forces Reserve Act of 1952 , a series of key laws eliminated most of the old inequities and fostered the development of more effective reserve components . It also permitted the use of Guard and Reserve volunteers to support the active duty forces . Through the 1950s , the Air National Guard evolved into a force that was increasingly integrated with the planning and operations of the Air Force . By the end of the decade , the Air Guard had become a larger , more capable , and increasingly diverse organization . 7413th Air Base Group . After the departure of the B - 26 ' s , the 7413th Air Base Group was activated at Bordeaux AB in 1953 . The 7413th provided support to transient aircraft for USAFE tactical fighters deploying to and from the desert gunnery range at Wheelus AB , Libya . In November 1952 , the 12th Air Rescue Group stationed the 81st , 82nd and 83rd Air Rescue Squadrons at Bordeaux , providing air / sea rescue service and practing pilot recoveries at Lake Cazaux near Arcachon . The squadrons flew Sikorsky H - 19B " Chickasaw " helicopters and Grumman SA - 16 Albatross fixed wing amphibian seaplanes . The 12th ARG departed Bordeaux AB in July , 1953 . In late 1953 a joint - use gunnery range was established near Bordeaux at Cazaux AB , a French Air Force facility 34 miles to the southwest of the base . The facility had been used as a gunnery range by the French since the 1920s . By 1955 Bordeaux had been developed into a major transportation portal for aircraft , material and personnel deploying from the United States , to be used in case of an emergency in Europe . The 7413th ABG had several C - 47 Skytrain transport aircraft attached for various duties . Marseille - Marignane Airport . On 20 July 1955 Det . 2 , 7413th Air Base Group was set up at Marignane Airport , near Marseille to set up a flight operations office and facilities to service transient aircraft . Marignane Airport was used at a refueling stop for USAFE aircraft in southern France on their way to North African gunnery ranges in Libya and Morocco . The detachment at Marseille was considered to be a Geographically Separated Unit ( GSU ) and the USAF personnel there were paid in French currency and lived on the local economy . The facilities at Marseille were used until the USAF withdrawal from France in 1966 . Today , Marseille Provence Airport is the 5th busiest airport in France for passenger traffic and 2nd for cargo traffic . USAF closure . By 1957 , the suitability of the Cazaux range was becoming limited due to the upgrading of the USAFE tactical fighter forces . In January the use of the facility was discontinued . However , a Boy Scout facility was established on the former range and was used for many years by American scouts from all across France . On 1 October 1958 , Bordeaux Air Base was closed to reduce USAFE expenses and manpower . All ongoing activities were moved to Châteauroux Air Base . The U . S . Army operated the faclilty for a few years after the Air Force departed , but ended their activities in 1961 and the entire facility returned to French control . Current uses . Today Bordeaux Air Base has been incorporated into Bordeaux ' s civil airport . The old USAF facilities are indistinguishable from the current - day Bordeaux - Mérignac Airport ( ) . It is one of the ten busiest airports in France . As well as its civil use , the French Air Force designated Bordeaux Air Base BA 106 , and it has been used in its strategic air force . As a consequence of the temporary closure of the Cazaux military base , the civil authorities have been forced to share the runaway with the French Army since November 2005 .