Paris-Orly Airfield

Mission Summaries > May 1944 > Aitfields in May 44

Paris-Orly (FR)

(a.k.a. Orly – Villeneuve-le-Roi)

(48 43 50 N – 02 23 00 E)

General: airfield in N France 14.5 km SSE of Paris and 1.6 km SW of Orly, a suburb of Paris.

History: Orly was a joint military, naval and civil airfield that dated back to at least 1920 when the airship sheds were constructed. The majority of the buildings were former assembly and testing workshops used by the Amiot aircraft firm, the Société Embouttissage Mécanique and the Gnome-Rhône aero engine company. The Luftwaffe greatly extended and developed the airfield after the occupation in Jun 40 and turned it into a major operational and training base.

Dimensions: approx. 1920 x 1510 meters (2100 x 1650 yards).

Surface and Runways: good quality flat grass surface. Had 2 concrete runways – (1) approx. 1280 meters (1400 yards) aligned NNE/SSW; (2) approx. 1280 meters (1400 yards) aligned ENE/WSW. Equipped with boundary lighting, obstruction lighting, permanent runway illumination, flare-paths and a radio beacon.

Fuel and Ammunition: refueling points and underground bulk storage were at the SW corner near the large hangar, on the E boundary and at the SW corner. The main ammunition dumps were located SE of the airfield, S of the airship sheds on the SW corner and on the N boundary near the NE corner.

Infrastructure: Orly had a total of 16 hangars – at the SW corner were 2 very large airship hangar sheds (built of reinforced concrete and their interiors subdivided by blast walls) and 1 large hangar; at the NW corner were 13 small hangars. Workshops were all grouped at the SW corner near the airship hangars. Many personnel were billeted in 3 nearby châteaux off the E and SE boundaries, and some officers in quarters at the SW corner. The officers’ mess was at the NW corner. A light branch rail line served the airfield.

Dispersal: the 3 dispersal areas – North, East and South – had a total of 52 aircraft shelters, almost all covered.

Defenses: protected by 2 heavy and 13 light Flak positions in Jul 43. The positions surrounded the airfield on all sides and all were within 5 km of the landing area.

Remarks:

20 Apr 41: employed 3,413 non-German workers.
20 May 44: bombed by 90 B-17 Fortresses - Ju 252 V-7 from 2./Versuchsverband d.Ob.d.L. destroyed on the ground.
22 May 44: low-level attack by 9th AAF P-38 Lightnings – 8-10 x Ju 88s from II./KG 30 destroyed or damaged on the ground.
24 May 44: bombed by 151 B-24 Liberators – the 2 large airship hangar sheds and 1 small hangar were destroyed and 2 of the admin buildings were damaged.
25 May 44: bombed - Hawker Typhoon from 2./Versuchsverband d.Ob.d.L. destroyed on the ground.
25 Jun 44: bombed by 18 B-17 Fortresses as a target of opportunity. 16 Aug 44: evacuation and demolition of airfield ordered by Luftflotte 3.

Operational Units: I./KG 51 (Jun-Aug 40); Stab/Aufkl.Gr. Ob.d.L. (Jun-Oct 40); Stab/KG 51 (Jun 40 – Mar 41); 2.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. Ob.d.L. (Jun 40 – Jun 41); 1.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. Ob.d.L. (Jul-Nov 40); II./KG 51 (Aug 40 – Apr 41); 3.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. Ob.d.L. (Nov 41 – Feb 42); 3.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. 33 (Jul-Nov 42); Höhenkampfkommando/Versuchsstelle für Höhenflüge (Aug 42); 14./KG 6 (Sep-Oct 42); detachment of Versuchsstaffel für Feindflugzeuge (c. Mar-Jun 44); II./KG 30 (May 44); 6./KG 6 (Jun-Jul 44); TGr. 30 (Jun-Jul 44); Stab, I./KG 30 (Aug 44).

School Units: III./Zerstörerschule 2 (Aug 42 – Feb 43); 2./JFS 5 (Feb-Mar 43); Stab and I./St.G. 102 (Feb – Oct 43); II./SG 101 (Mar 43 – Mar 44).

Reserve Training & Replacement Units: Erg.St./KG 51 (Dec 40 – Jan 41).

Station Commands: Fl.H.Kdtr. E 1/XII (Jun 40); Fl.H.Kdtr. E 6/VII (Jul 40 – Dec 42); Fl.H.Kdtr. A 212/XII (Jan 43 – Mar 44); Fl.H.Kdtr. E(v) 202/XII (Apr-Aug 44).

Station Units (on various dates – not complete): part of Res.Flak-Abt. 441 (Jun 40); I./Festungs-Flak-Rgt. 32 (c. Mar-Jul 41); II./Flak-Rgt. 43 (Jul 40); le.Flak-Abt. 75 (Jul 40); Bauleitung Orly (1940-44).