Clairmarais aerodrome (also known as Clairmarais North, not to be confused with the newer Clairmarais South), at Clairmarais, Pas-de-Calais, France, near St. Omer and not far from

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

, was an airfield used by the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

(RFC) and later

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The site was briefly reused by the Germans during the

occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an Military Administration (Nazi Germany), interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western French Third ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

First World War

Clairmarais aerodrome (at Clairmarais, Pas-de-Calais) was used by the

(RFC) and later the

(RAF) during the

. RFC/ RAF squadrons 1, 20, 27, 49, 54, 58, 65, 74 and 98 were all stationed at the aerodrome at some point or other, as were No. 9 Squadron

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

(later

No. 209 Squadron RAF Number 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS)Rawlings 1978, p. 324. and saw active servi ...

) and No. 4 Squadron

Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...

. The flight during which

Thomas Mottershead Thomas Mottershead Victoria Cross, VC, Distinguished Conduct Medal, DCM (17 January 1892 – 12 January 1917) was an England, English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the en ...

earned his

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, and as a result of which he died, took off from Clairmarais aerodrome in a Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2d on 7 January 1917.

Fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

Harry Cobby Air Commodore Arthur Henry Cobby, (26 August 1894 – 11 November 1955) was an Australian air force, military aviator. He was the leading flying ace, fighter ace of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) during World War I, despite seeing acti ...

, later Air Commodore Arthur Henry Cobby, CBE, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, GM, claimed almost half of his kills while based at Clairmarais aerodrome. A photograph of pilots of No. 1 Squadron Royal Air Force and their

Royal Aircraft Factory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

S.E.5a Scouts at the airfield, taken by 2nd Lt David McLellan in July 1918, is in the collection of the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

. This photograph, with the aircraft drawn up tail-to-tail, established a tradition for No. 1 Squadron, which has used the same format for squadron photographs in the succeeding decades.

Second World War

During World War II, the airfield was rebuilt for use by the ''

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

'' as a satellite of their main St. Omer fighter air station, which was situated between Longuenesse and

Wizernes Wizernes (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It lies southwest of Saint-Omer on the banks of the river Aa (France), Aa at the D928 and D211 road junction. The commune is twinned with Ensdorf, ...

; there was no hardened runway at Clairmarais and the damp ground conditions made it unusable in wet weather. A small

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

made of

corrugated iron Corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America), zinc (in Cyprus and Nigeria) or ...

was disguised as a church. On the south side of the airfield was a dispersal area equipped with more than thirty aircraft revetments. The airfield was used by ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26 during 1940 and 1941, but had become disused by 1942. Allied photographic reconnaissance in March 1944 showed that the runway had been permanently obstructed by trenches and mine craters. (pp. 334–335)

References

External links

{{Commons category
Clairmarais Camel
– painting depicting a Sopwith Camel on approach to Clairmarais aerodrome in April 1918
Clairmarais aerodrome on film
– probably around late April or May 1918 Royal Air Force stations in Europe Pas-de-Calais Royal Flying Corps airfields World War I sites of the United Kingdom