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Created at the end of the Second world War, on the ruins of the German military basis of Mont-de-Marsan, to receive the Center of military aerial experiences of the airforce initially, the air base 118 actually inherits an a lot older aeronautic past. The implantation of the activity aeronautic montoise carries up indeed in the beginning of the XXème century.
 

OF THE BEGINNINGS OF THE AVIATION MONTOISE...

The history of the aviation montoise begins in 1911 with the organization of the first rally aerial montois. That year, two civil aviators, Lafargues and Labouchères, achieve perilous aeronautic exhibitions. During World War I, the hippodrome of Mont-de-Marsan is transformed in military land. Some pilots come to drag itself of it - with, among them, captain Guynemer.

The aéroclub of the Landes:

The postwar is a period of renewal for the aviation montoise. To the continuation of a demonstration of René Vinchon and Adrienne Bolland (first French aviatrix to have executed the looping), a few young montois fascinated of aviation decides to create an aéroclub. Henri Farbos, an industrial montois, inaugurates the aéroclub officially January 5, 1928 and becomes the president of it.

                                                 Henri Farbos before the hangar of the aéroclub of the Landes
                                                       (3rd man while leaving from the left)


The first years of the aéroclub are worthy of the heroic times of the aviation: one time where the pilots put their devices on the lawn of the hippodrome. The pilots montois and landais are formed on Morane by pilot chiefs descended of the Aéropostale. It is to this time that come, for formations or the aerial demonstrations, of the famous pilots like Châteaubrun, Rotating, Lotti, Lefèvre. or some pionnières of aeronautics as Helen Boucher, Maryse Hils and Andrée Dupeyron. But the activity of the aéroclub doesn't limit itself soon more to the maintenance of the devices, to the preparation of the piloting patents and to the organization of the rallies: he/it also brings an efficient contribution to the protection of the forest landaise against the fires while assuring of the flights of surveillance and location.

The aeronautic infrastructures develop themselves. The airfield of Dax as well as many emergency lands in the Moors are constructed on the initiative of Henri Farbos. The land of the hippodrome of Mont-de-Marsan becomes very quickly insufficient: the equestrian activities don't leave enough time to the aeronautic activities. The township decides to acquire several hundreds of hectares by the farmers then of Mont-de-Marsan and an airfield opens its hangars since 1934. The aéroclub achieves a modern infrastructure there, remarkable for the time. About fifty pilots will be patented by the aéroclub of 1934 to 1939. 

The Mauboussin 123 of Fouga :

To the initiative of Pierre Cot, minister of air in 1936, the government of the Popular Front institutes a program to allow the youngsters descended of the working classes to start learning least cost to the techniques of piloting. in the goal to encourage the recruitment of young pilots within the airforce in case of conflict. The Ministry of air orders to the Fouga society and Co, created in 1936 to Area-on-l'Adour, a plane two-seater school: the Mauboussin 123. The Fouga society uses about forty people then in the factory situated close to facilities of the station. The tests of the Mauboussin 123 are done to Mont-de-Marsan since the end of the year 1936.


The Wings montoises :

Following the announcement of the program of the popular aviation and in an especially uneasy political context, a part of the members of the aéroclub dissociates to create the Club of popular aviation of the Moors that opens since February 1937. One year later, the new aéroclub takes the name of the Wings montoises of which Andrée Dupeyron will be the most prominent personality.

Andrée Dupeyron

The German occupation :

The war explodes. The site of Mont-de-Marsan receives an annex of the school of the air of Lounge-of-Provence then relocated to Bordeaux-Mérignac. But the site is occupied by the Luftwaffe dice June 1940. The Germans undertake gigantic works, install some hangars and construct a track made of concrete. The German basis welcomes a school of hunt equipped with Messerschmitt 109 and a squadron of Junker 290. It becomes the starting point of the aerial recognition missions on the Atlantic facade for the attack of the maritime convoys allied.


...To THE AIR BASE 118

After the war, the headquarters of the airforce decides to reorganize the Center of military aerial experiences (CEAM) then situated in Orleans. The center is displaced to Mount-of-Marsan under the command of colonel Kostia Wladimir Rozanoff. The air base 118 is created on the ruins of the German infrastructures. with, for main mission, the experimentation of all aerial materials conceived by the French aeronautic industry.
With the years, the missions assigned to the air base diversified. Some changed, others disappeared. to the picture of an airforce in constant evolution.


Some major évènements :

Some dates marked the history of the air base of Mont-de-Marsan, but also the one of the French military aviation :
The strategic nuclear mission is confided to the air base of Mont-de-Marsan in 1964, with the implantation of units dedicated to the setting in work of the Mirage IV and the C135 FR. In 1996, the Mirage IV is transformed and, with him, the squadron of bombardment that is replaced by the strategic recognition squadron. Less ten years later, in June 2005, the Mirage IV is withdrawn definitely from strengths and the ERS is dissolved.
 

IV mirage June 2005: the end of one giant

The air base 118 is charged of the aerial defense mission with the implantation on its site of the Center of operations of zone and the Center of detection and control (CDC) in 1969. The mission of formation bound to this particular activity is confided to him close to fifteen years later with the creation of the Center of instruction of the control and the aerial defense (CICDA) in 1986.

 

The Rafale

In the setting of the experimentations of the CEAM, the air base of Mont-de-Marsan received the first Gust delivered to the airforce by the Dassault factories in December 2004. With the arrival of this plane of the millennial IIIème, the air base continues to construct its history.

The air base of Mont de Marsan in some dates