Sparky67
23-01-2011, 22:38
A few years ago we spent half a day watching parachutists and mooching around the once Luftwaffe-occupied airfield at Vannes in France.
The airfield can be seen here 3901 in Google Earth.
At the time it was possible to drive a fair way around the peri-track, passing some of the old German buildings (one of my kids very nearly trod on a snake basking in the sun outside this one...) :-o and a few original Luftwaffe hangars.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5203/5382441214_325573bfc0_z.jpg
There was a museum (http://www.mavamo.fr/topic/index-en.html)in one of the hangars which at the time had a Merlin engine amongst its displays, and a few airframes parked outside. The people in there were very friendly.
As we drove around the northern and eastern sides of the airfield we found quite a few of the old dispersed hardstandings - not difficult to imagine Heinkel 111's of KGr100 parked there being serviced during the Battle of Britain - some of their bombs dropped not far from where I live in Birmingham !
Well worth a visit if you are ever holidaying in the Morbihan area of S Brittany.
More stuff (in French but with photos) is here (http://absa39-45.forumpro.fr/t21-aerodrome-de-vannes-meucon)
The airfield can be seen here 3901 in Google Earth.
At the time it was possible to drive a fair way around the peri-track, passing some of the old German buildings (one of my kids very nearly trod on a snake basking in the sun outside this one...) :-o and a few original Luftwaffe hangars.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5203/5382441214_325573bfc0_z.jpg
There was a museum (http://www.mavamo.fr/topic/index-en.html)in one of the hangars which at the time had a Merlin engine amongst its displays, and a few airframes parked outside. The people in there were very friendly.
As we drove around the northern and eastern sides of the airfield we found quite a few of the old dispersed hardstandings - not difficult to imagine Heinkel 111's of KGr100 parked there being serviced during the Battle of Britain - some of their bombs dropped not far from where I live in Birmingham !
Well worth a visit if you are ever holidaying in the Morbihan area of S Brittany.
More stuff (in French but with photos) is here (http://absa39-45.forumpro.fr/t21-aerodrome-de-vannes-meucon)