Villeneuve les Vertus Aerodrome

Villeneuve les Vertus Aerodrome, was a temporary World War I airfield in France. It was located 3.4 mi Northeast of Vertus, in the Marne department in north-eastern France.

Overview
The airfield was used by the 94th and 95th Aero Squadrons, Air Service, United States Army in early 1918. It is particularly notable, as it was the first airfield in France used by the Americans for air combat operations on the Western Front.

The 94th arrived on 20 February 1918 without any aircraft, and it wasn't until two weeks later, on 8 March that seven planes arrived from Orly Field, near Paris. However, the panes were unarmed. Despite this, the first combat flights of the Air Service were flown the next day, although due to the lack of armament, the pilots were not allowed to cross over the lines to enemy controlled airspace. On 5 March, the 95th Aero Squadron arrived at the airfield, and the two squadrons accompanied by patrols of French Escadrilles, they made trips to the front to get acquainted with the area.

By 1 April, both squadrons moved to Gengault Aerodrome, near Toul to form the 1st Pursuit Group and Villeneuve les Vertus Aerodrome was turned over to the French Air Service (Aéronautique Militaire) and it's history is undetermined. After the 1918 Armistice with Germany, the airfield was returned to agricultural use. Today it is a series of cultivated fields located north of Villeneuve-Renneville-Chevigny east of the Départmental 12 (D12), with no indications of its wartime use.

Known units assigned

 * 94th Aero Squadron (Pursuit) 5 March-1 April 1918
 * 95th Aero Squadron (Pursuit) 18 February-1 April 1918