Bordeaux Souge Air Base

Military restructuring and strategic consolidation. Following WWII, the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) centralized its operations at larger, more modern facilities with concrete runways capable of handling jet aircraft. The nearby Bordeaux-Mérignac Air Base (BA 106) became the primary air base for the region, rendering the pre-war grass airfield at Souge obsolete. The land was then fully absorbed by the French Army for ground forces training.

The site is now an integral part of the active 'Camp de Souge', one of the largest military training areas in France, operated by the French Army (Armée de Terre). The faint, ghostly outlines of the former runways and taxiways are still visible in satellite imagery, but they are overgrown and crisscrossed by tank trails and access roads. The area is used extensively for ground combat training, armored vehicle maneuvers, and live-fire exercises. The camp also hosts the 'Mémorial de Souge', a national memorial dedicated to the Resistance members who were executed there.

Bordeaux Souge Air Base, located within the vast Camp de Souge military complex, has a rich and somber history.

- **Early Aviation Pioneer (c. 1912):** Established as one of France's early military airfields, it was a center for aviation development before World War I.

- **World War I:** It served as a major training center for French military pilots and observers. It also hosted American forces, becoming the location of the 2nd Aviation Instruction Center for the American Expeditionary Forces, where observers were trained.

- **Interwar Period:** The airfield remained an active base for the French Air Force.

- **World War II:** After the Fall of France in 1940, the base was seized and used by the German Luftwaffe. The surrounding Camp de Souge gained a tragic reputation during this period as the site of one of the largest mass executions in occupied France, where the Nazis shot over 250 French Resistance fighters and political prisoners between 1940 and 1944. The airfield was part of the military complex where these atrocities occurred.

None. The land is a vital, active military training ground for the French Army. Its current use for ground-based military exercises is entirely incompatible with any form of aviation. There are no plans, discussions, or prospects for its reopening as an airport.