French defence cuts coming into effect and starting to bite. Yesterday saw the last flying activity at Cambrai-Epinoy BA 103 with the 'official' disbandment ceremony of EC 1/12 "Cambrésis" with their Tiger banner and traditions being tranferred to the EC 1/7 "Provence" flying the Rafale at Saint-Dizier. Note the Rafale toting its MICA air-to-air missiles. EC 1/12 has been at Cambrai-Epinoy since 1952 and the height of the Cold War. The three runways at Cambrai were constructed by the German Fritz Todt Organisation in 1941 and their construction employed over 1,000 local workers. The Dornier bombers of
Kampfgeschwader KG 2 operated through much of WWII against the UK from here.
Pics by work colleague and good friend Nico Charpentier, trying out a brand-new 1,300 euro lens! Click on the images for a larger view.
More from Cambrai on this blog
http://falkeeinsgreatplanes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/nato-tigers-50th-anniversary-meet-ba.html
Report on the dissolution of the EC 1/12 in the regional press, la Voix du Nord
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/Locales/Cambrai/actualite/Cambrai/2012/03/30/article_ba-103-dernier-acte-scene-1-alinea-1-12.shtml
