France Field
| France Air Force Base | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | United States Air Force | ||||||||||
| Location | Colón, Panama | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 8 m / 26 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 09°21′24″N 079°52′03″W / 9.35667°N 79.86750°WCoordinates: 09°21′24″N 079°52′03″W / 9.35667°N 79.86750°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 France AFB
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Source: DAFIF
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France Air Force Base (IATA: ONX, ICAO: MPEJ) is a former United States Air Force base located in Colón, Panama. Following its closure in 1979, it was redeveloped into Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport.
Initially established as Coco Walk Aerodrome in March 1918
What would become Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport has its origins before World War I, when on Sunday, 27 April 1913, the Isthmus of Panama was first overflown from a beach near Balboa, on the Pacific side, to the shores near Cristobal on the Atlantic side by an airplane. During the flight, an aerial camera was aboard the aircraft and a primitive motion picture was made of the Panama Canal, which was still not finished. It was realized by the United States authorities that it was possible that, in the future, an enemy of the United States could attack the canal, and possibly use bombs against it, carried on aircraft.
With the entry of the United States into World War I, concern for the security of the canal saw the first airborne forces of the Army being sent to the Canal Zone. Plans were made for the establishment of eight aeronautical stations, with a strength of two dirigibles and six or eight seaplanes for observation. The only site identified as immediately usable was at Coco Solo, near Colon. An emergency appropriation of $1,000,000 was rushed though Congress for this purpose. In addition to the airdrome, the facility would also house a Naval submarine base.
Initially garrisoned at Ancon, the 7th Aero Squadron was organized on 29 March 1917 with 51 officers and men. The unit moved several times to temporary facilities until finally settling in at their permanent facility in a former swamp called Coco Walk in March 1918. Shortly afterwords, on 24 April 1918, 1st Lieutenant Howard J. France crashed an unidentified "hydroplane" into Gatun Lake. He was the first Army pilot killed in the Canal Zone on active duty, and France Field was named in his honor.
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