Balard shooting range

The Air Ministry now occupies the site, and it also forms part of the parc Suzanne Lenglen situated on the old héliport de Paris, opened in 1957.

It was bounded by the quai d’Issy, the boulevard Victor, the rue de la porte d’Issy in Paris 15ème, and by the rue Jeanne d’Arc [fr], the rue Guynemer [fr], the boulevard Gambetta and the boulevard Gallieni in Issy-les-Moulineaux.

It was here that the first French attempts at powered flight occurred in 1905, which in 1911 accidentally killed Maurice Berteaux, minister for war.

The first massacre occurred on 6 July 1942, with the Kommando für Kapital Verbrechen charged with "managing" the firing range, on the orders of Karl Oberg, chief of SS and police.

143 people were tortured then shot here, including : A plaque commemorating the names of the 143 people executed here was unveiled on 23 April 1961 on the wall of the air ministry (BA 117) on the range's exact site.