In July 1940, the Luftwaffe stationed Erprobungsgruppe 210, a Messerschmitt Bf 110C/D heavy fighter/bomber unit at the airport, taking part in the Battle of Britain that summer.

[1] In addition, a reconnaissance unit, Aufklärungsgruppe 12 was assigned to Denain in October 1940 with Henschel Hs 126 twin-seat light observation planes.

[1] In response to the interceptor attacks, Denain was attacked by USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauder medium bombers and P-47 Thunderbolts mostly with 500-pound General-Purpose bombs; unguided rockets and .50 caliber machine gun sweeps when Eighth Air Force heavy bombers (B-17s, B-24s) were within interception range of the Luftwaffe aircraft assigned to the base.

[3][4] C-47 Skytrain transports moved in and out of the American-controlled airfield almost immediately after the runway was repaired, supplying the front line forces with the necessary materiel to support their advance.

After being used for a brief time as a storage depot for excess aircraft after the war ended by Air Technical Service Command, the Americans turned the airfield back over to French authorities on 25 June 1945.

It was uneconomical to repair the prewar airport, and as a result the facility was demolished, with the French Army sending in unexploded ordnance teams to remove the dangerous munitions.

Reconstruction of the airport included an entirely new asphalt runway, aligned 11/29, along with appropriate taxiways, ramp space and new infrastructure buildings on the north-west side of the airfield.