Tour-en-Bessin Airfield
| Tour-en-Bessin Airfield Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-13 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basse-Normandie Region, France | |||||||||
 Ground personnel of the 406th Fighter Group refuel P-47 Thunderbolts, including (serial number 44-33057) at Tour-en-Bessin Airfield | |||||||||
  Tour-en-Bessin Airfield | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 49°17′45″N 000°45′41″W / 49.29583°N 0.76139°W | ||||||||
| Type | Military Airfield | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Controlled by |  United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built by | IX Engineering Command | ||||||||
| In use | July–December 1944 | ||||||||
| Materials | Prefabricated Hessian Surfacing (PHS) | ||||||||
| Battles/wars |  World War II - EAME Theater
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| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Garrison |  Ninth Air Force | ||||||||
| Occupants |
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| Airfield information | |||||||||
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| Two Runways, 4 alert pads, 50 hardstands[1] | |||||||||
Tour-en-Bessin Airfield is a now-abandoned World War II military airfield near the commune of Tour-en-Bessin in the Normandy region of northern France.
The United States Army Air Force established a temporary airfield on 12 July 1944, shortly after the Allied landings in France. It was constructed by the IX Engineering Command, 833rd and 846th Engineer Aviation Battalions.
History
[edit]Known as Advanced Landing Ground "A-13", the airfield consisted of a main 5000 foot long (1500 m) pierced steel planking (PSP) runway aligned 12/30 and a secondary 5000 foot PSP runway aligned 01/19. Tents were used for billeting and support facilities. An access road was built to the existing road infrastructure, as were a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a potable water and electrical power for communications and station lighting.[2]
The 373rd and 406th Fighter Groups flew P-47 Thunderbolts from Tour en Bessin. The fighters flew support missions during the Allied push into France, patrolling roads, strafing German military vehicles and bombing gun emplacements, anti-aircraft artillery, and concentrations of German troops in Normandy and Brittany. The B-26 Marauder 394th Bombardment Group also was assigned to the airfield.
After US forces moved east into central France with the advancing Allied armies, the airfield was used as a resupply and casualty evacuation airfield for several months, before being closed on 2 December 1944. The land returned to agricultural use.[3]
Major units assigned
[edit]- 373rd Fighter Group 19 July - 19 August 1944
- 410th (R3), 411th (U9), 412th (V5) Fighter Squadrons (P-47)[4]
- 406th Fighter Group 30 July - 17 August 1944
- 512th (L3), 513th (4P), 514th (O7) Fighter Squadrons (P-47)[4]
- 394th Bombardment Group 25 August - 18 September 1944
- 584th (K5), 585th (4T), 586th (H9), 587th (SW) Bombardment Squadrons (B-26)[4]
Current use
[edit]Today there is little or no physical evidence of the airfield's existence, although the south end of the 01/19 runway is visible by the curvature of some fields, and some slight ground disturbance in a field to the east probably is from the 12/30 runway.[5]
A memorial to the men and units that were stationed at Tour-en-Bessin was placed on the D613 (former N13) between Vaucelles and Tour-en-Bessin.
References
[edit]- ^ Tour-en-Bessin Airfield
- ^ IX Engineer Command ETO Airfields, Airfield Layout
- ^ Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
- ^ a b c Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- ^ Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
External links
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