Lignerolles Airfield
Encyclopedia
Lignerolles Airfield is an abandoned World War II
military airfield, which is located near the commune
of Lignerolles
in the Haute-Normandie
region
of northern France
.
Located just outside of Lignerolles (likely to the northwest of the commune), the United States Army Air Force established a temporary airfield on 6 July 1944, shortly after the Allied landings in France The airfield was constructed by the IX Engineering Command, 820th Engineer Aviation Battalion.
"A-12", the airfield consisted of a single 5000' (1500m) Prefabricated Hessian Surfacing runway aligned 07/25. In addition, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a drinkable water and minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting.
The 362d Fighter Group
, based P-47 Thunderbolt
fighters at Lignerolles from 2 July through 10 August 1944. They were replaced on 15 August by the 365th Fighter Group
, also flying P-47s, until 3 September 1944.
The fighter planes flew support missions during the Allied invasion of Normandy, patrolling roads in front of the beachhead; strafing German military vehicles and dropping bombs on gun emplacements, anti-aircraft artillery and concentrations of German troops in Normandy and Brittany when spotted.
After the Americans moved east into Central France with the advancing Allied Armies, the airfield was used as a resupply and causality evacuation airfield for several months, before being closed on 4 November 1944. Today the airfield is indistinguishable from the agricultural fields in the area.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
military airfield, which is located near the commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Lignerolles
Lignerolles, Eure
Lignerolles is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-World War II:After the liberation of the area by Allied Forces in 1944, engineers of the Ninth Air Force IX Engineering Command began construction of a combat Advanced Landing Ground outside of the town...
in the Haute-Normandie
Haute-Normandie
Upper Normandy is one of the 27 regions of France. It was created in 1984 from two départements: Seine-Maritime and Eure, when Normandy was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. This division continues to provoke controversy, and some continue to call for reuniting the two regions...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
of northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Located just outside of Lignerolles (likely to the northwest of the commune), the United States Army Air Force established a temporary airfield on 6 July 1944, shortly after the Allied landings in France The airfield was constructed by the IX Engineering Command, 820th Engineer Aviation Battalion.
History
Known as Advanced Landing GroundAdvanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground was the term given to the temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II in support of the invasion of Europe...
"A-12", the airfield consisted of a single 5000' (1500m) Prefabricated Hessian Surfacing runway aligned 07/25. In addition, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a drinkable water and minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting.
The 362d Fighter Group
362d Fighter Group
The 362d Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, stationed at Biggs Field, Texas. It was inactivated on 3 August 1946....
, based P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
fighters at Lignerolles from 2 July through 10 August 1944. They were replaced on 15 August by the 365th Fighter Group
365th Fighter Group
The 365th Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Army Service Forces stationed at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts. It was inactivated on 22 September 1945....
, also flying P-47s, until 3 September 1944.
The fighter planes flew support missions during the Allied invasion of Normandy, patrolling roads in front of the beachhead; strafing German military vehicles and dropping bombs on gun emplacements, anti-aircraft artillery and concentrations of German troops in Normandy and Brittany when spotted.
After the Americans moved east into Central France with the advancing Allied Armies, the airfield was used as a resupply and causality evacuation airfield for several months, before being closed on 4 November 1944. Today the airfield is indistinguishable from the agricultural fields in the area.
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground