Saint-Pierre-du-Mont Airfield
Encyclopedia
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont Airfield is an abandoned World War II
military airfield which is located in the Calvados
department in the Basse-Normandie
region
in northern France
.
Located just north of Saint-Pierre-du-Mont
along the English Channel
coast, it was a United States Army Air Force temporary airfield established shortly after the D-Day
landings in France. The airfield was one of the first established in the liberated area of Normandy, being constructed by the IX Engineering Command, 834th Engineer Aviation Battalion.
"A-1", the airfield consisted of a single 5000' (1500m) Square-Mesh Track runway aligned 15/33. In addition, with 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.
Combat units stationed at the airfield were the 366th Fighter Group, which based P-47 Thunderbolt
fighters at the field from 13 June through 5 September 1944.
The fighter planes flew support missions during the Allied invasion of Normandy, patrolling roads in front of the beachhead; stafing German military vehicles and dropping bombs on gun emplacements, anti-aircraft artillery and concentrations of German troops when spotted. In addition to the fighters, elements of the 416th and 322d Bomb Groups dispatched B-26 Marauder
medium bombers from their bases in England
to Saint-Pierre-du-Mont to attack German strong points in Normandy during the initial battles around Saint-Lô
After the Americans moved east into Central France with the advancing Allied Armies, the airfield was dismantled in September 1944 and the land returned to agricultural use. Today there is little or no physical evidence of its existence or its location.
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 in the Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
department in the Basse-Normandie
Basse-Normandie
Lower Normandy is an administrative region of France. It was created in 1956, when the Normandy region was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy...
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...
in 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 north of Saint-Pierre-du-Mont
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, Calvados
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-World War II:During World War II, the area was heavily bombarded on several occasions during May and early June 1944 by Allied bombers, attacking German coastal fortifications of the...
along the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
coast, it was a United States Army Air Force temporary airfield established shortly after the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
landings in France. The airfield was one of the first established in the liberated area of Normandy, being constructed by the IX Engineering Command, 834th 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-1", the airfield consisted of a single 5000' (1500m) Square-Mesh Track runway aligned 15/33. In addition, with 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.
Combat units stationed at the airfield were the 366th Fighter Group, which 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 the field from 13 June through 5 September 1944.
The fighter planes flew support missions during the Allied invasion of Normandy, patrolling roads in front of the beachhead; stafing German military vehicles and dropping bombs on gun emplacements, anti-aircraft artillery and concentrations of German troops when spotted. In addition to the fighters, elements of the 416th and 322d Bomb Groups dispatched B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
medium bombers from their bases in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Saint-Pierre-du-Mont to attack German strong points in Normandy during the initial battles around Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
After the Americans moved east into Central France with the advancing Allied Armies, the airfield was dismantled in September 1944 and the land returned to agricultural use. Today there is little or no physical evidence of its existence or its location.