Tantonville Airfield
Encyclopedia
Tantonville Airfield is an abandoned World War II
United States Army Air Forces
military airfield in France
, which was located in the Département de Meurthe-et-Moselle
approximately 18 kilometres (11.2 mi) north of Mirecourt
and 18 kilometres (11.2 mi) south-southeast of Neuves-Maisons
.
(PSP) runway, aligned 01/19. In addition the airfield contained a large parking apron, as well as for dispersal sites. 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. It was known as Tantonville Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground
Y-1 and released to Ninth Air Force
on 25 December 1944.
The XIX Tactical Air Command
100th Fighter Wing 371st Fighter Group
moved onto the field even before it was officially completed on 20 December, with three squadrons of P-47 Thunderbolts. They remained until 15 February until moving east.
The Twelfth Air Force 86th Fighter Group and its 525th, 526th, and 527th Squadrons operated P-47 Thunderbolt
s from the airfield between late February to mid-April 1945 before moving east to a captured Luftwaffe
airfield at Braunshardt, Germany
(Y-72) near Darmstadt
.
After the 86th moved out the airfield was manned by the 98th Service Squadron. It was used as a resupply and casualty evacuation airfield for the balance of the war. It was then dismantled and the land returned to civil authorities on 11 May 1945. The area where Tantonville Airfield was constructed is now an agricultural area, although the ground still shows evidence of its runway and parking apron.
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...
United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
military airfield in 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...
, which was located in the Département de Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meurthe-et-Moselle is a department in the Lorraine region of France, named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers.- History :Meurthe-et-Moselle was created in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe which remained French...
approximately 18 kilometres (11.2 mi) north of Mirecourt
Mirecourt
Mirecourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particularly those of the violin family...
and 18 kilometres (11.2 mi) south-southeast of Neuves-Maisons
Neuves-Maisons
Neuves-Maisons is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France....
.
History
The airfield was constructed by the IX Engineer Command as a temporary facility, with a 5000' x 120' all weather pierced steel plankingMarsden Matting
Marsden Matting is standardized, perforated steel matting material originally developed by the United States at the Waterways Experiment Station shortly before World War II, primarily for the rapid construction of temporary runways and landing strips...
(PSP) runway, aligned 01/19. In addition the airfield contained a large parking apron, as well as for dispersal sites. 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. It was known as Tantonville Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced 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...
Y-1 and released to Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
on 25 December 1944.
The XIX Tactical Air Command
XIX Tactical Air Command
The XIX Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The unit's last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force based at Biggs Field, Texas...
100th Fighter Wing 371st Fighter Group
371st Fighter Group
The 371st Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Army Service Forces stationed at Camp Shanks , New Jersey...
moved onto the field even before it was officially completed on 20 December, with three squadrons of P-47 Thunderbolts. They remained until 15 February until moving east.
The Twelfth Air Force 86th Fighter Group and its 525th, 526th, and 527th Squadrons operated 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...
s from the airfield between late February to mid-April 1945 before moving east to a captured Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
airfield at Braunshardt, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(Y-72) near Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
.
After the 86th moved out the airfield was manned by the 98th Service Squadron. It was used as a resupply and casualty evacuation airfield for the balance of the war. It was then dismantled and the land returned to civil authorities on 11 May 1945. The area where Tantonville Airfield was constructed is now an agricultural area, although the ground still shows evidence of its runway and parking apron.
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground