Cretteville Airfield is an abandoned

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

military airfield, which is located near the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Cretteville Cretteville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the commune of Picauville. World War II After the liberation of the area by Allied Forces in 1944, engineers ...

in the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Located to the southeast of Cretteville, the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

established a temporary airfield on 23 July 1944, shortly after the Allied landings in France The airfield was constructed by the IX Engineering Command, 819th Engineer Aviation Battalion.

History

Known as

Advanced Landing Ground Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) were temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II during the liberation of Europe. They were built in the UK prior to the invasion and thereafter in northwest Europe from 6 June 19 ...

"A-14", the airfield consisted of a single Prefabricated Hessian Surfacing runway. 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 airfield hosted the 358th and 406th Fighter Groups, both equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts. 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. On 5 July the Group, benefiting from milder weather, was sent to support a large-scale attack in the region of Sainteny - Périers. Very heavy fighting between the American ground forces and Germans reinforced by the arrival of the 2nd SS Panzer without Périers area went fairly slowly. Regarding the aviation cooperation work system with ground troops becoming more effective despite a very aggressive flak causing many casualties. After the Americans moved east into Central France with the advancing Allied armies, the airfield was used as a resupply and casualty evacuation airfield, before being closed on 5 September 1944. . The land returned to agricultural use.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.

Major units assigned

* 365th (CH), 366th (IA), 367th (CP) Fighter Squadrons (P-47)Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . *

406th Fighter Group 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

17 August - 4 September 1944 : 512th (L3), 513th (4P), 514th (O7) Fighter Squadrons (P-47)

Current use

Today there is little or no physical evidence of the airfield's existence, with the land being a mixture of grass meadows, agricultural fields and what appears to be a racetrack to the southeast of Cretteville . The outline of the wartime airfield is very evident by the shape of the fields and meadows. A memorial to the men and units that were stationed at Cretteville Airfield was placed on the entrance wall of the castle of Franquetot along the D 223.

References

External links

A-14 Memorial

A-14 Memorial on the wall of the entrance to the castle along Franquetot D 223.
{{authority control World War II airfields in France Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in France Airports established in 1944

History

Major units assigned

Current use

See also

References

External links