Brucheville 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 ...

Brucheville Brucheville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Carentan-les-Marais. It is located at the south east corner of the Cherbourg peninsula, about 90 ...

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 in the vicinity of Brucheville, 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 6 July 1944, shortly after the Allied landings in France The airfield was constructed by the IX Engineering Command, 843d 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-16", the airfield consisted of a single 5000' (1500m) Prefabricated Hessian Surfacing/Compressed Earth runway (3600 PHS/1400 ETH) 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 36th Fighter Group, based

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

fighters at Brucheville from 4 July though 25 August 1944. Lt. Col. William Lewis Curry served as commanding officer of the fighter group during this time. 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 casualty evacuation airfield, before being closed on 5 September 1944. The land was 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

* 36th Fighter Group 4 July - 25 August 1944 : 22d (3T), 23d (7U), 53d (6V) Fighter Squadrons (P-47)Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. .

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. A memorial to the men and units that were stationed at Brucheville Airfield is located on the D 913, Carentan Mont-Sainte Marie, 1 km before arriving at Sainte Marie du Mont turn right on the D 424 E toward Brucheville. The monument of the aerodrome A 16 is to the left a few hundred meters.

References

External links

A-16 Memorial

A-16 Brucheville
(In French) {{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