Beny-sur-Mer Airfield is a former
Second World War
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 opposi ...
airfield, located 1 km north-northeast of
Beny-sur-Mer in the
Lower Normandy
Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.
Geography
The region included three departme ...
region,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
History
Beny-sur-Mer was completed on 15 June 1944 by Royal Engineers, only 10 days after D-Day. It consisted of a 4,000' SMT runway aligned 08/35, dispersal areas, communications facilities, landing lights and many other requirements to run an airfield. Soon after the airfield began seeing use by the RCAF's
401
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Year 401 ( CDI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vincentius and Fravitus (or, less frequently, year 1154 ' ...
,
411 411 may refer to:
* The year AD 411, the four hundred and eleventh year of the Gregorian calendar
* 411 BC
* 4-1-1, a telephone directory assistance number in the United States and Canada
** By extension, a slang term for "information"
* ''What's t ...
and
412
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Year 412 ( CDXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Europe as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Theodosius (or, less frequently, yea ...
Sqn and RAF's
35 Recce Wing (2 and 268 Sqn),
136 Wing (263 Sqn) and
146 Wing (193,197,257,266 Sqn), flying
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered and i ...
s and
Supermarine Spitfires.
Beny-sur-Mer Airfield was used until early August 1944, and afterwards the engineers moved in and dismantled all recoverable equipment along with the SMT. The land was then returned to the French farmers, and over the years, the land has been used as agricultural fields. Today, nothing remains of the former airfield.
References
Beny-sur-Mer (B-4)* 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.
External links
B-4 Memorial
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World War II airfields in France
1944 establishments in France
1944 disestablishments in France