Gael 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 opposing ...
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 ...
of
Gaël in the
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
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 an ...
of northern
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
The airfield was originally built by the French Air Force in the 1930s. It was used by the French in the 1940 Battle of France by the following units;
* 31st Bombardment Wing Tours
* Wing of Observation of Chartres
After the Fall of France, the following German Luftwaffe units used the base:
* Jagdgeschwader 27
* Schnellkampfgeschwader 1943 JG 12
As part of the
D-Day landings in Normandy, 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 ...
VIII Bomber Command
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of ...
92d Bombardment Group
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
attacked the airfield with twelve
B-17 Flying Fortress bombers on 15 June 1944 (Mission 414) as part of a general bombardment of German airfields in the area. The Gaël area was liberated by Allied Ground Forces around 10 August 1944, and the airfield was repaired by the IX Engineering Command, 850th Engineer Aviation Battalion.
Known as
Advanced Landing Ground "A-31", the airfield consisted of a single 4500' (1363m) Sod/Compressed Earth runway aligned 08/26. 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
354th Fighter Group
The 354th Fighter Group was an element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Ninth Air Force during World War II. The unit was known as the Pioneer Mustang Group and was the first to fly the P-51B Mustang in combat. The group served as bombe ...
, based
P-51 Mustang fighters at Gael from 13 August though 15 September 1944.
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 closed on 28 September 1944. Today the long dismantled airfield is indistinguishable from the agricultural fields in the area.
[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.]
A plaque is dedicated to the 354th Fighter Group who stayed on A base-31 in 1944.
References
External links
A-31 Memorial
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World War II airfields in France
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in France