Somme __NOTOC__
Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places
*Somme (department), a department of France
* Somme, Queensland, Australia
* Canal de la Somme, a canal in France
*Somme (river), a river in France
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Somme'' (book), ...
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...
in northern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Geography
Gorges is situated on the D933 road, some east of
Abbeville
Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France.
It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu.
Geography
Location
A ...
.
Population
World War II
After the liberation of the area by Allied Forces in 1944, engineers of the
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...
IX Engineering Command began construction of a combat Advanced Landing Ground outside of the town. Declared operational on 16 August, the airfield was designated as " A-26", it was used by the 379th Bombardment Group which flew
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company.
First used in t ...
medium bombers until early September when the unit moved into Central France. Afterward, the airfield was closed.Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. .