Cardonville Airfield

Cardonville Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield located near the commune of Cardonville in the Normandy region of northern France.

Cardonville Airfield
Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-3
Calvados, Basse-Normandie Region, France
Cardonville Airfield A-3
Cricqueville en Bessin Airfield
Coordinates49°21′04″N 001°03′09″W
TypeMilitary Airfield
Site information
Controlled by  United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built byIX Engineering Command
In useJune–September 1944
MaterialsSquare-Mesh Track (SMT)
Battles/wars
World War II - EAME Theater
  • Normandy Campaign
  • Northern France Campaign
Garrison information
Garrison  Ninth Air Force
Occupants
  • 368th Fighter Group
  • 370th Fighter Group
Airfield information
Runways
Direction Length and surface
15/33 5,000 feet (1,520 m) SMT/PSP
One runway, 4 alert pads, 50 hardstands[1]
P-47 Thunderbolts of the 368th Fighter Group, Cardonville Airfield (A-3) France, Summer 1944.

Located just outside Cardonville, the United States Army Air Force established a temporary airfield shortly after D-Day on 10 June 1944, shortly after the Allied landings in France The airfield was one of the first established in the liberated area of Normandy, being constructed by the IX Engineering Command, 816th Engineer Aviation Battalion.

History

Known as Advanced Landing Ground "A-3", the airfield consisted of a single 5000' (1500m) Square-Mesh Track runway aligned 15/33.

Tents were used for billeting and 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.[2]

The fighter planes flew support missions during the Allied invasion of Normandy, patrolling roads in front of the beachhead, attacking German military vehicles, gun emplacements, anti-aircraft artillery and concentrations of German troops in Normandy and Brittany.

After the Americans moved east into Central France with the advancing Allied Armies, the airfield was left un-garrisoned and used for resupply and casualty evacuation. It was closed on 1 September 1944.[3]

Major units assigned
395th (A7), 396th (C2), 397th (D3) Fighter Squadrons (P-47D)[4]
401st (9D), 402d (E6), 485th (7F) Fighter Squadrons (P-38)[4]

Current use

After its closure by the Americans, the airfield was dismantled in September 1944 and the land returned to agricultural use. Today the airfield is a mixture of various agricultural fields.[3]

A memorial to the men and units that were stationed at Cardonville was placed near the site of the former airfield. It is located in North East Cardonville at the crossroads of the D199A and D199

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

  1. Cardonville Airfield
  2. IX Engineer Command ETO Airfields, Airfield Layout
  3. 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.
  4. Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
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