| Pontorson Airfield Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-28  | |
|---|---|
| Basse-Normandie Region, France | |
  Pontorson Airfield | |
| Coordinates | 48°32′57″N001°29′18″W / 48.54917°N 1.48833°W Coordinates: 48°32′57″N001°29′18″W / 48.54917°N 1.48833°W |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
| Site history | |
| Built by | IX Engineering Command |
| In use | August–September 1944 |
| Materials | Prefabricated Hessian Surfacing (PHS) |
| Battles/wars | Western Front (World War II) Northern France Campaign |
Pontorson Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the commune of Pontorson in the Normandy region of northern France.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
The commune is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, Gemeinden in Germany, comuni in Italy or ayuntamiento in Spain. The United Kingdom has no exact equivalent, as communes resemble districts in urban areas, but are closer to parishes in rural areas where districts are much larger. Communes are based on historical geographic communities or villages and are vested with significant powers to manage the populations and land of the geographic area covered. The communes are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France.
Pontorson is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, the former communes of Macey and Vessey were merged into Pontorson.
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Located just outside Pontorson (likely to the northeast), the United States Army Air Force established a temporary airfield on 7 August 1944, shortly after the Allied landings in France The airfield was constructed by the IX Engineering Command, 819th Engineer Aviation Battalion.
