Tour-en-Bessin Airfield

Tour-en-Bessin Airfield
Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-13
Tour-en-Bessin Airfield; Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-13
Basse-Normandie Region, France
	Ground personnel of the 406th Fighter Group refuel P-47 Thunderbolts, including (serial number 44-33057) at Tour-en-Bessin Airfield
	Tour-en-Bessin Airfield
Coordinates	49°17′45″N000°45′41″W / 49.29583°N 0.76139°W Coordinates: 49°17′45″N000°45′41″W / 49.29583°N 0.76139°W
Type	Military Airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built by	IX Engineering Command
In use	July–December 1944
Materials	Prefabricated Hessian Surfacing (PHS)
Battles/wars	; World War II - EAME Theater Normandy Campaign; Northern France Campaign;
Garrison information
Garrison	Ninth Air Force
Occupants	373d Fighter Group; 406th Fighter Group; 394th Bombardment Group;
Airfield information
Runways
12/30	5,000 feet (1,520 m) SMT/PSP
01/19	5,000 feet (1,520 m) SMT/PSP
	Two Runways, 4 alert pads, 50 hardstands

Last updated August 17, 2021

Tour-en-Bessin Airfield is a now-abandoned World War II military airfield near the commune of Tour-en-Bessin in the Normandy region of northern France.

History

Known as Advanced Landing Ground "A-13", the airfield consisted of a main 5000 foot long (1500 m) pierced steel planking (PSP) runway aligned 12/30 and a secondary 5000 foot PSP runway aligned 01/19. Tents were used for billeting and support facilities. An access road was built to the existing road infrastructure, as were a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a potable water and electrical power for communications and station lighting.^[2]

The 373rd and 406th Fighter Groups flew P-47 Thunderbolts from Tour en Bessin. The fighters flew support missions during the Allied push into France, patrolling roads, strafing German military vehicles and bombing gun emplacements, anti-aircraft artillery, and concentrations of German troops in Normandy and Brittany. The B-26 Marauder 394th Bombardment Group also was assigned to the airfield.

After US forces moved east into central France with the advancing Allied armies, the airfield was used as a resupply and casualty evacuation airfield for several months, before being closed on 2 December 1944. The land returned to agricultural use.^[3]

Major units assigned

373rd Fighter Group 19 July - 19 August 1944

410th (R3), 411th (U9), 412th (V5) Fighter Squadrons (P-47)^[4]

406th Fighter Group 30 July - 17 August 1944

512th (L3), 513th (4P), 514th (O7) Fighter Squadrons (P-47)^[4]

394th Bombardment Group 25 August - 18 September 1944

584th (K5), 585th (4T), 586th (H9), 587th (SW) Bombardment Squadrons (B-26)^[4]

Current use

Today there is little or no physical evidence of the airfield's existence, although the south end of the 01/19 runway is visible by the curvature of some fields, and some slight ground disturbance in a field to the east probably is from the 12/30 runway.^[5]

A memorial to the men and units that were stationed at Tour-en-Bessin was placed on the D613 (former N13) between Vaucelles and Tour-en-Bessin.

Related Research Articles

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References

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

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

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[DJ-1] Tour-en-Bessin 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.

[Sqd-4] 1 2 3 Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.

[5] 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

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