Perthes Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the commune of Perthes in the Champagne-Ardenne department of northern France.
| Perthes Airfield Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-65  | |
|---|---|
Champagne-Ardenne Region, France
  Perthes Airfield Perthes Airfield (France) | |
| Coordinates | 48°39′25″N 004°49′21″E / 48.65694°N 4.82250°E |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
| Site history | |
| Built by | IX Engineering Command |
| In use | September–October 1944 |
| Materials | Grass |
Located probably north of the commune, it was a United States Army Air Force temporary airfield established during the Northern France Campaign in September 1944. Its primary use was for P-47 Thunderbolt fighters of the Ninth Air Force 371st Fighter Group.
History
editKnown as Advanced Landing Ground "A-65", the airfield consisted of a single 5000' grass runway aligned 10/28. In addition, with 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.[1]
Combat units stationed at the airfield were the 371st Fighter Group, between 18 September-1 October 1944 which 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 when spotted.[2]
After the Americans moved east with the advancing Allied Armies, the airfield was closed on 5 October 1944, and the land was returned to its owners. Today there is little or no physical evidence of its existence or its location.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ IX Engineer Command ETO Airfields, Airfield Layout
- ^ 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.