A1 Advanced Landing Ground

K.V.U.Gruppe Percée (Omaha Beach) · AOK 7 Normandy · France

Advanced Landing Ground A1

Construction of the airfield began on 7 June, the day after the initial invasion, and was completed on 8 June at 1800 hrs The airfield was completed only 2 days after the D-Day landings in France. It was pressed into service as Emergency Landing Strip 1 (ELS A-1) with a 1,000 m × 35 m (3,281 ft × 115 ft) untracked (grass/dirt) runway. It served only small observation aircraft at that time. Just over 24 hours later (18:45) it had been upgraded from a Refueling and Rearming Strip (RRS A-1) to an Advanced Landing Ground (ALG A-1), able to handle aircraft up to the C-47 transport. From 10 June 1944 an RAF Ames Type 15 GCI radar site became active at the airfield, the only survivor of three that were accidentally sent to the Normandy beaches on D-Day, instead of D-Day+3 of the invasion.

Advanced Landing Ground A1

Memorial to the airfield.

11 October 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 October 2012

Advanced Landing Ground A1

11 October 2012

Advanced Landing Ground A1

Notice board. On the 9th June 1944 the construction of the Airfield A-1 (code named 'Fry') was started here by the 834th Air Engineer Battalion. The 366th Fighter Group of the 9th US Air Force, commanded by Colonel Holt, was based here from 13th June until 24th August 1944.

11 October 2012

Advanced Landing Ground A1

US Sign. Corps.

Advanced Landing Ground A1

834th Air Engineer Battalion at work.

American Air Museum in Britain archive

Advanced Landing Ground A1

834th Air Engineer Battalion at work.

American Air Museum in Britain archive

Advanced Landing Ground A1

Sommerfeld tracking. 834th Air Engineer Battalion at work.

American Air Museum in Britain archive

Advanced Landing Ground A1

Laying pierced steel planking.

American Air Museum in Britain archive

Advanced Landing Ground A1

One of the first L-4's taking off.

American Air Museum in Britain archive

Advanced Landing Ground A1

"Major General Elwood R. Quesada talks with a member of the 834th Engineer Aviation Battalion during his visit to St. Pierre Du Mont Airfield, Normandy, France."

American Air Museum in Britain archive ------------------- American Air Museum in Britain archive

"A powerful Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of the 9th Air force roars off, on to another mission from a dusty, steel-meshed runway somewhere in the liberated section of France." - P-47D 42-74676 362nd FG, seen here launching from Lignerolles airfield (A-12), France, their base from 2-Jul to 9-Aug-44.

American Air Museum in Britain archive Information