Cardonville Airfield

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

Located just outside of 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.

Combat units stationed at the airfield were the 368th Fighter Group, which based P-47 Thunderbolt fighters at Cardonville from 20 June though 23 August 1944, and the 370th Fighter Group, which based P-38 Lightning fighters at the airfield from 24 July though 15 August 1944.

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 used for resupply and casualty evacuation. It was closed on 1 September 1944. Today the airfield is a mixture of various agricultural fields.