ALG A-20 – Lessay
Bataille de Normandie
Battle of Normandy
This page presents the history of ALG (Advanced Landing Groud) A-20, used by the 9th United States Air Force during the Battle of Normandy.
9th United States Air Force
Location: Lessay, Manche (50)
Code: A-20
Coordinates: 49°12’11”N – 000°30’20”W
Construction: from August 1st to 25th, 1944 by the 850th Engineer Aviation Battalion and 877th Engineer Aviation Battalion (EAB)
Operational period: from August 25 to September 28, 1944
Number of airstrips: 2
Airstrip 1: Pierced Steel Plank (PSP)
Length: 1 828,80 m (6 000 feet)
Width: 36,57 m (120 feet)
Azimuth: 67°
Airstrip 2: Pierced Steel Plank (PSP)
Length: 1 524 m (5 000 feet)
Width: 36,57 m (120 feet)
Azimuth: 126°
Units:
– 323rd Bombardment Group (453rd Bombardment Squadron, 454th Bombardment Squadron, 455th Bombardment Squadron, 456th Bombardment Squadron) using B-26 Marauder.
ALG A-20 history:
The American sappers of the 830th Engineer Aviation Battalion (EAB), reinforced by the 850th EAB and 877th EAB, re-use a French airfield (located to the south-east of Lessay) already existing and also reused by the Luftwaffe during the Occupation. However, particularly affected by bombing weeks prior to the release of Lessay, heavy redevelopment work must be undertaken to level the ground and fill the many craters, while cleaning the area of many unexploded shells.
Two tracks covered with Pierced Steel Plank (PSP) are then operational from August 25, 1944. They are longer than most ALGs built in Lower Normandy to the extent that US bombers are planned to settle in Lessay : It’s the B-26 Marauder of the 323rd Bombardment Group.
