Tour-en-Bessin Airfield

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. The 373rd and 406th Fighter Groups flew Republic 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 Martin 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 22 December 1944. The land returned to agricultural use. ==Major units assigned==

• 373rd Fighter Group 19 July - 19 August 1944 : 410th (R3), 411th (U9), 412th (V5) Fighter Squadrons (P-47) • 406th Fighter Group 30 July - 17 August 1944 : 512th (L3), 513th (4P), 514th (O7) Fighter Squadrons (P-47) • 394th Bombardment Group 25 August - 18 September 1944 : 584th (K5), 585th (4T), 586th (H9), 587th (SW) Bombardment Squadrons (B-26) ==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. 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. ==References==