Advanced Landing Ground - Deployment

Deployment

Four main designations were given to ALGs on the European Continent:

• "A" ALGs were located in France. They were constructed and used by Ninth Air Force units during the Invasion of Normandy (6 June – Mid July 1944) and during Operation Cobra, the breakout from Normandy, starting on 25 July 1944 until 25 August 1944. Those in Normandy were mostly decommissioned after their combat use, however others in Central France were used in various non-combat roles until the end of the war.

• "B" ALGs were built by American or British combat engineers for Royal Air Force use. Some of these were also used by USAAF Troop Carrier Groups and Command and Control organizations.

• "Y" ALGs were initially located in Southeastern France, built by Twelfth Air Force engineers as part of Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France. Initially uncoded, they were given "Y" designations when they came under IX Engineering Command control in late 1944. ALGs were also coded "Y" in Northeastern France, Belgium; The Netherlands and Occupied Germany, after "A" coding reached 99 November 1944.

• "R" ALGs were located in Occupied Germany. Many more were constructed than are listed here, consisting primarily of Supply and Evacuation airfields either laid down quickly in agricultural areas or on captured Luftwaffe airfields. "R" coding began after Y-coding reached 99 in April 1945.

An unforeseen development was the extraordinary demand for transport, supply, and evacuation fields as the Allied armies pushed past Paris toward the German frontier. In late 1944, supplies could not keep pace with U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower's forces, and to help lessen the supply shortage airfields for C-47 Skytrain cargo planes became a priority. Bringing in ammunition of all types and especially gasoline on the trip to the ALGs on the continent, the C-47s on the return trip evacuated wounded to the rear.

By 15 September 1944, IX Engineer Command had placed over eighty ALG airfields in operation, while British engineers had constructed 76 airfields in their zone. In Southern France, another twenty or so fields had been built by American engineers from Twelfth Air Force from the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). In October these uncoded airfields were assigned to the ETO and given ALG code numbers.

The stabilization of the front lines in the Netherlands, Belgium, and eastern France in mid-September 1944, which would last into the new year, allowed aviation engineers a chance to reorganize and prepare for the upcoming winter season. As expected, they could not build new PHS and SMI airstrips during the fall rain and winter snow seasons because of the moist ground. Besides concrete, the American-made PSP was the only available surfacing material that could be laid down during this inclement weather in Europe.

To keep the supply lines open, selected airfields in Belgium and France were therefore "winterized" with PSP. Because of the limited supply of PSP, however, only a limited number of airfields could be winterized, making it necessary to base two group sized units per airfield. But sufficient fighter-bomber and medium bomber airfields were completed that winter to ensure Ninth Air Force aircraft could continue flying combat missions.

The major problem affecting airfield construction in early 1945 was not the surprise German Ardennes counteroffensive (which caused the Abandonment on only one airfield – Y-39, Haguenau). Rather, an early February thaw threatened to make airfields inoperable due to the mud and water. Using local civilian labor, engineers performed extensive maintenance on the threatened airfields and successfully resolved the crisis

The renewed allied offensive in early 1945, following the Battle of the Bulge, was supported in earnest by the building of tactical airfields in occupied Germany. Trier (Y-57), became the first operational tactical American airfield on German soil on 10 March 1945. When a crossing over the Rhine River was spearheaded at Remagen, Germany, a supply and evacuation strip was quickly set up to support the bridgehead. As Allied tank columns struck out rapidly into the heartland of Germany, the airfield "clutches" of the Ninth Air Force's tactical air commands moved east of the Rhine river within range of virtually any target in Germany.

Scores of former Luftwaffe sod and hard surfaced airfields were captured in the lightning advance through Central Germany, virtually undamaged, lessening the requirement for SMT, PHS, and PSP prefabricated surfacing. The relative lack of German military opposition in late March, April and May 1945 lessened the need for close air support and produced a greater demand for supply airstrips to keep the offensive moving. Every opportunity was used to clear captured German airfields for use along the armies' route, allowing C-47s and other transports to land with food, gas, and ammunition. The supply effort received top airfield priority. By V-E Day, 9 May 1945, 76 of the 126 airfields made operational east of the Rhine river were strictly supply and evacuation fields.