American airfields in France n 1945

Can anyone help me, I am wanting to find out if there was an American airstrip in the area of Le Tronquay which is in Eure, Normandy, France. A few years ago I was on a walk with a few local ramblers and one spotted sheets of perforated metal saying that these were used during the war to make temporary airstrips. I know the US army was in the area as I have a letter from a soldier,, but I ma also wondering if there as also a temporary landing strip in the same place.

Cheers!

 

Three that I know of were in the area...You would need to be more specific as to your location from Le Tronquay
Le Molay Airfield(Advance Landing Ground A-9) 3.1nm northwest
Lignerolles Airfield(Advance Landing Ground A-12) 3.4nm south
Tour-en-Bessin Airfield(Advance Landing Ground A-13) 4.7nm northeast

Edit - We can nix Lignerolles Airfield...Just found out it used Prefabricated Bitumious/Hessian Surfacing for its runway.
More on PBS: http://acwc.sdp.sirsi.net/client/es...iew/1051109?rm=TECHNICAL+MEMO1|||1|||0|||true

 

They're called Marston Mats and were used globally; after the war, where I lived, they were used as fences, building materials, all sorts. It allowed for very speedy construction of airfields, and easy repair of the runways.

On Attu Island...


...and in Ozstraylia.


As a fence in the Phillipines today...

 

Lyons La Foret and Le Tronquay is the area I am looking at or anywhere near the area. The photos shown of the Marston mats are identical to what was found. .

 

Although there is a large forest in the area there is also a lot of flat farm land which would be perfect for an airstrip, in fact the SOE used it for Lysander pick ups and deliveries.

Are the mats still in use for other purposes today?

 

Le Tronquay: un pélerinage pour Bill
RAFCommands :: Old Forum Archive
https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/2926860/338168.pdf

 

These Portable Runways Helped Win the War in the Pacific | Photos | Air & Space Magazine

http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Documents/1989/April 1989/0489marston.pdf

 

Unfortunately that is not the Le Tronquay I was looking at.

 

This is the Le Tronquay I am looking at....
Google Maps

 

RAF Airfields in Mainland Europe, 1944-45 — Articles | 1944 | 1945 | history

 

German airfields in France ;
http://www.ww2.dk/Airfields - France.pdf
Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer (A-21)
UK engineers dodged Nazi snipers to build French airstrips | Daily Mail Online

American airstrips in France ;
Skylighters, The Web Site of the 225th AAA Searchlight Battalion: USAAF Airfields in the ETO

 

Cheers mate for the lists. I didn't find any allied airfields listed but I found one or two Greman listed as not being far away, very interesting.

 

Were Marston mats used for other purposes during the war? I mean if there was a camp set up would they use it to make temporary road ways?

 

Yes that happens. There were four types of mats ;

Irving Grid Type Steel Track
Sommerfeld Mat Type Track
Pierced Plank Type Marston Steel Track - most used
Bar and Rod Type Track