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Orconte Airfield
Orconte Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the commune of Orconte in the Marne department of northern France. Located probably north of the commune, it was a United States Army Air Force temporary airfield established during the Northern France Campaign in September 1944. Its primary use was for P-47 Thunderbolt fighters of the Ninth Air Force 354th Fighter Group. History Known as Advanced Landing Ground "A-66", the airfield consisted of a single 5000' Prefabricated Hessian Surfacing (PHS) runway aligned 11/29. In addition, with tents were used for billeting and also 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 354th Fighter Group The 354th Fighter Group was an element of the United States ...
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United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II (1941–1947). It was created on 20 June 1941 as successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and is the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force, today one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States. The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which on 2 March 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the United States Army Services of Supply (which in 1943 became the Army Service Forces), and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Army Chief of Staff. The AAF administered all parts of military aviation formerly distributed am ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ...
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Communes Of France
A () is a level of administrative divisions of France, administrative division in the France, French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipality, municipalities in Canada and the United States; ' in Germany; ' in Italy; ' in Spain; or civil parishes in the United Kingdom. are based on historical geographic communities or villages and are vested with significant powers to manage the populations and land of the geographic area covered. The are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France. vary widely in size and area, from large sprawling cities with millions of inhabitants like Paris, to small hamlet (place), hamlets with only a handful of inhabitants. typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are ( or ), the difference residing in the lack of administrative powers. Except for the Municipal arrondissem ...
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Orconte
Orconte () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Second World War Captain Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900- 1944) stayed in the commune during winter 1939, with the Groupe de Grande Reconnaissance 2/33 (Reconnaissance Group II/23). He evokes this period and the farm (opposite the church) where he lived in ''Pilote de guerre'', translated into English as ''Flight to Arras''. In September 1944, the United States Army Air Forces established a temporary airfield Advanced Landing Ground, known as " A-66" near Orconte. The Ninth Air Force 354th Fighter Group flew P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts from the airfield from 15 September until 11 December 1944. The unit moved east with the advancing Allied armies and the airfield was dismantled with the land being returned to agricultural use. See also *Communes of the Marne department The following is a list of the 610 communes in the French department of Marne. The communes cooperate in the following ...
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Marne (department)
Marne () is a department in the Grand Est region of France. It is named after the river Marne which flows through it. The prefecture (capital) of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne (formerly known as Châlons-sur-Marne). The subprefectures are Épernay, Reims, and Vitry-le-François. It had a population of 566,855 in 2019. The Champagne vineyards producing the eponymous sparkling wine are in Marne. Name The department is named after the Marne, which was called ''Matrona'' in Roman times. History Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the province of Champagne. Marne has a long association with the French Army. The training ground of the ''Camp Militaire de Mailly'' straddles the border with the département of Aube in the south while that of the ''Camp de Mourmelon'' occupies a large area north of Châlons-en-Champagne. The smaller ''Camp de Moronvilliers'' lies to the east of Reims and the ...
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Departments Of France
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the Regions of France, administrative regions and the Communes of France, communes. There are a total of 101 departments, consisting of ninety-six departments in metropolitan France, and five Overseas department and region, overseas departments, which are also classified as overseas regions. Departments are further subdivided into 333 Arrondissements of France, arrondissements and 2,054 Cantons of France, cantons (as of 2023). These last two levels of government have no political autonomy, instead serving as the administrative basis for the local organisation of police, fire departments, and, in certain cases, elections. Each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council (France), departmental council ( , ). From 1800 to April 2015, these were called gene ...
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France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and List of islands of France, many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean, giving it Exclusive economic zone of France, one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north; Germany to the northeast; Switzerland to the east; Italy and Monaco to the southeast; Andorra and Spain to the south; and a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea. Its Regions of France, eighteen integral regions—five of which are overseas—span a combined area of and hav ...
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United States Army Air Force
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II (1941–1947). It was created on 20 June 1941 as successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and is the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force, today one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States. The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which on 2 March 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the United States Army Services of Supply (which in 1943 became the Army Service Forces), and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Army Chief of Staff. The AAF administered all parts of military aviation formerly distributed am ...
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P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber in the Close air support, ground-attack role. Its primary armament was eight M2 Browning, .50-caliber machine guns, and it could carry 5-inch rockets or a bomb load of . When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to 8 tons, making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-, medium-, and long range escort fighter in high-altitude aerial warfare, air-to-air combat and ground-attack aircraft, ground attack in both the European Theater of World War II, European and Pacific War, Pacific theaters. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engine, which also powered two United States Navy, U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat an ...
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Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint Department of Defense combatant command responsible for U.S. security interests in 27 nations that stretch from the Horn of Africa through the Persian Gulf region, into Central Asia. Activated as 9th Air Force on 8 April 1942, the command fought in World War II both in the Western Desert Campaign in Egypt and Libya and as the tactical fighter component of the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, engaging enemy forces in France, the Low Countries and in Nazi Germany. During the Cold War, it was one of two Numbered Air Forces of Tactical Air Command. Co-designated as United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) on 1 January 1983, on 2009 as part of a complicated transfer of lineage, the lineage and history of the Ninth Air Fo ...
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354th Fighter Group
The 354th Fighter Group was an element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Ninth Air Force during World War II. The unit was known as the Pioneer Mustang Group and was the first to fly the P-51B Mustang in combat. The group served as bomber escort in the European theater of operations until D-Day, then moved to France to support the drive to Germany. Training in the United States The 354th Fighter Group was constituted on 12 November and activated on 15 November 1942, at Hamilton Army Airfield in California. The Group trained with the Bell P-39 Airacobra, one of the principal fighter aircraft in service at the time. The group transferred to Tonopah Army Air Field, Nevada in January 1943, Santa Rosa Army Air Field, California in March 1943, and Portland Army Air Base, Oregon, in June 1943 Deployment to Europe The Group moved to RAF Boxted in England between October and November 1943 and was attached to the Ninth Air Force. The group was issued the new North American P-5 ...
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