During the Liberation of France, the Luftwaffe abandoned the base airfield at the end of August, sending in demolition teams to blow up hangars, buildings, electrical generators, water treatment and other facilities. It was seized by Allied ground forces in early September, and turned over to the United States Army Air Forces. The IX Engineer Command 820th Engineer Aviation Battalion moved in about 7 September and began a quick rehabilitation of the base so it could be used by American aircraft.
It was declared operationally ready for combat units on 9 September, a few days after its capture from German forces, being designated as Advanced Landing Ground "A-69 Laon/Athies Airfield". Although operationally usable, Athies was a wrecked base from the Allied air attacks and what was blown up by the Germans as they withdrew. The Americans made do with what could be repaired, and moved in what equipment was necessary to conduct combat operations. Many buildings of masonry construction had been made useless, their contents consisting of nothing but wreckage.
Under American control, Ninth Air Force used the base for several units from 7 September 1944 until closing the base in July 1945. Known units assigned were:
50th Fighter Group, 15-26 September 1944, P-47 Thunderbolts
368th Fighter Group, 11 September-2 October 1944, P-47 Thunderbolts
323d Bombardment Group, 13 October 1944-February 1945, B-26 Marauders
416th Bombardment Group, February-May 1945, A-26 Invaders
With each combat group having three fully equipped squadrons, the airfield at Laon-Athies became one of the busiest American bases on the continent. With the war ended, Laon/Athies airfield was closed on 23 May 1945 and turned over to the French Air Ministry.
Not yet known
Before the build-up to D-Day, the group were based in the United States as part of the Fighter School Command and the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics. In spring 1944 though, like so many other fighter and bomb groups, the 50th Fighter Group...
The 323rd Bombardment Group operated with B-26 Marauders, American medium bombers. They were the first Eighth Air Force Group to fly a medium level bombing mission with this aircraft on 16 July 1943. After flying a total of 33 missions with the Eighth,...
The 368th Fighter Group flew P-47s in combat from England from March 1944. In the days after D-Day the Group supported Allied ground troops fighting in the Cherbourg penisula and then around St. Lo. The Group received a DUC for flying seven missions in...
Military | Captain | Aviation ordnance office | 416th Bomb Group
Plain Dealer from November 24 to November 25, 2009, James Samuel Abbott, III, Passed away at his Gates Mills, Ohio residence November 22nd, 2009. Mr. Abbott was born in Cleveland, Ohio, November 19, 1918. He graduated from University School in 1936 and...
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Ground Crew Chief | 416th Bomb Group
Military | Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade) | 416th Bomb Group
Military | Captain | Pilot | 416th Bomb Group
Captain Charles J. Andersen was born on July 15, 1921, the son of Charles J., Sr., and Flora Lina Anderson. His hometown was Chicago, Illinois, where his father was a Certified Public Accountant. He received his commission on May 6, 1942. ...
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | fighter pilot | 368th Fighter Group
Military | Second Lieutenant | fighter pilot | 50th Fighter Group
DONALD A. ANGELL, Sr. 86, of The Villages, Florida passed away on January 18, 2008. He had been a resident of the Palm Beach Gardens area since 1968 after retiring from the US Air Force as a Major. He had resided at The Villages since September 2003....
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Engineering Crew Chief | 416th Bomb Group
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Bombardier B-26 Marauder | 323rd Bomb Group
Jack T. Arnold, born December 7, 1921 in Dupo, Illinois. Graduated from East High in East St. Louis, Illinois, received a first alternate appointment to West Point and enlisted in the U.S. Army Infantry. Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he...
Military | Major | Pilot | 416th Bomb Group
Colonel, U.S. Air Force. Graduate, U.S. Military Academy, Class of 1943. World War II and Korean War. ...
Military | Colonel | Pilot - Deputy Grp Commander - Group Commander | 416th Bomb Group
42-107588 was the lead ship on the mission of the 453rd to bomb the wooden bridge over the Our River at Steinebrück, near Saint-Vith, Belgium on 14 January 1945. In the Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 11926 -, Lt Mitchell E. Mussman, flying in number 3...
Assigned to A-26 Combat Evaluation Project Squadron. Transferred to 671BS 416BG 9AF USAAF.
|25 July 2015 02:50:13||466thHistorian||Changes to usaaf from date, usaaf to date, closure date and history|
|22 January 2015 02:01:37||Tanks||Created entry with name, number, latitude, longitude and media associations|