Saint-Aignan Courcival (A-44)

48°14'01.59"N 0°21'52.65"E

Runway: 28/10 - 1600x50m - SMT/PBS

Saint-Aignan airfield (Advanced Landing Ground A-44, also known as aérodrome de Peray or Courcival) was an Allied wartime airfield 160 kilometers west/southwest of Paris.
Like the majority of Allied aerodromes at that time, the Saint Aignan aerodrome did not exist very long. It was built from 20 August 1944 by the 846th Engineer Aviation Battalion and finished by the 819th E.A.B. It opened on 2 September 1944 until 20 november 1944.

Air units that were present at Saint-Aignan in 1944:
367th Fighter Group with three squadrons, equipped with P-38 Lightning fighter bombers
392nd Fighter Squadron - 7 september to 13 september
393rd Fighter Squadron - 4 september to 12 september
394th Fighter Squadron - 5 september to 11 september

After the 367th FG moved out, the airfield did not have units assigned until the 442nd Troop Carrier Group moved in with 4 squadrons, all equipped with C-47 Skytrains for transport duties
303rd Troop Carrier Squadron - 5 october to 5 november
304th Troop Carrier Squadron - 5 october to 9 november
305th Troop Carrier Squadron - 6 october to 11 november,
306th Troop Carrier Squadron - 4 october to 6 november,

Control of the airfield returned to the French authorities before the end of the year.

Composite image of a 1949 and a 2022 photo (1949: ign.gouv.fr - 2022 Google Earth)

Today, nothing remains of the former airfield.

(Researched by Olivier)