Saint-James (A-29)

48°30'50"N 001°19'36"W

Runway: .../... - 1500x45m - PHS

Saint-James airfield (ALG A-29 - Saint-James) was an Advanced Landing Ground (ALG, a temporary forward airfield) 270km west of Paris.
On 1 August 1944, American troops liberated Saint-James. The next day the American military began to build a temporary airfield in Saint-James. Within a week, engineers from the 825th Engineer Aviation Battalion built the airfield, designated ALG 'A-29 - Saint James', which would be used by 9th Air Force's 373rd Fighter Group operating with P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers. A 1500 meter-long jute airstrip (PHS), housing and support facilities were installed in virtually no time.

A-29 - Saint-James airfield while in use (USAAF, collection Philippe Faure)

From 19 August their P-47 fighter-bombers carried out missions from the airfield, supporting land advances westward into Brittany and a vast encirclement maneuver aimed at trapping the 7th German Army.
On 27 or 28 August, General Eisenhower met General de Gaulle at A-29 Saint-James to discuss the anticipated situation after the liberation of Paris. The P-47 Thunderbolts left Saint-James for Reims, in eastern France, on 19 September. It saw some use by military transports before the base was permanently decommissioned on 28 september 1944.

1947 - Aerial view. (ign.gouv.fr)
The airfield practically disappeared two years after it was abandoned. The gray line roughly represents the location of the track.

Merci beaucoup à monsieur Philippe Fuare de nous avoir signalé cet aérodrome et pour la permission de publication de sa photo.
Thank you very much to Mr. Philippe Faure for telling us about this aerodrome and for permission to publish his photo.

(researched by Olivier)