Landes De Bussac

Mission Summaries > Decenber 1943 > Airfields in Dec 43

Landes-de-Bussac (FR)

(a.k.a. Bédenac)

(45 11 45 N – 00 20 50 W)

General: landing ground in western France c. 45 km NNE of Bordeaux, 24 km E of the Gironde Estuary and 2.5 km SSE of the village of Landes-de-Bussac (today: Bussac-Forêt).

History: a pre-war civil airfield that was taken over and enlarged by the French military. The Luftwaffe improved it considerably between 1940 and 1942.

Surface and Dimensions: all- weather sandy heathland measuring approx. 1190 x 1000 meters (1300 x 1100 yards). No paved runway. Equipped with boundary lighting.

Fuel and Ammunition: had a refueling loop and fuel storage on the SW boundary, 2 loops and fuel storage on the NE boundary, fuel storage on the SE boundary and probably fuel storage N of the barrack buildings. The 2 small ammunition dumps were at the SE and NW boundaries.

Infrastructure: there were 2 medium hangars and 1 small hangar off the NE boundary. Station HQ, admin offices, dispensary and numerous barrack buildings were all together off the NE boundary behind the hangar area. The nearest rail connection was in Bussac.

Dispersal: the 2 dispersal areas – North and South – had a total of 12 large covered aircraft shelters and 10 large open aircraft shelters in mid-1943.

Defenses: no information found.

Satellites and Decoys:

Landes-de-Bussac - Les Jards
( ? )
dummy 3.6 km NNW of Landes- de-Bussac landing ground.

Remarks:

20 Apr 41: employed 260 non-German workers; station not yet operational.
21 Mar 44: low-level attack by VIII Fighter Command P-51s – claimed 2 x Fw 190s, 1 x Do 217 and 1 x Ju 52 destroyed.
22 Apr 44: the open aircraft shelters were being replaced with covered shelters and a third dispersal area – North (remote) – was under construction.

Operational Units: 4.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 12 (Dec 40 – May 41); 7.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 12 (c. Dec 40 – Feb 41)?; Kurierstaffel 5 (c. Feb/Mar 41).

Reserve Training & Replacement Units: elements of Erg.JGr. Ost (later JGr. Ost) (Sep 42 – Jun 43); 1./Erg.JGr. Süd (Oct 42 – Mar 43); 3./(Erg.) JGr.West (Feb – May 44).

Station Commands: Fl.H.Kdtr. E 30/XII (1942); Fl.H.Kdtr. A 226/XII (Feb- Aug 43).

Station Units (on various dates – not complete): Lw.-Bauleitung Landes- de-Bussac (c.1940-44).