What to see

Established in 1937 for the French air force, Cherbourg’s Maupertus airfield originally started life as a 1km long grass airstrip built for fighter aircraft.
Following its capture by German forces in June 1940, the airfield underwent several upgrades. The grass runway was paved with concrete and extended to 1.7km long while hangars were added at the western end of the runway.
The Luftwaffe’s use of the airfield saw it play a part in the Battle of Britain in September 1940. It was the base of Jagdgeschwader 2 wing who operated fighter and fighter bomber aircraft from here and became the home of German air reconnaissance units from 1942 to 1944.
It was from Maupertus that Junkers Ju87 ‘Stuka’ dive bombers assisted in the defence of Dieppe against Allied forces in August 1942.
As the airfield evolved, a series of Widerstandsnests, or resistance positions, were created around the runway to protect it from air and ground attack. These strongpoints boasted defensive structures including around 18 heavy anti-aircraft gun positions each with six 88mm guns each, 19 positions for 20mm light AA guns, searchlight positions, and protective fighter pens, along with personnel bunkers. The whole site was surrounded by massive minefields.
Following the D-Day landings, US forces - led by the 4th Infantry Division who landed on Utah Beach - made their way north to Maupertus in a bid to capture the airfield and arrived at the southern perimeter on June 21. But even with tank battalion support, heavy resistance from the German occupiers meant it would take until June 27 for the site to be captured.
Within a few days the airfield took on a rapid evolution under US control with two PSP (Pierced Steel Planking) runways of 1,800m and 1,500m hastily constructed and the site renamed as ‘Advanced Landing Ground A-15’.
This key site was used as a base for attack aircraft with P-47 Thunderbolts from the 363rd Fighter Group the first to arrive on July 9, flying missions over occupied territories in support of the Allied advance from the beachheads until they were moved on August 22.
At the end of July, the 422nd Night Fighter Squadron were also stationed here with their P-61 Black Widow interceptor aircraft, and they were joined by the 387th Bombardment Group’s B-26 Marauder bombers on August 22.
By mid-September all the fighter and bomber groups had departed, and the airfield had become a resupply facility, while also aiding in the evacuation of casualties to England.
With the area fully under Allied control, A-15 was closed down on December 22, 1944, and handed over to the French military.
Today, the airport is in civilian use and features a 2.4km long, modern runway. You can still see the original German concrete strip running alongside just a few metres away. Many of the supporting German buildings can still be seen at the various Widerstandsnests.
A memorial to all the US pilots and ground crew who were based at Maupertus stands in front of the modern terminal building.

Maupertus Widerstandsnests
Wn414
Protected the eastern flank of the airfield with a series of Tobruks and an armoured R630 casemate – facing to the north east- for a heavy machine gun.

Wn418
South east of the original runway, across the D901 road were two personnel bunkers – a special construction R622 and a R601 – plus a defensive Tobruk and small ammunition storage bunker. Only the remains of an almost completely buried Tobruk can be seen today.

Wn505F
A large complex of buildings to the south of the central runway area, Wn505F is heavily overgrown in a small piece of woodland no longer accessible to the public. We were able to gain access with permission from the land owner who took us on a tour of the site.
Here we found the remains of a large electricity generator building, an underground communications cables bunker, and a water bunker, and an emergency water reservoir. A small personnel shelter stands inside thw woodland but has been destroyed and only the entrance doorway and some of the foundations remain visible through the vegetation.
From the D901 road you can see the remains of a large, multi-room Kommandostand building which would have been a communications and office centre for the airfield site. This remains part of the airfield site and is not accessible.

Wn505I
One of the rarest bunkers ever built on the Atlantikwall was built at this site to the south of the main runway area. Only three L408A type bunkers were ever constructed in northern France, and they were used as command posts for the Luftwaffe controlling the airfield.
Boasting around 20 separate rooms, the largest was the main operations room where large-scale maps would have been in use to plot flying missions and defensive actions. Other rooms include those for the station commander, offices, telephone and wireless communications rooms, and an observation post.
Sadly, nothing remains of this once massive building and the field it stood within is now in agricultural use.

Wn505H
This site was at the heart of the airfield and consisted of a R622 personnel bunker, a canteen building, and ammunition bunker close to the runway. A large generator building stood further back from the other buildings and the remains of which can be seen today next to the car park of the modern Maupertus airport terminal. Back toward the road were two more buildings – a small concrete position for a machine gun and a cable/communications bunker – both of which are overgrown and inaccessible.
Further west, in the same field as the canteen building, is a protective, shrapnel-proof fighter pen, a three-sided stone/concrete construction for storing, maintaining, and rearming a single fighter aircraft. This would have originally featured a roof but with an open front where an aircraft could be pushed inside facing outwards ready for quick deployment to the airfield.
It’s the only remaining original aircraft storage facility on the site today and can be seen next to the D611 road south west of the runway.

Wn505L
One small shelter building and an ammunition storage bunker are all that remain at Wn505L to the south of the airfield in the village of Valognes (not to be confused with the large town of Valognes further south). Both are now in private gardens and cannot be accessed.

Wn508
The main aircraft dispersal area of the airfield and just yards from the original runway. Here there were around a dozen hangars for Luftwaffe fighters and fighter bombers. From aerial images you can still see the hardstanding bases and taxiway entrances of four of the original buildings. No longer accessible due to their proximity to the current runway.

Wn237
Near to the west end of the airfield you can still see a single building which formed part of Wn237 – a two storey bunker for a searchlight which would have also incorporated a large generator in the garage area of the building. This strongpoint would have helped the nearby anti-aircraft guns pinpoint their aerial targets. Today it is used by sheep as a pen.

Wn504
All that remains at Wn504 to the north of the centre of the original runway is a single R661 bunker, an exceptionally rare building of which only five were built on the Atlantikwall in northern France.
The R661s were used for casualty assembly and featured two main room where wounded aircrew or soldiers were staged before being moved to larger hospital facilities.