Sommervieu
Blay
HQ T.A.C. Mal. Montgomery
In August, Lt. General Bernard Montgomary moved his Tactical HQ at Blay, only 20 km south-west of Port-en-Bessin.
This C-47 is parked on Pierced Steel Plank (PSP) «hardstanding» at what the original Signal Corps caption indicates is «an advanced fighter base near the front line» in Normandy.
This unspecified airstrip's purpose was «to accommodate the personal planes of four-star generals» and, upon close inspection, the aircraft bears the insignia of both the 21st Army Group and the British 2nd Army on its nose.
The picture is dated July 19, during the period that Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's HQ was situated at Blay, close to ALG A-9 at Le Molay (just north of Le Molay-Littry), which had been completed on July 8, although some construction equipment is still visible in the background below the left engine.