Lonrai () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.
History - World War II After the liberation of the area by Allied Forces in August 1944, engineers of the Ninth Air Force IX Engineering Command began construction of a combat Advanced Landing Ground outside of the town. Declared operational on 3 September, the airfield was designated as "A-45", it was used by several combat units until November when the units moved into Central France. Afterward, the airfield was closed.Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. .
Geography
The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, Lonrai, La Rangée, La Touche, Cuissaye, Beaubourdel, Les Maisons Brûlées, Le Bois Hébert and Montperthuis.
Points of interest
National heritage sites
Domaine de Lonrai, the estate was created in the seventeenth century, it was registered as a Monument historique in 1999. The stud farm was built in 1863 by Armand Donon. The grounds also cover the neighbouring commune of Colombiers
Notable people Jacques II de Goyon - (1525-1598) a governor and Marshal of France was born here.
See also Communes of the Orne department
References