Canrobert Airfield was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

military airfield in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, located approximately 4 km south of

Oum el Bouaghi Oum El Bouaghi () is a municipality in Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to A ...

, approximately 70 km southeast of

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

. It was used by the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

during the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

against the German

Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...

. The Allied commanders made desperate efforts to prepare

forward airfield Advance airfield and forward airfield are military terms for a relatively primitive ad-hoc airfield used for refueling and re-arming air units as part of forward operations near the enemy. Also called advanced airfield for its advanced position, n ...

s for the use of fighters and fighter-bombers. Canrobert was one of these intermediate fields.Coggins, Jack. ''The campaign for North Africa''. Doubleday, 1980. . Known Twelfth Air Force units assigned were: *

47th Bombardment Group 47th may refer to: Chicago Transit Authority stations * 47th station (CTA Green Line) 47th is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's "L" system, located in the Grand Boulevard community area of Chicago, Illinois and serving the Gree ...

, 6–30 March 1943,

A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American light bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for ...

* 81st Bombardment Squadron, (

12th Bombardment Group 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive bra ...

), 16 March3 May 1943,

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served ...

* 82d Bombardment Squadron, (

), 16 March1 May 1943,

* 308th Fighter Squadron, ( 31st Fighter Squadron), 21–25 February 1943,

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

When the Americans moved out in May 1943, the airfield was dismantled and abandoned. Today agriculture has reclaimed the land where the airfield existed; however, a faint outline of its main runway can be seen in aerial photography.

Notes

References

* Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . * 5
USAFHRA search for Canrobert Airfield
* Coggins, Jack. ''The campaign for North Africa''. Doubleday, 1980. .

External links

{{authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Algeria World War II airfields in Algeria Airports established in 1943 Oum El Bouaghi Province