Djedeida Airfield is an airfield in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, located approximately 10 km east-northeast of El Battan, and 30 km west of

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. The airfield was built prior to 1942 and used by the German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

. It was raided by elements of the US 1st battalion of the 1st Armored Regiment on 25 November 1942, but the US forces were forced to withdraw due to lack of infantry support. It continued operations under the Germans until seized by the American II Corps on 8 May 1943. After being repaired by Army engineers, 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 ...

. Units known to be assigned to the facility were: *

17th Bombardment Group The 17th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The group was last stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The Group is a direct successor to the 17th Pursuit Group, one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the ...

, 23 June-1 November 1943,

B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

* 319th Bombardment Group, 26 June-1 November 1943,

27th Fighter Squadron The 27th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 27th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor. The 27th Fighter Squadron is the oldest active fighter squadr ...

, (

1st Fighter Group 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: Arts and entertainment *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *''001'', also known as the ''Princess of Klaxosaurs'', is a character and the central antagonist from ''DARLING in the FRANXX'' *Player number of b ...

), 1–29 November 1943,

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

71st Fighter Squadron The 71st Fighter Squadron is an active squadron of the United States Air Force, part of the 1st Operations Group of the 1st Fighter Wing. Stationed at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia, the squadron serves as a training unit, flying the Loc ...

, (

), 31 October-29 November 1943,

94th Fighter Squadron The 94th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 94th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor. The 94 FS is one of the oldest units in the United States Air ...

, (

), 1–29 November 1943,

When the fighters moved out at the end of November, the airfield became a servicing depot of

Air Technical Service Command An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

until the end of January 1944 when the Americans left the area. Today in aerial imagery, the airfield looks almost like it did in 1943. The runway, although deteriorated, along with all of the taxiways and aircraft hardstands are very much in evidence. It is unclear what the current use of the facility is.

References

* *

External links

{{authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Tunisia