Enfidaville Airfield is an abandoned

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

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 13 km north-northwest of Harqalah; approximately 90 km southwest 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 ...

. 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 ...

as a B-24 heavy bomber and troop carrier base. The units known to be assigned to the base were: * 316th Troop Carrier Group, 21 June - 3 September 1943,

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

376th Bombardment Group 376th may refer to: *376th Air Expeditionary Wing, inactive wing of the United States Air Force, last stationed at the Transit Center at Manas International Airport, Kyrgyz Republic * 376th Air Refueling Squadron, inactive United States Air Force u ...

, 26 September - 17 November 1943,

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

The 376th Bomber Group was composed of B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. Aircrew and support personnel began arriving in late August, 1943. The first mission carried out by the 376th was on 1 October 1943 against the aircraft factory at

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

in Austria. When the Americans moved to Italy, the airfield was dismantled and abandoned. For many years the airfield had almost completely returned to its natural state, with only the outlines of the main runway and what appeared to be taxiways faintly visible in aerial photography. Today it is the location of the

Enfidha–Hammamet International Airport Enfidha–Hammamet International Airport is an airport in Enfidha, Tunisia, located about 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest from the town of Hammamet. The airport is mostly used by European airlines bringing travellers to Tunisian holiday reso ...

that was built in its place and opened in 2009.

References

* Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . *

External links

{{authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Tunisia Airports established in 1943