Lecce Airfield is an abandoned
World War II military airfield in
Italy, which is located approximately 8.5 miles southwest from
Lecce
Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...
in the
Salentine Peninsula. Built in 1943 by United States Army Engineers, the airfield was primarily a
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...
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 des ...
heavy bomber base used in the strategic bombing of Germany. Lecce was also used by tactical aircraft of
Twelfth Air Force in the
Italian Campaign.
Known units assigned to the airfield were:
*
98th Bombardment Group, 17 January 1944 – 19 April 1945,
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 des ...
, (15AF)
*
82d Fighter Group
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number ...
, 10 October 1943 – 11 January 1944,
P-38 Lightning, (12AF)
*
416th Night Fighter Squadron 416th may refer to:
* 416th Air Expeditionary Operations Group, provisional unit assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command
* 416th Bombardment Wing, inactive United States Air Force unit
* 416th Engineer Command (TEC), US Army Re ...
, 27–30 September 1943,
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...
(12 AF)
The airfield today operates as
Lecce Galatina Air Base.
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 Italy
Airports established in 1943
1943 establishments in Italy
1945 disestablishments in Italy