Lucera 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
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It was located 7.9 kilometers east of
Lucera
Lucera (Neapolitan language, Lucerino: ) is an Italian city of 34,243 inhabitants in the province of Foggia in the region of Apulia, and the seat of the Diocese of Lucera-Troia.
Located upon a flat knoll in the Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere ...
, in the
Province of Foggia
The province of Foggia (, ; Neapolitan language, Foggiano: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Regions of Italy, Italian region Apulia.
This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygians, Iapygian pre-Roman tribe livi ...
. The airfield was abandoned and dismantled after the end of the war in 1945.
History
Lucera Airfield a temporary wartime facility, built by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Construction was initiated shortly after Allied forces seized control of the Tavoliere plain around Foggia, Apulia, Italy.
The major tenant of the airfield was the
301st Bombardment Group
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
, which arrived from either Torretta, San Giovanni, Giulia or Stornara Airfield in the Cerignola area of Italy on 1 February 1944. It was equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.
[ Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. .]
The 301st Bomb Group consisted of four squadrons:
*
32d Bombardment Squadron
*
352d Bombardment Squadron
The 352d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 301st Bombardment Wing at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, where it was inactivated on 8 June 1964.
During World War II, the 352d Bombardmen ...
*
353d Bombardment Squadron
*
419th Bombardment Squadron
The airfield had parallel, 6,000' x 100' asphalt runways laid over Pierced Steel Planking, oriented 13/31. There were two perimeter tracks, one on each side of the runways.
There may have been some temporary hangars and buildings; however, it appears that personnel were quartered primarily in tents, and most aircraft maintenance took place in the open on hardstands. It also had a steel control tower.
With the end of the war in 1945, the 301st returned to the United States at the end of July, heading to
Sioux Falls Army Air Field
Sioux Falls Regional Airport , also known as Joe Foss Field, is a public and military use airport three miles northwest of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. It is named in honor of aviator and Sioux Falls native Joe Foss, who later served ...
, South Dakota to become part of the new
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...
.
They were replaced by the
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 ...
100th and
301st Fighter Squadron
The 301st Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 325th Operations Group, stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It is an associate unit of the active duty 325th Fighter Wing.
The squadron was ...
s, part of the
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...
332d Fighter Group
33 may refer to:
*33 (number)
* 33 BC
*AD 33
*1933
* 2033
Science
* Arsenic, a metalloid in the periodic table
* 33 Polyhymnia, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Music
* La 33, a Colombian salsa music band Albums
* ''33'' (Luis Miguel album) ( ...
moved to Lucera in July from their wartime base at
Ramitelli Airfield, while awaiting demobilization orders. The Tuskegee Airmen remained at Lucera until the end of September when they departed for the United States and subsequent demobilization.
Sometime after that departure, the engineers moved in and dismantled the facility. Today Lucera Airfield has been returned to agriculture; however, extensive scarring of the landscape remains, showing various dispersal pads and taxiways and other features.
See also
*
References
External links
{{USAAF 15th Air Force World War II
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Italy
Airfields of the Fifteenth Air Force during World War II
Airports established in 1943