Milazzo 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 on

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, located in the southern suburbs of

Milazzo Milazzo (; ; ) is a municipality () in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy. It is the largest municipality in the Metropolitan City after Messina and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. The town has a population of around 31,500 inh ...

, on the northern tip of the island. Built as a temporary wartime field by Army Engineers, using Pierced Steel Planking for runways and parking and dispersal areas, and support structures being quickly constructed out of wood or tents. The following units were stationed at the base taking part in the

Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allies of World War II, Allied Amphibious warfare, amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign of World War II. T ...

from the field. * HQ,

64th Fighter Wing The 64th Fighter Wing was a World War II tactical air control wing of the Twelfth Air Force, operating in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II, Mediterranean and European theatre of World War II, European theaters. From its ...

, 1 September-7 October 1943 *

31st Fighter Group 31 (thirty-one) is the natural number following 30 and preceding 32. It is a prime number. Mathematics 31 is the 11th prime number. It is a superprime and a self prime (after 3, 5, and 7), as no integer added up to its base 10 digits res ...

, 2–21 September 1943,

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

* 57th Fighter Group, 12–16 September 1943,

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

With the Americans pulling out and moving onto the mainland of Italy in October, engineers dismantled the airfield. Today, there are no traces, as the area around Milazzo has grown over the years, and have obliterated any trace of the airfield. It is unknown precisely where the airfield was located due to the changed landscape.

References

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

External links

Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Italy Airports established in 1943 {{Italy-airport-stub