Rerhaia Airfield was a

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

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, located approximately 3 km northwest of

Boudouaou Boudouaou, during French colonialism known as L'Alma (or Alma) is a town in the western part of Boumerdès, Algeria. It is a coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea. Its population in 2008 was 56,398. It is located 18 miles east of the capital Alg ...

, about 32 km east-southeast of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. 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 ...

350th Fighter Group The 350th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Force formed in 1942 and inactivated in 1945. The fighter group consisted of 345th, 346th and 347th Fighter Squadron. The group was formed in England in 1942 flying B ...

between July and November 1943 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 ...

against the German

Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...

. It was also used by the

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 Reser ...

, which flew

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 Beaufor ...

s from the field between 27 December 1943 – 25 January 1944. Today, the remnants of the main

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

and other areas can be seen in

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other flight, airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wi ...

References

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

External links

Defunct airports Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Algeria World War II airfields in Algeria Airports established in 1943 Airports disestablished in 1944 1943 establishments in Algeria 1944 disestablishments in Algeria {{Algeria-airport-stub