Decimomannu Air Base  | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Decimomannu,Sardinia,Italy | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 100 ft / 30 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 39°21′15″N008°58′20″E / 39.35417°N 8.97222°E /39.35417; 8.97222 | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  Decimomannu Location of airport in Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Source:DAFIF[1][2] | |||||||||||||||
Decimomannu Air Base (IATA:DCI,ICAO:LIED) is anItalian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) air base located approximately 5 km (2.7 NM) north ofDecimomannu acomune in theProvince of Cagliari on the island ofSardinia inItaly.
It is a military airport located northwest of the city of Cagliari, Sardinia, in a vast area between the towns of Decimomannu, Decimoputzu, San Sperate and Villasor.
The airport is named after Colonel pilot Giovanni Farina, Gold Medal for bravery, died in combat in the skies of Sardinia 14 June 1942.
The airfield is a front-lineNATO training facility primarily used since 1979 forDissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) of various NATO air force fighter aircraft.
Decimonannu was also the Home Base for theTaktisches Ausbildungskommando der Luftwaffe Italien and the base was used for training flights.
Decimomannu became in effect a military airport on 3 June 1940 with the transfer of the Italian32º Wing from Cagliari Elmas.
DuringWorld War II the airport served bothAxis powers andAllied forces.
Between 1941 and 1943 the airport hosted the 36º Wing equipped withSavoia-Marchetti SM79 andSavoia-Marchetti SM.84 bombers.
On 27 September 1941 the airport forces were involved in a bloody battle with theRoyal Navy and theRoyal Air Force in the central Mediterranean.
On 17 February 1943, the airport was bombed by the Anglo-American allies.
In 1943 following theArmistice of Cassibile, the airport came under the control of the United States Army who used it as a base forCurtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft of theUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF).
Decimomannu airfield was used by the USAAFTwelfth Air Force320th Bombardment Group, which flewB-26 Marauder medium bombers from the field between 1 November 1943 and 21 September 1944.[3][4][5]
The American authorJoseph Heller, while writing his novelCatch-22, was inspired by some events that happened in the Decimomannu airbase in 1944.[6]
In April 1957 an "Air Weapons Training Installation" (AWTI) unit was established by theRoyal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
In December 1959 an agreement was signed between Italy, Canada andWest Germany, which regulated the use of the air base and firing ranges associated with it.
Over the years the base saw a growing increase in flights. Decimomannu during 1970 and 2000 was consecrated as the airport with the highest number of takeoffs and landings in Europe, with an average of about 60000 movements per year, equal to about 450 daily movements.
Currently, the main user of the airport is theItalian Air Force. TheGerman Air Force (Luftwaffe) left the airport in December 2016 because of the restrictions about flying and rising costs.
The airport resides at anelevation of 100 feet (30 m) abovemean sea level. It has twoasphalt pavedrunways: 17L/35R measuring 2,990 by 45 metres (9,810 ft × 148 ft) and 17R/35L measuring 2,611 by 23 metres (8,566 ft × 75 ft).[1]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency