Lucera Airfield.svg) | |
|---|---|
| Part ofFifteenth Air Force | |
| Province of Foggia, Italy | |
 Lucera Airfield, Italy, 1944 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
| Location | |
  Lucera Airfield Location of Lucera Airfield, Italy | |
| Coordinates | 41°29′42″N015°25′41″E / 41.49500°N 15.42806°E /41.49500; 15.42806 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1943 |
| In use | 1944-1945 |
| Battles/wars |
|
Lucera Airfield is an abandonedWorld War II military airfield inItaly. It was located 7.9 kilometers east ofLucera, in theProvince of Foggia. The airfield was abandoned and dismantled after the end of the war in 1945.
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.[1]
The major tenant of the airfield was the301st Bombardment Group, 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.[2]
The 301st Bomb Group consisted of four squadrons:[3]
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.[1] 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.[1]
With the end of the war in 1945, the 301st returned to the United States at the end of July, heading toSioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota to become part of the newStrategic Air Command.[2] They were replaced by theTwelfth Air Force100th and301st Fighter Squadrons, part of theTuskegee Airmen332d Fighter Group moved to Lucera in July from their wartime base atRamitelli 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.[3]
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.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
