Solenzara Air Base  Base aérienne 126 Solenzara | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of France | ||||||||||
| Operator | Armée de l'air et de l'espace | ||||||||||
| Location | Travo, France | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 65 ft / 20 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°55′28″N09°24′20″E / 41.92444°N 9.40556°E /41.92444; 9.40556 | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  Solenzara AB Location of Solenzara Air Base, France | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Source:World Aero Data[1] | |||||||||||
Air Base 126 Solenzara (French:Base aérienne 126 Solenzara) (IATA:SOZ,ICAO:LFKS) is aFrench Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) (ALAE) base located in the village ofVentiseri approximately 40 km north-northeast ofPorto-Vecchio onCorsica.It is just north of the mouth of theTravo River on theTyrrhenian Sea.
Today the Air Base is a NATO tactical training center.[2][3] It hosts:
DuringWorld War II the air base was constructed by theUnited States Army Air ForceTwelfth Air Force XII Engineer Command as an all-weather temporary field built usingPierced Steel Planking for runways and parking areas, as well as for dispersal sites. In addition, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a drinkable water and minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting. As the airfield was not located on mainland France, noAdvanced Landing Ground identifier was designated, and it was calledSolenzara Airfield.
The airfield was designed for fighter, medium bomber units, as well as for command and control. Known units assigned were:
Both the 310th and 324th flew combat missions in support of the Invasion of Southern France (Operation Dragoon) during July and August 1944. At the end of the war, the American combat units moved out for their return to the United States. The airfield was then turned over to the French government in July 1945.[5][6][7][8]
On the night of 13 January 1978, nine armed militiamen wearingbalaclavas stormed and bombed theNATO radar station at Solenzara using 40 kg of explosives, in the so-called "Operation Zara".[9][10][11]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
