| Medenine Airfield | |
|---|---|
| Near: Medenine, Tunisia | |
| Site information | |
| Operator |  French Air Force Luftwaffe (National Socialist) Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces |
| Controlled by | French Air Force (1935-1942) German Luftwaffe (1942-43) Royal Air Force (1943-45) Ninth Air Force (1943) |
| Location | |
  Medenine Airfield Location in Tunisia | |
| Coordinates | 33°20′59.45″N010°26′32.72″E / 33.3498472°N 10.4424222°E /33.3498472; 10.4424222 |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1938-45 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Medenine Airfield is an abandoned military airfield inTunisia, which was located just to the west of Medenine, 46 km N of Tataouine; 430 km south-southeast ofTunis.
Medenine Airfield was aFrench Air Force (French:Armée de l'Air) facility built in Tunisia prior toWorld War II. After theFall of France in June 1940, it was briefly used by theVichy French Air Force (French:Armée de l'air de Vichy) until November 1942 when as part ofCase Anton, the military occupation of Vichy France carried out by Germany and Italy, it was taken over by the GermanLuftwaffe.
During both the AmericanWest African Campaign and BritishWestern Desert Campaign, the airfield was attacked repeatedly by elements of the AmericanTwelfth andNinth Air Forces, along with the BritishRoyal Air Force beginning in late January 1943 withB-24 Liberator heavy bombers, and was strafed withP-40 Warhawk fighter-bombers. The airfield was seized byNew Zealand Commonwealth ground forces during March 1943.[1]
It was then repaired byRoyal Engineers and placed back into operational service. With the end of combat in Tunisia during the summer or 1943, the airfield was dismantled and abandoned. Today the remains of the main runway is visible on aerial photography, and perhaps some taxiways.[2][3]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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