Souk-el-Khemis Airfield.png) | |
|---|---|
| Part ofTwelfth Air Force | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 36°34′55.22″N008°58′16.27″E / 36.5820056°N 8.9711861°E /36.5820056; 8.9711861 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1943 |
| In use | 1943 |
Souk-el-Khemis Airfield is an abandonedWorld War II military airfield inTunisia, located approximately 3 km southeast of Bou Salem, and 110 km west-southwest ofTunis. It was a temporary airfield built by the US Army Corps of Engineers, used by theUnited States Army Air ForceTwelfth Air Force and by theRoyal Air Force during theNorth African Campaign.
The use by US forces included the325th Fighter Group during 3–19 June 1943, flyingP-40 Warhawks from here.
Use by the RAF was primarily in the first 3 weeks of May 1943, during which timeNo.255 Squadron maintained a detachment here. Tracing such use can be problematic, because the RAF referred to the airfield only by a codename, which was "Paddington".[1]
After the 325th moved east, the airfield was dismantled and abandoned. There is little evidence of the airfield's existence other than the outlines of the perimeter track being used for agricultural roads.
The Royal Air Force operated from a number of separate airfields around Souk-el-Khemis:
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
