Guercif Airfield![]() | |
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Part of Twelfth Air Force | |
Coordinates | 34°15′15.40″N003°19′40.44″W / 34.2542778°N 3.3279000°W |
Type | Military airfield |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
Site history | |
Built | Early 1943 |
In use | April–June 1943 |
Battles/wars | North African Campaign |
Guercif Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Morocco, located about 4 km northeast of Guercif (Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate); 400 km east-northeast of Casablanca, near the Algerian border.
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in the Maghreb region of North West Africa with an area of 710,850 km2 (274,460 sq mi). Its capital is Rabat, the largest city Casablanca. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Morocco claims the areas of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, all of them under Spanish jurisdiction.
Casablanca, located in the central-western part of Morocco and bordering the Atlantic Ocean, is the largest city in Morocco. It is also the largest city in the Maghreb region, as well as one of the largest and most important cities in Africa, both economically and demographically.
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country on the Mediterranean coast. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, the world's largest Arab country, and the largest in Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes (counties). It has the highest human development index of all non-island African countries.
During World War II the airfield's primary use was for tactical photographic reconnaissance and C-47 Skytrain troop carrier and logistics operations by the Twelfth Air Force. The airfield was constructed as a temporary facility, with a hard earth or pierced steel planking (PSP) runway and parking apron. with few or no permanent structures, Tents were used for ground support operations and personnel billeting.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
The Twelfth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
The first operations from the airfield began at the beginning of April 1943, soon after its construction by Army Engineers when the 111th Observation Squadron (Medium) of the 68th Observation Group began flying A-20 Havoc reconnaissance and photographic observation missions. The squadron remained at the airfield until it moved to Nouvion Airfield, Algeria at the end of May.
Nouvion Airfield was a pre-war airport and World War II military airfield in Algeria, located about 5 km west of Camp Militaire d' El Ghomri in Mascara province; about 76 km east of Oran.
A few days later, elements of the 316th Troop Carrier Group, the 36th, and 45th Squadrons began arriving on the airfield at the end of May. Group HQ moved in a few days later from Nouvion, Algeria. The group flew operational missions as part of the North African Campaign from the airfield until the end of June when the unit moved up to Enfidaville Airfield, Tunisia to better support the advancing Allied forces. After the 316th moved east, the airfield was dismantled and the land returned to civil authorities.
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Tunisia (officially the Republic of Tunisia) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa, covering 163,610 square kilometres. Its northernmost point, Cape Angela, is the northernmost point on the African continent. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia's population was 11.435 million in 2017. Tunisia's name is derived from its capital city, Tunis, which is located on its northeast coast.
Today the airfield is an open, undeveloped area seen on aerial photography northeast of the town.
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