Guercif Airfield

Guercif Airfield;
	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

Last updated April 05, 2019

Guercif Airfield

Location of Guercif Airfield, French Morocco

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.

History

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.

North African Campaign military campaign of World War II

The North African Campaign of the Second World War took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria, as well as Tunisia.

Enfidaville Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, located approximately 13 km north-northwest of Harqalah; approximately 90 km southwest of Tunis. It was used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force during the North African Campaign as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber ant troop carrier base. Known units assigned were:

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.

Related Research Articles

Royal Air Force Aldermaston or more simply RAF Aldermaston is a former Royal Air Force station located 8 miles (13 km) east of Newbury, Berkshire and 9.8 miles (15.8 km) southwest of Reading, Berkshire, England.

Royal Air Force Membury or more simply RAF Membury is a former Royal Air Force station built in the civil parish of Lambourn in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately 4.6 miles (7.4 km) mi north-northwest of Hungerford, at the Membury services stop of the M4 motorway; about 60 miles (97 km) west-southwest of London. The airfield also lies immediately next to the Iron Age hill fort of Membury Camp.

The 16th Airlift Squadron is one unit of three active duty Boeing C-17 Globemaster III squadrons at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina.

The 67th Cyberspace Operations Group is a unit of the 67th Cyberspace Wing. Headquartered on Kelly Field Annex's Security Hill, the group is an Air Force information operations unit.

Lawson Army Airfield is a military airport located at Fort Benning in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, south of the city of Columbus, Georgia. It is Fort Benning's primary Force Projection Platform.

The 465th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 465th Troop Carrier Wing at Évreux-Fauville Air Base, France, where it was inactivated on 8 July 1957.

815th Airlift Squadron United States Air Force air transport squadron

The 815th Airlift Squadron is a flying unit of the United States Air Force assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command and part of the 403d Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates Lockheed C-130J Hercules aircraft providing global airlift.

The 14th Fighter Squadron is part of the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan. It operates the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting Wild Weasel missions. The squadron has been stationed at Misawa since 1987.

The 77th Air Refueling Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 916th Operations Group, stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.

The 313th Expeditionary Operations Group is a Provisional United States Air Force unit, assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe to activate or inactivate as needed. It was last active at Moron Air Base, Spain, supporting Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya. It was inactivated on 31 October 2011.

The 49th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 313th Troop Carrier Group at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, where it was inactivated on 22 September 1945.

Oran Tafaraoui Airport is a joint civil/military airport in Oran Province, Algeria.

Berteaux Airfield is an abandoned World War II United States Army Air Forces military airfield in Algeria, which was located approximately 9 km east of Telerghma; 35 km southwest of Constantine.

Berguent Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Morocco, located approximately 33 km south-southeast of Jerada (Oriental); 500 km east-northeast of Casablanca, near the Algerian border.

The United States Air Force's 543d Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group is an intelligence unit located at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. It has been located there since 1997, when it was activated as the 543d Intelligence Group. It focuses on cryptologic operations and signals intelligence.

The 75th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 316th Troop Carrier Group at Ashiya Air Base, Japan, where it was inactivated on 18 June 1957.

Mazara Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Italy, which was located about 3 km north-northeast of Mazara del Vallo on Sicily.

RAF Fayid (LG-211) is a former military airfield in Egypt, approximately 23 km (14 mi) south of Ismailia and 116 km (72 mi) northeast of Cairo. It was formerly a major Royal Air Force airfield built before World War II, and later used by the Egyptian Air Force.

The 2nd Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 65th Troop Carrier Group. It was inactivated at Mitchel Air Force Base, New York on 1 April 1953.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/ .

The Air Force Historical Research Agency is the repository for United States Air Force historical documents. The Agency's collection, begun during World War II in Washington, D.C. and moved in 1949 to Maxwell Air Force Base, the site of Air University, to provide research facilities for professional military education students, the faculty, visiting scholars, and the general public.

Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

Guercif Airfield

Contents

History

Related Research Articles

References

External links