Lecce Airfield | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°14′30″N018°7′59.75″E / 40.24167°N 18.1332639°E |
Type | Military airfield |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
Site history | |
Built | 1943 |
In use | 1943-1945 |
Lecce Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Italy, which is located approximately 8.5 miles southwest from Lecce in the Salentine Peninsula. Built in 1943 by United States Army Engineers, the airfield was primarily a Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberator heavy bomber base used in the strategic bombing of Germany. Lecce was also used by tactical aircraft of Twelfth Air Force in the Italian Campaign.
Known units assigned to the airfield were:
The airfield today operates as Aviosuperficie Lecce Fondone, military operationes shifted to Lecce Galatina Air Base.
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The 747th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The squadron was first activated in June 1943. After training in the United States,, it deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for its combat operations. Following V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and began reorganizing as a very heavy bomber unit, but after the Japanese surrender, was inactivated in October 1945.
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This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency