Nouvion Airfield

Last updated
Nouvion Airfield
Twelfth Air Force - Emblem (World War II).png
Part of Twelfth Air Force
Coordinates 35°40′35.21″N000°10′53.43″E / 35.6764472°N 0.1815083°E / 35.6764472; 0.1815083
Type Military airfield
Site information
Controlled by United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built 1942
In use 1942-1944

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.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

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.

Algeria country in North Africa

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.

Oran City in Oran Province, Algeria

Oran is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its commercial, industrial, and cultural importance. It is 432 km (268 mi) from Algiers. The total population of the city was 759,645 in 2008, while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000 making it the second largest city in Algeria.

Contents

History

The facility was built in the 1930s as a civil airport. In the immediate aftermath of the Allied Operation Torch landings in Algeria on 8 November 1942, the airport was taken over by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force as a military airfield.

Operation Torch 1942 Allied landing operations in French North Africa during World War II

Operation Torch was an Anglo–American invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. It was aimed at reducing pressure on Allied forces in Egypt, and enabling an invasion of Southern Europe. It also provided the ‘second front’ which the Soviet Union had been requesting since it was invaded by the Germans in 1941. The region was dominated by the Vichy French, officially in collaboration with Germany, but with mixed loyalties, and reports indicated that they might support the Allied initiative. The American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commanding the operation, planned a three-pronged attack, aimed at Casablanca (Western), Oran (Center) and Algiers (Eastern), in advance of a rapid move on Tunis.

Twelfth Air Force United States Air Force numbered air force

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.

When taken over by the USAAF, Nouvion consisted of basically one long building and a rough airstrip. The Army Corps of Engineers moved in to upgrade the facility to minimum military requirements. The airport's runway was improved and a pierced steel planking (PSP) parking apron was constructed, utilizing the few permanent existing structures. Tents were used for ground support operations and personnel billeting.

After several weeks, the 1st Fighter Group arrived at the field from Oran Tafaraoui Airport on 20 November, operating P-38 Lightnings.

During its entire tenure at the airfield, the 1st flew combat operations while ongoing construction continued. It moved east on 14 December to Biskra. Other units that were assigned to Nouvion were:

Active operations at the airfield ended by the end of May 1943, as the front moved east into Tunisia. The Americans dismantled their facilities by the end of July and returned the former airport to French authorities. Today, the airfield is part of the Algerian Military Camp Militaire d' El Ghomri.

Related Research Articles

RAF Aldermaston

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.

Angads Airport airport in Morocco

Oujda Angads Airport is an airport serving Oujda, a city in the Oriental region in Morocco. it is located about 12 kilometres (7 mi) north of Oujda and about 600 kilometres (373 mi) northeast of Casablanca, near the Algerian border.

Ahmed Ben Bella Airport airport serving Oran, Algeria

Ahmed Ben Bella Airport, formally Es-Sénia Airport is an airport located 4.7 nm (8.7 km) south of Oran, in Algeria.

Finschhafen Airport airport in Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea

Finschhafen Airport is a general aviation airport in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.. It is located on the south-east tip of Huon Peninsula at Finschafen. A half mile inland, parallel to Schneider Harbor, with Dregerhaffen to the south-east. It has no scheduled commercial airline service.

Wakde Airfield

Wakde Airfield is a World War II airfield located on Wakde Island, off the northern coast of New Guinea in West Papua Province, Indonesia. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost totally returned to its natural state.

Kairouan Airfield abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia

Kairouan Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Tunisia, which is located approximately 11 km south-southeast of Kairouan, 126 km south of Tunis. It was a major Troop Carrier unit base of the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force during the North African Campaign. Known units assigned were:

El Djem Airfield abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia

El Djem Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, which is located approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west-northwest of El Djem; about 170 kilometres (110 mi) south-southeast of Tunis. It was a pre-1942 military airfield used by the German Luftwaffe which was attacked and seized by Allied forces in April 1943. Once in Allied hands, it was repaired and used by the United States Army Air Force during the Tunisian Campaign.

Oran Tafraoui Airport civil airport and military airbase in Oran, Algeria

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

Ghriss Airport airport in Algeria

Ghriss Airport is a civilian airport in Mascara Province, Algeria, located 5.0 km southwest of the town of Ghriss, Algeria.

Mostaganem Airport airport in Algeria

Mostaganem Airport is a civilian airport in Mostaganem Province, Algeria, located about 280 km west-southwest of Algiers. The airport has no commercial air service, and is sparsely used by general aviation.

Ponte Olivo Airfield airport in Italy

Ponte Olivo Airfield is an abandoned pre-World War II airport and later wartime military airfield in Sicily, 3 km north of Gela. Its last known use was by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force in 1944 during the Italian Campaign.

Telergma Airport airport in Algeria

Telerghma Airport is a joint-use civilian/military airport in Algeria, just south of the city of Telerghma, about 300 km east of Algiers

Lourmel Airfield

Lourmel Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Algeria, located in the El Amria area.

Berguent Airfield

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.

Guercif Airfield

Guercif Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Morocco, located about 4 km northeast of Guercif ; 400 km east-northeast of Casablanca, near the Algerian border.

Castelvetrano Airfield airport in Province of Trapani, Italy

Castelvetrano Airfield is a decommissioned World War II military airfield in Sicily which is located approximately 1 km southwest of Castelvetrano. The airfield had been an Italian Air Force, seized by the United States Army during the Invasion of Sicily, and used as part of Sicilian Campaign and the Allied Invasion of Italy in 1943.

RAF Fayid airport in Egypt

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.

11th Airlift Flight

This article is about the 11th Airlift Flight. It should not be confused with the 11th Airlift Squadron.

317th Operations Group

The 317th Operations Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last stationed at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina as part of Air Mobility Command. It was activated in 1992 during the Air Force's Objective Wing reorganization, and inactivated the following year when all Air Force units at Pope were assigned to the 23d Wing.

55th Airlift Flight

The 55th Airlift Flight was first activated as the 55th Troop Carrier Squadron in 1942. The squadron deployed to New Guinea in July 1943. The 55th participated in the airborne assault on Nadzab, New Guinea, on 5 September 1943. During 1944, the 55th also operated Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers as supply aircraft. In February 1945 the squadron rebased to the Philippines, and in August to Okinawa. In September 1945 it moved to Tachikawa Airfield, Japan, and was inactivated there in 1946.

References

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