Lecce Airfield

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Lecce Airfield
Twelfth Air Force - Emblem (World War II).png Patch 15th USAAF.png
Coordinates40°21′21.72″N 018°13′57.51″E / 40.3560333°N 18.2326417°E / 40.3560333; 18.2326417
TypeMilitary airfield
Site information
Controlled byUnited States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built1943
In use1943-1945
Lecce Airfield is located in Italy
Lecce Airfield
Lecce Airfield
Location of Lecce Airfield, Italy

Lecce Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Italy, which is located approximately 5 km east of 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:

  • 98th Bombardment Group, 17 January 1944 – 19 April 1945, B-24 Liberator, (15AF)
  • 82d Fighter Group, 10 October 1943 – 11 January 1944, P-38 Lightning, (12AF)
  • 416th Night Fighter Squadron, 27–30 September 1943, Bristol Beaufighter (12 AF)

Closed after the war, Lecce Airfield today is a collection of agricultural fields, with its main runway clearly visible in aerial photography. Large areas of disturbed land indicate the remains of some wartime features also some of the former taxiways have been reduced to single-lane farm roads, however the vast majority of the airfield and ground station have been redeveloped.

As of 2009, some flying activity has returned to the field through the Vega Aeroclub of Lecce. [1] The A/D should not be confused with just a few miles to the east, still less with the military Lecce Galatina Air Base to the south of the city.

References[]

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

  • 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.

External links[]

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