Elefsina Air Base ( gr, Αεροπορική Βάση Ελευσίνας) is a military air base situated in
Elefsina
Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest from the centre of Athens and is part of i ...
,
Greece. It is used as the home-base of the 112th Combat Wing (112 Πτέρυγα Μάχης, 112 ΠΜ) of the
Hellenic Air Force.
History
In its current form, the airfield was opened in 1946. However, there had been an airfield and operations on the site from 1937.
Elefsina played a crucial role in the final British evacuation during the 1941
Battle of Greece
The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...
, as recounted by
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
in his autobiography ''
Going Solo
''Going Solo'' is a book by Roald Dahl, first published by Jonathan Cape in London in 1986. It is a continuation of his autobiography describing his childhood, ''Boy'' and detailed his travel to Africa and exploits as a World War II pilot.
Plo ...
''.
Operations
The 112th Combat Wing includes the following units:
* 352 VIP Transport Squadron (352 ΜΜΥΠ) (established in 1957)
* 354 Tactical Transport Squadron (354 ΜΤΜ) (established 1970)
* 355th Tactical Transport Squadron (355th ΜΤΜ) (established 1947)
* 356 Tactical Transport Squadron (356 ΜΤΜ) (established 1953)
* 358 Search and Rescue Squadron (358 ΜΕΔ) (established 1958)
* 384 Search and Rescue Squadron (384 ΜΕΔ) (established in 2006)
Approach operations are handled by the Athens Control Centre, in common with all the other airfields in the area.
References
External links
112th Combat Wing
Airports in Greece
Hellenic Air Force bases
{{europe-airport-stub