Guercif Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, located about 4 km northeast of Guercif (Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate); 400 km east-northeast of

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, near the

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n border.

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the airfield's primary use was for tactical photographic reconnaissance and

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

troop carrier and logistics operations by the

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) 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 command is the air component to U ...

. 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. 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 The 111th Attack Squadron (111 ATKS) is a unit of the Texas Air National Guard 147th Attack Wing located at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Houston, Texas. The 111th is equipped with the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UA ...

(Medium) of the

68th Observation Group The 53rd Electronic Warfare Group was a component of the 53rd Wing of the Air Force Warfare Center, Air Combat Command, headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The group was responsible for providing operational, technical and mainte ...

began flying

A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was or ...

reconnaissance and photographic observation missions. The squadron remained at the airfield until it moved to Nouvion Airfield,

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

at the end of May. 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 Nouvion (; or sometimes Nouvion-en-Ponthieu) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Nouvion is situated north of Abbeville, between the Somme estuary and the forest of Crécy, on the D1001 (ex ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. 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 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 ...

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to better support the advancing Allied forces. After the 316th moved east, the airfield was dismantled and the land returned to civil authorities. Today the airfield is an open, undeveloped area seen on aerial photography northeast of the town.

References

* Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . *

External links

{{authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Morocco World War II airfields in Morocco Airports established in 1943