Korba Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in
Tunisia, located about 3 km west of Hamadet Bir Messaouda in Nabul province; 13 km north of Korbra, and 60 km east-southeast of
Tunis.
Built by the US Army Corps of engineers, the airfield consisted of Pierced Steel Planking runways and parking and dispersal areas, with support structures quickly constructed out of wood or tents. Its last known use was by the
United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force in 1943 during the
Tunisian Campaign. Units which used the airfield were the following:
*
27th Fighter Bomber Group, June–July 1943,
A-36 Apache
*
31st Fighter Group
31 (thirty-one) is the natural number following 30 and preceding 32. It is a prime number.
In mathematics
31 is the 11th prime number. It is a superprime and a self prime (after 3, 5, and 7), as no integer added up to its base 10 digits ...
, 15 May-30 June 1943,
Spitfire
*
86th Bombardment Group, 30 June-20 July 1943,
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 ...
The airfield is also notable because many Italian Air Force airplanes landed at Korba in the days immediately following the armistice between Italy and the Allied armed forces in early September 1943. The
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...
8 Gruppo
Macchi C.200
The Macchi C.200 Saetta (Italian: "Lightning"), or MC.200, was a fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy. Various versions were flown by the ''Regia Aeronautica'' (Italian Air Force) who used the type throughou ...
fighters landed at Korba on 8 September. Most were worn out and obsolete, no longer useful for combat, however Italian crews scrounged any parts that they could to keep their aircraft flying against the Germans. Later, the
Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force (ICBAF or ACI) was formed and incorporated these aircraft.
With the withdrawal of the Italian aircraft in late 1943, the airfield was dismantled. Today there are few or no remains of the airfield, as the area today consists primarily of agricultural fields, although scarring on the land, where the runways and other areas were, still can be seen in aerial photography.
References
* Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. .
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Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Tunisia
Airports established in 1943