Martuba
Maturba is a town in eastern Libya in the Derna District. It is located at 32.575739 n, 22.761505 e, south of Derna and 557 miles from Tripoli and the city's population is 8,130.
The Martuba Air Base is located in Maturba. During the Second W ...
Airbase is a
Libyan Air Force
The Libyan Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الليبية) is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000 ...
( ar, القوات الجوية الليبية,
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
: Adwas Alibyan Ujnna) base in the
Derna District of
Libya, located approximately south-southeast of
Derna, and east-northeast of
Benghazi
Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...
.
History
During
World War II the airfield, then known as Martuba Airfield, was used as a military airfield by the
United States Army Air Force 57th Fighter Group, during the
North African Campaign against
Axis forces. The 57th flew
P-40 Warhawks from the airfield 16 November-3 December 1942.
Following the
British victory at
El Alamein
El Alamein ( ar, العلمين, translit=al-ʿAlamayn, lit=the two flags, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Arab's Gulf, Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. , it had ...
during the
Second World War, the airfield at Maturba saw heavy fighting in 1942,
[Ken Delve Delve]
The Desert Air Force in World War II: Air Power in the Western Desert, 1940-1942
(Pen and Sword, 31 Mar. 2017). as
Rommel's
Afrika Korps was pushed back from the
Egyptian border.
Military use
The airbase's primary use is by the Libyan Air Force, which has two sections at the base. The first section contains the main buildings and the hangars that house
Mil Mi-2 and
Mil Mi-8
The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968.
It is now produced by Russia.
In addition t ...
helicopters. The second section is the flight-line containing taxiways, a ramp, and a single runway. The runway has an additional paved overrun on each end.
An
Aeritalia G.222
The Aeritalia G.222 (formerly Fiat Aviazione, later Alenia Aeronautica) is a medium-sized STOL military transport aircraft. It was developed to meet a NATO specification, but Italy was initially the only NATO member to adopt the type. The Unite ...
is stored on the ramp, but this section of the base appears to be a reserve facility.
Civilian use
The site is also used for the transportation of oil field workers from production facilities in the area.
See also
*
Transport in Libya
*
List of airports in Libya
List of airports in Libya sorted by location.
__TOC__
Airports
Airport names shown in bold indicate the airport has scheduled service on commercial airlines.
, - valign=top
, Bani Walid
,
,
, Bani Walid Airport
, - valign=top
, ...
References
External links
OpenStreetMap - MartubahOurAirports - Martubah Airport
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Libya
Airports in Libya
World War II airfields in Libya
Libyan Air Force bases
{{libya-geo-stub