Sainte Marie du Zit Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Zaghwan province,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, located about 3 km northeast of Sainte-Marie du Zit and 17 km east-northeast of Zaghouan, and 50 km south of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

History

The airfield was built by the German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

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 opposing ...

. It was attacked and area near a fuel dump by

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

B-25 Mitchells on 3 April 1943, and seized by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

on 9 May during the

Battle of Tunisia The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. T ...

. It was repaired by Army engineers and improved for use by the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

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 ...

. The existing facility was expanded earth dispersal hardstands. Six-man tents were used for billeting, lined up in rows with the orderly room and the mess hall at one end. On 25 July, the

14th Fighter Group 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 * 014 Construction Unit * Divi Divi Air Flight 014 * Pirna 014 The Pirna 014 was an axial turbojet designed in East Germany (or the GDR) in the mid- to late 1950s by former Junkers engineers, who were repatriat ...

with three squadrons of

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

s arrived. After the Axis defeat in Tunisia, the 14th Fighter Group flew dive-bombing missions during the Allied assault on Pantelleria and helped prepare for and support the invasions of Sicily and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Lieut H. T. Hanna made ace in one day by destroying five Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers on October 9, 1943. In November the group was assigned to Fifteenth Air Force and moved to

Triolo Airfield The Foggia Airfield Complex was a series of World War II military airfields located within a radius of Foggia, in the Province of Foggia, Italy. The airfields were used by the United States Army Air Force Fifteenth Air Force as part of the str ...

on 12 December. The facilities at Sainte Marie du Zit were dismantled and the airfield was abandoned. The land is now an agricultural area, the remains of the main runway being visible on aerial photography. A large disturbed area around the runway is still in evidence.

References

* Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . * Maurer, Maurer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
USAFHRA Document Search, Sainte Marie du Zit Airfield

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainte Marie Du Zit Airfield Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Tunisia Airports established in 1943