Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella is an Italian Air Force base ('' it, Aeroporto "Cosimo Di Palma" di Sigonella''), and a U.S. Navy installation at Italian Air Force Base Sigonella in Sicily, Italy. The whole NAS is a tenant of the Italian Air Force, which has the military and the administrative control. It serves as an Italian base for the 41º Stormo Antisom (41st Antisubmarine Warfare Wing). NAS Sigonella acts also as landlord to more than 40 other U.S. commands and activities. It is located west and south of the city of

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, and some south of

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...

. The NAS is located in the western part of the large airport structure, while the Italian military base is located in the eastern part. Because of its location near the center of the Mediterranean Sea, NASSIG is well placed to support operations by the U.S. 6th Fleet, other U.S. military units, and U.S. allies and coalition partners. Among the aircraft that fly from this island base are Italian Air Force ATR 72MP ( which replaced the Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic in 2017) and United States Air Force C-130,

C-17 The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...

and C-5 airlifters, KC-135 and KC-10

tanker Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum ta ...

s and U.S. Navy

P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.Naval Support Activity Bahrain. NAS Sigonella also has a large support of security personnel from NR NSF Sigonella, a Navy Reserve command based in NOSC Detroit at

Selfridge ANGB Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...

, Michigan. The Naval Air Station comprises two sections: NAS It was the site of the original U.S. base but is now a support facility, and NAS II which includes the runways, operations and most tenant commands. NAS I also contains the Navy Exchange and Commissary, the school, and some homes, mainly for the commodore of Task Force 67, the air station commanding officer, air station executive officer and commanding officers of tenant activities. NAS I also is host to other facilities, mainly for entertainment. NAS II is now only used as a service base.

History

The United States Naval Air Facility (NAF), Sigonella, was established 15 June 1959. Its first commanding officer was Captain Walter J. Frazier. The facility was conceived in the early 1950s, when plans to base U.S. Navy P2V Neptunes at

Hal Far HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

, Malta began to outgrow the facility. When there was no room for expansion at Malta, the U.S. Navy obtained NATO backing to be hosted by Sicilians. Italy made land available under a temporary agreement signed 25 June 1957. Six days later, Landing Ship Tank ( LSTs) began to deliver equipment from the Malta base. Ground was broken in September, and construction on the administrative area at NAF I was started in 1958. It was built on top of an airfield where damaged fighters and bombers of the

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

had once landed during the Second World War. The first Americans arrived for work at Sigonella in March 1959—six months before any buildings were ready—and so worked for six months in

at a large warehouse complex called Magazzino Generale (General Warehouse), which is opposite the cemetery on the right side of the street as one enters Catania from the base. By the end of August 1959, the NAF II airfield was available for daylight flights under visual flight rules (VFR); 24 flights were logged by 31 August. One of Sigonella's first buildings was what is now the

American Forces Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

(AFN) building. In 1958, that building was Sigonella's vector (pest) control center, where

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

poison was stored. The Army Corps of Engineers next used the building for their offices, later sharing it with Special Services, or what is now called Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR). Around 1966, AFN came to Sigonella and joined Special Services, which soon moved out, leaving the building to the broadcasters. Sigonella's first flood occurred mid-September 1959. The Dittaino Bridge between NAF I and NAF II was under six feet of water on 20 September and all traffic had to go through Catania. Power outages accompanied the floods. In 1965 the Italian Air Force sited at Sigonella the 41st Antisubmarine Warfare Wing (86st Gruppo and 88st Gruppo) with mixed crews from the Air Force and Navy. In the 1980s, "Naval Air Facility" Sigonella was redesignated as a "Naval Air Station". In 1983 the base was named after World War II pilot Captain Cosimo Di Palma ( it), who was shot down by the '' Luftwaffe'' while on a mission with the Italian Co-belligerent Air Force and was honored with the Gold medal of Military Valor. On the night of 10 October 1985, there were tense hours on NAS II when the Italian Carabinieri, Italian Air Force, and the US Army's Delta Force came close to firing upon one another following the interception by US Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters of an Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship, the ''

Achille Lauro Achille Lauro (; 16 June 1887 – 15 November 1982) was an Italian businessman and politician. He is widely considered one of the main precursors of modern populism in Italian politics. He was nicknamed by his supporters ''Il Comandante'' ("The ...

'', which had been commandeered by members of the

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...

on 7 October. The hijackers had killed a Jewish American Leon Klinghoffer. The F-14s instructed the Egyptian plane to land at Sigonella where the Americans had planned to take the hijackers into custody. The Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi instead claimed the hijackers were under Italian jurisdiction. The Italian authorities, therefore, refused to allow the Navy SEALs to board the plane, threatening to open fire on the Americans had they made an attempt to do so. The ensuing stand-off lasted throughout the night, until President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

gave the orders for the Americans to stand down. The hijackers were eventually tried and sentenced by an Italian court. In late 1985, work crews belonging to NMCB 133 were repairing and installing sidewalks in the housing area at NAS I when they uncovered a small stockpile of Luftwaffe antiaircraft ammunition. The stockpile had apparently belonged to an antiaircraft position that had been buried during raids in the Allied invasion of 1943. On 1 April 2004, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) opened Defense Depot Sigonella Italy on NAS II to serve as a supply base for the Mediterranean. DLA also provides fuel and property disposal from NAS II. Sigonella suffered its second major flood mid December 2005. Over 400 service members and family evacuated. In 2006, a newly installed protective berm prevented a nearly second consecutive year of flooding. When NATO took military intervention to Libya in 2011, NAS Sigonella played an important role in US

Operation Odyssey Dawn Operation Odyssey Dawn was the U.S. code name for the American role in the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 during the initial period of 19–31 March 2011, which continued aft ...

because of its short distance to the country. As Libya remained unstable in 2013, a Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force–Crisis Response unit was formed and an element of this was moved to the base to be within V-22 range of Libya. In 2019, an investigation by Sigonella's Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) office and the local Carabinieri led to the arrest of 18 individuals suspected of stealing over of JP-5 jet fuel. According to the investigators, the criminal operation, which involved the siphoning of jet fuel from a pipeline connecting Augusta Bay with NAS Sigonella, had been ongoing for almost 3 years and caused approximately 800,000 Euros in damages. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, most of the base including recreational facilities, daycare programs and the school were shut down to slow the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.

Facilities

The Base Operating and Support Services contractor Gemmo is responsible for pest management at the station.

Airport

The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 10R/28L which measures and 10L/28R measuring .Airport information for LICZ
from DAFIF (effective October 2006)

Housing

Most permanent party military personnel and families are housed in ''Marinai'', located 2 minutes from NAS II and approximately 10–15 minutes from NAS I. Marinai flooded in December 2005 displacing many families temporarily. Also in Marinai is

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

Troop 53 and Cub Scout Pack 53. Previously, "Mineo" was used as a housing base, but has since been returned to Italian Nationals and is no longer in service. Temporarily deployed unaccompanied military personnel, typically from rotational squadrons deployed from the United States, are housed in bachelor enlisted quarters and bachelor officer quarters located at NAS II. From 1987 to 2002, there was a base housing development ''Villaggio Costanzo'' which was located in the village of Santa Maria La Stella, in the comune of Aci Sant'Antonio, and approximately 60 minutes from NAS I. The closest community to the base is Motta Sant'Anastasia, where many military personnel and their families live in rented accommodation ''on the economy''. Relations between the Americans and the local Italian nationals are cordial, despite some anti-American demonstrations outside the base protesting the Iraq War. Many Italian nationals are employed as civilian workers at the base.

Educational opportunities

Family support includes pre-Kindergarten and Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDs) K-12 schooling. In-person college-level courses are delivered by several universities. In particular, the University of Maryland Global Campus – Europe (formerly the European Division) offers a wide range of courses, depending on demand. File:FRONT GATE SIGONELLA 1962.jpg File:US Navy 030313-N-9693M-005 Members assigned to the "Gray Wolves" of Electronic Attack Squadron One Four Two (VAQ-142) maneuver an EA-6B Prowler into position for a maintenance check.jpg File:US Navy 030506-N-0020T-003 Lt. j.g. Ike Kraushaar pilots an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter to the active runway at Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella.jpg File:US_Navy_030526-N-3122S-019_A_P-3C_Orion_aircraft_assigned_to_the.jpg File:US Navy 060115-N-8726C-001 Three P-3C Orion aircraft belonging to the Tridents of Patrol Squadron Two Six (VP-26) stand ready on a rain soaked airfield on board Naval Air Station Sigonella.jpg File:US Navy 060112-N-8726C-001 Sailors assigned the Tridents of Patrol Squadron Two Six (VP-26) head back to the hangar after conducting a pre-flight checks on a P-3C Orion.jpg File:US_Navy_030313-N-9693M-003_A_C-2_Greyhound_assigned_to_the.jpg File:Breguet Br 1150 Atlantic MM40124 Aeronautica.jpg

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at NAS Sigonella. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Sigonella, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

Italian Air Force

Support and Special Forces Command * Sigonella Air Base Command () * 41st (Anti-submarine) Wing () – P-72A ** 86st (Crew training) Wing (86º Gruppo CAE) * 11st Department aircraft maintenance (11° Reparto manutenzione velivoli) Combat Forces Command * 32nd Wing () ** 61st Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron () – MQ-1C Predator A+

Italian Navy

Aviation Inspector for the Navy * 88nd (Anti-submarine) Wing () – P-72A

United States Navy

* Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment * Air Operations Department – C-26D Metroliner * Commander, Fleet Logistics Support Wing (CFLSW) ** Executive Transport Department Sigonella – C-20G Gulfstream IV * Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Sicily * Naval Medical Research Unit Three (NAMRU-3) Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) * NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Sigonella Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Naval Forces Africa (CNE-CNA) *

US Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...

** Commander Task Force 67 (CTF-67) *** TG-67.1 (Maritime Patrol) –

P-8A Poseidon The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and derived from the civilian Boeing 737-800. It was developed for the United States Navy (USN). Th ...

*** TG-67.2 (Tactical Operation Center) *** TU-67.2.1 (Mobile Tactical Operation Center) *** TG-67.3 (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) – MQ-4C Triton

United States Air Force

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

(ACC) * Sixteenth Air Force **

319th Reconnaissance Wing The 319th Reconnaissance Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command. It is stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. The wing is the host unit at Grand Forks. The wing operates E/RQ-4B Global Hawk r ...

***

319th Operations Group The 319th Operations Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to 319th Reconnaissance Wing Air Combat Command. It is stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota operating RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) in th ...

**** 7th Reconnaissance Squadron (GSU) – RQ-4B Global Hawk US Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) * Third Air Force ** 435th Air Expeditionary Wing ***

409th Air Expeditionary Group The 409th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE), which may activate or inactivate the group as needed at any time. The group was first activated in June 1943 du ...

****

324th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron The 324th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 409th Air Expeditionary Group at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy. The squadron was first activated in 1942 as the 324th Bomb ...

(GSU)

NATO

NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force (NAGSF) * Alliance Ground Surveillance – RQ-4D Phoenix

European Union

EU NAVFOR Med * Operation Irini

References

External links

NAS Sigonella
official site

official site 41º Stormo AMI
Sigonella Community Support Group

Google Map
* *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigonella, Naval Air Station United States Naval Air Stations Military installations of the United States in Italy Military installations established in 1959 Airports in Sicily Italian airbases NATO installations in Italy