Médiouna Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, located in the

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

area.

History

Established as a French military airfield in French Morocco during the 1920s, after the Fall of France in June, 1940, the reconstituted Vichy Air Force established a military airfield at the facility for its limited air resources. During the

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

landings in November 1942, 13

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F-4F Wildcats attacked the airfield at Médiouna and destroyed a total of 11 French aircraft, including six from GC II/5. and the airfield was seized by invading Allied ground forces. Immediately after the landings, 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 U ...

47th Bombardment Group 47th may refer to: Chicago Transit Authority stations * 47th station (CTA Green Line) 47th is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's "L" system, located in the Grand Boulevard community area of Chicago, Illinois and serving the Gree ...

became the first USAAF

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

group to participate in large-scale combat in the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

, using ferry tanks cross the North Atlantic. The group assembled at Médiouna before flying its first combat mission from Youks-les-Bains Airfield,

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

on 13 December. On the heels of the 47th, the

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served ...

equipped

310th Bombardment Group 31 may refer to: * 31 (number) Years * 31 BC * AD 31 * 1931 * 2031 Music * ''Thirty One'' (Jana Kramer album), 2015 * ''Thirty One'' (Jarryd James album), 2015 * "Thirty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Wild, Wonderful Purgatory ...

moved from its temporary base at

RAF Hardwick Royal Air Force Hardwick or more simply RAF Hardwick is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located between the Norfolk villages of Topcroft and Hardwick, Norfolk, Hardwick in England. It is around west o ...

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in mid-November. It also moved east quickly to Telergma Airfield,

on 21 December. A third group, the

81st Fighter Group 081 may refer to: Telephony * 081, the telephone dialing code for the City of Naples and surroundings in Italy * 081, a former dialling code for London, UK (1990–1995) * 081, a telephone area code for mobile operators in Lebanon * 081, a mobi ...

was assigned to the field in early January 1943 flying

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...

s. Its ground echelon arrived at the field in November, but the air echelon trained for several months in England. Once assembled, it moved to Thelepte Airfield,

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

at the end of January. The next USAAF unit to use Médiouna was the

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 (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

14th Fighter Group 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 * 014 Construction Unit * Divi Divi Air Flight 014 * Pirna 014 * Tyrrell 014 The Tyrrell 014 was a Formula One car, designed for Tyrrell Racing The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and F ...

, after being withdrawn from combat in early March 1943. The group was re-equipped with the P-38F and some P-38Gs and reassigned to Telergma Airfield,

in early May. Lastly, elements of the

86th Bombardment Group Area codes 084 and 086 are Nigerian telephone area codes serving the cities of Port Harcourt and Ahoada in Rivers State. They fall under the Southeast Zone in the National Numbering Plan (NNP) restructured in 2003. When in Port Harcourt or Ahoad ...

(309th, 310th, 312th Bombardment Squadrons) were at the airfield between 15 May and 11 June 1944. Following the landings in Algeria and Morocco, the French Armée d'Afrique freed itself from Vichy France and joined the Allies against the Axis forces. The Cherchell-Mediouna French Cadet Officers Academy was established at the airfield in December 1942 in order to provide the Free French Forces with officers. Most of the officers from the Cherchell-Mediouna E.E.A. were trained in Cherchell (Algeria). The Mediouna camp, near Casablanca (Morocco), accommodated cadet officers only between January and May 1943. From January 1943 to June 1945, about 5,000 officers divided into five classes were trained in the Cherchell-Mediouna E.E.A..

References

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

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mediouna Airfield Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Morocco World War II airfields in Morocco