Souk-el-Arba Airfield
{{Short description|Abandoned military airfields in Tunisia}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name=Souk-el-Arba airfield complex
120px 70px
|partof = Royal Air Force and Twelfth Air Force
|location=
|coordinates={{Coord|36|29|N|08|48|E|type:airport}}
|image=
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|type=Military airfield complex
|code=
|built=Various dates up to 1943
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|used= (By Allied forces) November 1942 to about August 1943
|demolished=
|condition= Returned to civilian uses
|ownership=
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{{Location map|Tunisia|label= Souk-el-Arba Airfield
|marksize=6|mark=Red_pog.svg
|lat_dir=N|lat_deg=36|lat_min=31|lat_sec=48
|lon_dir=E|lon_deg=008|lon_min=44|lon_sec=15
|position=left|width=200|float=right
|caption=Location of Souk-el-Arba Airfields, Tunisia}}
The Souk-el-Arba Airfields are a pair of World War II military airfields in Tunisia, located near what was at the time the village of Souk-el-Arba but since 1966 has been known as Jendouba. The location is approximately 130 km west-southwest of Tunis.
Souk-el-Arba I
The original airfield, which pre-dates Operation Torch, was located immediately to the south-east of the town and was captured by paratroops of the British 1st Parachute Brigade on 16 November 1942.Kurowski, F. (1982) Endkampf in Afrika, Leoni-am-Starnberger See:Druffel-Verlag, p.54. {{ISBN|3806110247}} (German language).
Within days, Souk-el-Arba I was used by the Royal Air Force, an example being No. 255 Squadron.The National Archives of the UK : AIR27/1518 folio 117 side 1.
Souk-el-Arba II
The second airfield was constructed later by US military engineers, located about 4 km to the south-west of the town Luftwaffe aerial photograph: http://www.wwii-photos-maps.com/targetnorthafrica/Algeria/slides/Souk%20el%20Arba%20I%20u.%20II%201.html and used primarily by American bombers.
Souk-el-Arba II was a temporary airfield constructed by Army Engineers, using compacted earth for its runway, parking and dispersal areas, not designed for heavy aircraft or for long-term use.
Also known as Engle Field, it was used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force during the North African campaign. The units known to be assigned to the airfield were:
- HQ, 47th Bombardment Wing, 8 June-7 August 1943
- 47th Bombardment Group, 13 April-1 July 1943, A-20 Havoc
- 321st Bombardment Group, 1 June-8 August 1943, B-25 Mitchell
- 82d Fighter Group, 13 June-3 August 1943, P-38 Lightning
After the Americans moved east to Sicily in August, the airfield was closed and dismantled. Today, the former main runway is visible in aerial photography and, other than two hangars south of the runway, no buildings or physical features remain.
Bibliography
- {{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}
- Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. {{ISBN|0-89201-092-4}}.
- {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II|orig-year=1969|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180455/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 20, 2016 |edition= reprint|year=1982|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-405-12194-6|oclc=72556|lccn=70605402}}
- Johnson, Kenneth M. Capt. USAAF. "My stretch in the Service, book III". Personal collection of Jeffrey M. Johnson, 1943
References
{{reflist}}
{{USAAF 12th Air Force World War II}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Souk-El-Arba Airfield}}
Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Tunisia