Tortorella Airfield

Tortorella Airfield
Part of Twelfth Air Force
File:Tortoella Airfield - Italy - 27 Feb 1945.png 27 February 1945 airphoto
Coordinates	41°29′03.31″N 015°39′15.71″E (Approximate)
Type	Military airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built	1943
In use	1943-1945

Tortorella Airfield

Location of Tortorella Airfield, Italy

Tortorella Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Italy, which is located approximately 9 km east-northeast of Foggia; about 130 km northeast of Naples. Built in 1943 by United States Army Engineers, the airfield was a large facility capable of handling heavy B-17 Flying Fortress strategic bombers.

Major units stationed at Tortorella were:

• 99th Bombardment Group, 11 December 1943 – 27 October 1945, B-17 Flying Fortress

It was closed by the Americans on 23 October 1945. Today, little or no evidence remains of the airfield with the exception of the outline of the main runway in aerial photography as the Foggia plain is mainly an agricultural area.

References

File:Tortoella Airfield - Italy - map.jpg

General map of airfield

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/Publications/fulltext/combat_sq_of_the_af_wwii.pdf.