Mondolfo Airfield
Mondolfo Airfield | |
|---|---|
| Mondolfo - Italy | |
| Coordinates | 43°45′01.46″N 013°09′50.0″E / 43.7504056°N 13.163889°E |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Fifteenth United States Army Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | Winter 1944-1945 |
| In use | 1945 |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | 31st and 325th USAAF Fighter Groups |
Mondolfo Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Italy, located about 6 km southeast of Fano and 4 km east of Mondolfo in the Marche region.
The airfield had two 4000' (2000m) parallel runways aligned approximately NW/SE, with two adjacent taxiways of about 40 hardstands each, and large areas of Pierced Steel Planking (PSP) for aircraft parking ramps (total 180-200 aircraft capacity). A blister-type hangar, a temporary steel control tower and a rudimentary tent containment area northwest of the operational airfield was also constructed. Its last known use was by the United States Army Air Force Fifteenth Air Force in 1945 during the Italian campaign
Known USAAF units stationed at Mondolfo were:
- 31st Fighter Group, 3 March-15 July 1945
- 307th; 308th; 309th Fighter Squadrons, P-51D/K Mustang
- Primary mission was to escort B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers on missions into Northern Italy, Germany, Yugoslavia and Austria.
- 325th Fighter Group, April-July 1945
- 317th; 319th Fighter Squadrons, P-51D/K Mustang
- Primary mission was to fly ground air support missions for advancing Allied ground forces in Italy.
Ground support units assigned were the 65th Ordnance Ammunition Company (munitions supply), and the 543d Air Service Group (ground station operations).
The airfield was turned over to the Italian government in late September 1945, and today there is little or no remains of the airfield in evidence. Remains of the northwest end of both the eastern and western runways are visible in aerial photography, along with traces of the east taxiway. The station was dismantled after the war, and the land used by the station as well as the airfield has largely been returned to agricultural use.
References
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 (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
- AirForceHistory.org Records Search, Mondolfo
External links
- Mondolfo history 1943-1945 (in Italian, In Italiano)
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