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Ben Gardane Airfield

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ben Gardane Airfield
Part of Ninth Air Force
Pilots of the 57th Fighter Group (April 1943)
Coordinates33°08′23.72″N 011°12′50.01″E / 33.1399222°N 11.2138917°E / 33.1399222; 11.2138917
TypeMilitary Airfield
Site information
Controlled byUnited States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built1943
In use1943
Ben Gardane Airfield is located in Tunisia
Ben Gardane Airfield
Ben Gardane Airfield
Location of Ben Gardane Airfield, Tunisia

Ben Gardane Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, near Bin Qirdan (Madanin), about 420 km south-southeast of Tunis.

It was a temporary airfield built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, used by the United States Army Air Force Ninth Air Force during the Tunisian Campaign. It was used by the 57th Fighter Group, which flew P-40 Warhawks from the airfield between 9–21 March 1943 during the British Eighth Army's advance into Tunisia from Libya, to which the 57th was attached. It was also used to land spitfires from the 601st squadron RAF.

When the Americans moved out at the end of April 1943, the airfield was dismantled and abandoned. Today the airfield's precise location is undetermined, as agricultural fields have obliterated its existence.

References

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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the 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.
  • 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.
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