Berteaux Airfield
Berteaux Airfield![]() | |
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Part of Twelfth Air Force | |
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Coordinates | 36°04′40″N 006°29′15″E / 36.07778°N 6.48750°E |
Type | Military Airfield |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
Site history | |
Built | 1942 |
In use | December 1942-March 1944 |
Berteaux Airfield is an abandoned World War II United States Army Air Forces military airfield in Algeria, which was located approximately 9 km east of Telerghma; 35 km southwest of Constantine.
The airfield was constructed as a semi-permanent facility in late 1942 and early 1943, with a hard asphalt runway and concrete taxiways. Numerous hardstands were built, as well as a pierced steel planking parking apron and a steel control tower. There were probably a few structures erected with at least one blister-type hangar. A mixture of medium bomber and fighter groups and squadrons from Twelfth Air Force used the airfield during the North African Campaign.
History
The first operational unit to use Berteaux was the
The 14th was replaced by the
The 33d Fighter Group moved out to Ebba Ksour Airfield, Tunisia, in the middle of April, reducing the crowded conditions somewhat, with the 82d and 310th Bomb Groups moving east in June as the battle of North Africa moved into Tunisia.
Berteaux Airfield was used as a support base for transient aircraft for a few months until the 68th Reconnaissance Group moved its P-38 and P-51 reconnaissance aircraft to the airfield in early September. The group flew combat reconnaissance missions over Tunisia and Sicily until October 1943 when it also moved east to
Other units assigned to Berteaux were the
After the 68th moved out in October, Berteaux stayed in service as an Air Technical Service Command supply and maintenance support airfield until the end of March, 1944. Afterward, what could be dismantled from the airfield was moved east and the airfield was turned over to local authorities.
Today the area where Berteaux Airfield was constructed is now an agricultural area, although the ground still shows evidence of its existence in aerial images.
References
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. OCLC 72556.
- USAFHRA records search for Berteaux Airfield