Torrente Comunelli Airfield
Torrente Comunelli Airfield | |
---|---|
Part of Twelfth Air Force | |
Coordinates | 37°05′32.07″N 014°11′57.18″E / 37.0922417°N 14.1992167°E |
Type | Military airfield |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
Site history | |
Built | 1943 |
In use | 1943 |
Torrente Comunelli Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Sicily, located 5 km west-northwest of Gela, approximately 140 km southeast of Palermo.
It was an all-weather temporary field built by the XII Engineer Command using a graded earth compacted surface, with a prefabricated hessian (burlap) surfacing known as PHS. PHS was made of an asphalt-impregnated jute which was rolled out over the compacted surface over a square mesh track (SMT) grid of wire joined in 3-inch squares.
Once completed it was turned over for use by the
When the 86th moved out the airfield was closed and dismantled. Today there remains a slightly visible main runway in an agricultural field.
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.