Gioia del Colle Air Base

Gioia del Colle Air Base (ICAO: LIBV) is an Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) base located in the province of Bari, Apulia, Italy, located approximately 1 km south-southeast of Gioia del Colle.

Gioia del Colle Air Base

Italian Eurofighter Typhoon
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
LocationGioia del Colle, Italy
Elevation AMSL1,186 ft / 361 m
Coordinates40°45′51″N 016°56′00″E
Map
Gioia del Colle AB
Location of Gioia del Colle Air Base, Italy
Source:World Aero Data[1]

World War II

During World War II the air base was captured by the British Eighth Army in October 1943 and used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force and Fifteenth Air Forces. It was known as Gioia del Colle Airfield by the Americans. Known combat units operating from the airfield were:

The airfield was also used by troop carrier units working with British paratroopers (8th Troop Carrier Squadron) and also by Air Technical Service Command as a maintenance and supply depot. (41st/38th Air Depot). It was turned over to the Allied Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force (Aviazione Cobelligerante Italiana, or ACI) in September 1945.

Present

The base is an Italian military facility, presently home of the 36th Stormo, flying the Eurofighter Typhoon.

If necessary, the base can host personnel and aircraft of both the Italian Air Force, as well as other nations in NATO.

As part of the Coalition intervention in Libya, resulting from the 2011 Libyan civil war and the subsequent enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, it became the forward operating base for units of the Royal Air Force, operating both Panavia Tornado F3 and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.[2]

See also

Notes
  1. http://worldaerodata.com/wad.cgi?id=AG70333&sch=LIBV
  2. "Libya: RAF 'comfortable' with outcome of airstrikes". BBC News. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-20.

References

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

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