Gerbini military airfield
| Gerbini military airfield & satellites | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Characteristics | |||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 80 m (262 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 20 km west of Catania | ||
| Street | A19 , SS192 , SP24 | ||
| train | Gerbini stop | ||
| Local transport | bus | ||
| Basic data | |||
| opening | 1939 | ||
| operator | Aeronautica Regia , Air Force , USAAF | ||
| Start-and runway | |||
| WNW / OSO | 1645 m × 55 m concrete | ||
The Gerbini military airfield was a military airfield in Sicily during World War II . Several field airfields were created in the vicinity of the main airfield . These airfields were on a plane around 20 kilometers west of Catania .
history
The main airfield was laid out between 1938 and 1940. A concrete, 1645 meter long runway was built between December 1941 and April 1942. This runway had a lighting system and a German Lorenz Lande radio beacon . In the main square there were two hangars, workshops and various accommodations as well as several fuel depots and ammunition depots.
The main airfield and the field airfields (satellite airfields) were used by Italian (9, 10, 16, 17, 55, 66, 88, 99, 101, 132, 146, 149 Gruppo; 282 Squadriglia), German ( KG30 , KG54 , KG77 , KG6 , KG76 , SG2 , AFG14, SKG10 , JG3 , JG27 , JG53 ) and allied units (14, 47 Bombardment Groups, 60 Troop Carrier Group USAAF ). A number of other units used the airfields only for stopovers on the way to North Africa or towards mainland Italy.
The following list of airfields does not claim to be complete.
| Airfield | location | Facility | use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main airfield | ⊙ | 1939 | |
| S1 (Gerbini-North) | ⊙ | Spring 1942 | |
| S2 (Gerbini-South) | ⊙ | Spring 1942 | |
| S3 ( Sigonella ) | ⊙ | Spring 1942 | |
| S4 | ⊙ | 1942 | |
| S5 | ⊙ | 1942 | |
| S6 (Torazzo) | ⊙ | 1942 | |
| S7 | ⊙ | Late 1942 | |
| S8 | ⊙ | Spring 1943 | |
| S9 | ⊙ | 1943 | |
| S10 | ⊙ | July 1943 | |
| S11 | ⊙ | July 1943 | |
| S12 (Ramacca) | ⊙ | July 1943 | Parts IV./JG3 , II./JG27 , II./JG53 |
| S13 | ⊙ | July 1943 | |
| S14 | ⊙ | July 1943 | |
| San Salvatore (Scordia) | ⊙ | ||
| Finocchiara | ⊙ | 17 ° GP | |
| Spinasanta (Spina Santa) |
The former airfields of Gerbini have been mainly used for agriculture since the end of the war. The contours of military use are hardly recognizable today. Remnants of the concrete runway are still present on the former main airfield. At the site of the Gerbini-Sigonella field airfield (satellite 3), the Sigonella military airfield was built from 1957 .