Gioia del Colle military airfield

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Gioia del Colle military airfield
“Antonio Ramirez”
Gioia del Colle military airfield (Apulia)
Red pog.svg
Characteristics
ICAO code LIBV
Coordinates

40 ° 46 ′ 4 ″  N , 16 ° 56 ′ 0 ″  E Coordinates: 40 ° 46 ′ 4 ″  N , 16 ° 56 ′ 0 ″  E
Height above MSL 362 m (1188  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 3 km south of Gioia del Colle
Street Via Federico II, SS 100, A14
train Gioia del Colle train station
Local transport bus
Basic data
opening 1915
operator Aeronautica Militare
surface 540 ha
Runways
14R / 32L 3001 m × 45 m asphalt
14L / 32R 2996 m × 30 m asphalt

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The Gioia del Colle military airfield is located in the Italian region of Apulia , three kilometers south of Gioia del Colle . It is one of the largest and most important facilities in the Italian Air Force .

use

The airfield has been used for over 50 years by 36º Stormo , a squadron whose role has changed profoundly several times over the years . It is named after its former commander Riccardo Hellmuth Seidl , who died as a torpedo bomber pilot in World War II . The 36th Squadron has two flying squadrons , the X. and the XII. Gruppo , which are equipped with Eurofighter Typhoon fighter planes and whose QRA rotters secure the airspace over eastern southern Italy. There is also a small squadron of rescue helicopters ( 84º Centro SAR ), which was relocated from Brindisi to Gioia del Colle in 2012 . The latter is subordinate to a helicopter squadron ( 15º Stormo ) with staff in the northern Italian city of Cervia .

history

At Gioia del Colle, a simple airfield with a few smaller maintenance hangars was set up for the first time in 1915. During the First World War , it was primarily used for pilot training. In 1917, Caproni bombers started attacking targets in the Bay of Kotor from here . After the war, only a simple makeshift airfield remained for a long time. From 1935 to 1938 expansion work was carried out and then bomber units were stationed . During the Second World War , Gioia del Colle remained rather of secondary importance until 1943. In the area there were a number of other airfields such as Grottaglie , Brindisi or Foggia . In September 1943 the British occupied the Gioia del Colle airfield, which was then mainly used by the United States Army Air Forces until 1944 , in particular by their 1st and 57th Fighter Groups ( P-38 , P-40 ) and the 451st Bombardment Group ( B-24 ).

As early as September 1945, the Allies returned the Gioia del Colle airfield to the Italian Air Force, which again used it for training purposes until 1954. After further expansion, the 36ª Aerobrigata Interdizione Strategica was set up here in 1960 , the successor to the 36º Stormo bomber squadron built in Bologna in 1938 , which had been disbanded as a transport unit in Latina in 1954 . 36th Missile - Brigade it was until 1963 with 30 medium-range missiles of the type PGM-19 Jupiter equipped nuclear warheads , however, remained under the control of the United States . Shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis , the Americans withdrew their missiles after reaching an agreement with the Soviet Union . Only one Italian airfield command remained in Gioia del Colle.

On September 24, 1963, the first F-86K Sabers arrived in Gioia del Colle. These were machines of the 12º Gruppo (squadron) of the 4º Stormo (squadron) from Grosseto . The 156º Gruppo des 6º Stormo ( F-84F Thunderstreak ) from Ghedi in northern Italy came to this season . With these two squadrons, the 36th Squadron was re-established on June 1, 1966 in Gioia del Colle as one of the most highly decorated units of the Italian Air Force. The 12th squadron provided interceptors for southern Italy , the 156th squadron took on its role as a fighter-bomber as well as anti-tank operations ( Tactical Support of Maritime Operations , TASMO for short ) and thus remained in the tradition of the 36th squadron, which acted as a torpedo bomber during World War II Association against the Royal Navy . The two squadrons received the F-104S Starfighter from 1970 . In 1984 the 156th Fighter Bomber Squadron converted to the Tornado IDS . So she could have used American atomic bombs as part of nuclear participation . The 12th fighter squadron was equipped in 1995 with tornadoes of the fighter version ADV, which had been leased by the Royal Air Force as an interim solution until the introduction of the Eurofighter. With these aircraft, the squadron took part in 1999 from Gioia del Colle in Operation Allied Force over the former Yugoslavia . The British armed forces also stationed fighter planes in Gioia del Colle for this purpose.

In the course of the introduction of their Typhoons, the Italian Air Force decided to turn the 36th Squadron into a pure fighter unit. The 12th squadron received its first Eurofighters in October 2007. The 156th fighter-bomber squadron returned to Ghedi in July 2008 with their Tornados IDS. Their place in Gioia del Colle was taken by the 10th fighter squadron, which had been in Grazzanise near Naples for a long time and then in Trapani in Sicily and which now also received the new fighters.

In March 2011, the Italian government made the Gioia del Colle military airfield available for international military operations in Libya . The Royal Air Force then stationed typhoons and tornadoes in Gioia del Colle, the former were withdrawn in September 2011.

photos

  • Jupiter firing positions around Gioia del Colle

  • Coat of arms of the 36º Stormo

  • Two tornadoes from 36º Stormo in 1987

  • British Eurofighter 2011 in Gioia del Colle

Web links

Commons : Gioia del Colle military airfield  - Collection of images, videos and audio files