Serragia Airfield
Encyclopedia
Serragia Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in France
, located approximately 26 km west-southwest of Porto-Vecchio on Corsica
. Its last known use was by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force in 1944.
After the forced withdrawal of German forces from Corsica in September 1943, elements of the Twelfth Air Force 57th Bombardment Wing were moved to the island. Serragia Airdrome was taken over by the USAAF in July 1944 and used as a forward-base of operations for B-25 Mitchell bomber attacks against northern Italy and Southern France, in support of Operation Dragoon
, the invasion of Southern France.
Known units assigned to the airfield were:
The units remained on Corsica until early 1945 when enemy targets became out of range of the Mitchells. The airfield was closed by the Americans on 25 January and dismantled after the war, and today there are little or no remains of it other than the remnants of its main runway and disturbed areas where the airfield once was.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, located approximately 26 km west-southwest of Porto-Vecchio on Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
. Its last known use was by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force in 1944.
After the forced withdrawal of German forces from Corsica in September 1943, elements of the Twelfth Air Force 57th Bombardment Wing were moved to the island. Serragia Airdrome was taken over by the USAAF in July 1944 and used as a forward-base of operations for B-25 Mitchell bomber attacks against northern Italy and Southern France, in support of Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
, the invasion of Southern France.
Known units assigned to the airfield were:
- 319th Bombardment Group, 21 September 1944-1 January 1945, B-25 MitchellB-25 MitchellThe North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
- 27th Fighter Group, July-August 1944, P-40 Warhawk, P-47 ThunderboltP-47 ThunderboltRepublic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
The units remained on Corsica until early 1945 when enemy targets became out of range of the Mitchells. The airfield was closed by the Americans on 25 January and dismantled after the war, and today there are little or no remains of it other than the remnants of its main runway and disturbed areas where the airfield once was.