Luftwaffe Air Bases in Tunisia

[88jimmeyer]

Hey All,

What Luftwaffe Air Bases where based in in Tunisia from 01/01/43 to 31/01/43? Picticularly in the area of Bir Ali Ben Khelifa Tunisia. What units where based there?

Bir Ali Ben Khelifa is about 30 to 50 due west of Sfax Tunisia.

Jim

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi Jim,

Mezzouna airfield is about 50 miles due west of Sfax. From memory I don't think any Luftwaffe units were based there in January 1943, although units did transfer there in February.

Cheers,
Andrew A.

[Morten Jessen]

Hi Jim

If you can get a copy of Fighters over Tunisia by Shores, Ring and Hess that is probably the easiest way to information about that area for that period of time.

It can be found on abebooks.com, but the price is high!

Cheers
Morten

[Kutscha]

Jim you could look in the great book 'Fw190 in North Africa' by Morten and Andrew.

[Larry deZeng]

Andrew and Morten are right.

Mezzouna (today: Al Mazzünah) – 86 km almost due west of Sfax, and
Maknassy (today: Al Miknäsi) – 106 km almost due west of Sfax and about 21 km past Messouna.
They were both situated along a railway line and therefore relatively easy to keep supplied with fuel and ordnance.

Source:
British Air Ministry A.I.2(b) map show all Tunisian airfields and dated approximately March 1943; in: British NA AIR 40/1968.

But your best bet is to purchase their find study of Fw 190 operations in Tunisia which includes color maps of the country that give the locations of most airfields.

Larry

[88jimmeyer]

Larry,
Thanks for this information.

Morten,
I got the book from the inter- libary exchange and had to return it and I was not finished yet.

Andrew,
I have sent you a email.

Does anybody know the name of the fighter base led by Ltn. Kurt Buhligen II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 2 in January 1943?
Was this base located at Kairouan Tunisia?

Jim

[Nick Beale]

Here's a map from the National Archives that might help (can't remember which file I got it from, right now)

It's in two halves to get around the size limit on attachments.

[88jimmeyer]

Thanks Nick.

Where these maps used by Allied Forces?

Jim

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by 88jimmeyer

Thanks Nick.

Where these maps used by Allied Forces?

Jim

I'd imagine so, since it came from an intelligence file.