Oran Tafraoui Airport
Oran Tafaraoui Airport  | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public/Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | People’s National Army | ||||||||||
| Operator | Algerian Air Force | ||||||||||
| Serves | Oran, Algeria | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 112 m / 367 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 35°32′30″N 000°32′00″W / 35.54167°N 0.53333°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  Oran Tafaraoui Location of airport in Algeria | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Oran Tafaraoui Airport is a joint civil/military airport in Oran Province, Algeria (IATA: TAF, ICAO: DAOL).
History
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During World War II, it was a primary mission objective of the United States Army 34th Infantry Division during the Allied Operation Torch landings on 8 November 1942, and became a major Twelfth Air Force base of operations during the North African Campaign against the German Afrika Korps.
Tafaraoui became a staging and transit point for many units:
- 11–20 November 1942 - 1st Fighter Group HQ and the 27th, 71st and 94th Fighter Squadrons, flying P-38 Lightnings, arrived then departed Tafaraoui.
- 14 November 1942 - HQ 14th Fighter Group, HQ 62d Troop Carrier Group, and the 4th and 7th Troop Carrier Squadrons arrive at Tafaraoui with C-47 Skytrains
- 16 November 1942 - 8th Troop Carrier Squadron, 62d Troop Carrier Group, arrive at Tafaraoui from the UK with C-47s; the 111th and 154th Observation Squadrons, 68th Observation Group, moves from St Leu to Tafaraoui with A-20s
- 17 November 1942 - 437th and 438th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 319th Bombardment Group (Medium), move from Saint-Leu to Tafaraoui with B-26s.
- November 42 - HQ 319th Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 439th, and 440th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) move from St Leu to Tafaraoui with B-26 Marauders; "A" flight of the air echelon of the 15th Photographic Mapping Squadron, 3d Photographic Group, arrives at Tafaraoui with B-17 Flying Fortresses and F-4s (P-38 photo reconnaissance aircraft).
The new desert Spitfires of the 31st Fighter Group were also assigned to Tafaraoui. Other aircraft at the field included P-38s of the 14th, B-26s, B-25 Mitchells, A-20 Havocs, Gen. Doolittle's B-17-G, some French Amiot bombers around, and some old wrecks fixed up as dummies.
Current use
[edit]In 1966 the airport was established as an airbase and training ground for the Algerian Air Force.[3]
References
[edit]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- ^ "Tafaraoui". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 16 Jul 2012.
((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Google Maps - Oran
- ^ Timothy J. Stapleton (21 October 2013). A Military History of Africa. ABC-CLIO. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-313-39570-3.
External links
[edit]- Accident history for TAF at Aviation Safety Network
- Airport information for DAOL at Great Circle Mapper.
- Current weather for DAOL at NOAA/NWS
- "DAOL @ aerobaticsweb.org". Landings.com.
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