The Phantom Tortorella Airfield of Foggia: Uncovering a Critical WWII Allied Base
During World War II, the Tavoliere plain surrounding Foggia, Italy, bristled with strategic airfields. Among them was Tortorella Airfield, located 5.8 miles east-northeast of the town of Foggia. This airfield would prove crucial to Allied success, but first it had to be wrested from Axis control.
On August 25, 1943, Major Evans flew his 29th mission - a bombing run over Tortorella Airfield that resulted in the destruction of 41 enemy aircraft on the ground and 28 in the air. Such missions were vital to Generals Alexander and Eisenhower's strategy: securing these airfields would enable Allied forces to strike over the Alps at German territories and weaken Axis defenses before the planned Normandy invasion.
1944 WWII aerial photograph overlaid on a current satellite image. Red dot approximately where James Holland tour group stood. (Photo credit: Jeremy Seigle)
2002 Aerial photograph, phantom Tortorella Airfield is still revealed. (Photo credit: William 'Bill' Cornett)
Once captured, Tortorella became home to two significant Allied units: the 99th Bombardment Group (comprising four B-17 squadrons of the 15th US Army Air Force) and the British 231 Wing of No. 205 Group RAF with their Vickers-Armstrong Wellingtons. Notably, this RAF unit was the only British bomber force to ever operate under foreign command, working directly with the 15th US Army Air Force. Together, they maintained a relentless pressure on Axis targets - Americans by day, British by night.
Decades later, my husband John and I sought to locate this historic airfield while planning a tour of the area with historian James Holland. Through research, I discovered an old Allied WWII engineering map with precise coordinates. Google Earth imagery from 2002 revealed ghostly traces of the former base - bomber hardstands, main runway, emergency runway, and taxiways still visible in the landscape. With James Holland's help, we were able to include this phantom airfield in our tour itinerary, connecting present-day visitors with this crucial piece of World War II history.
Mike Peters, Bobbie Kinnear and James Holland, standing within the Tortorella Airfield bounds, Foggia, Italy
Yes, the airfield has been planted over, buildings built, and new roads are in place, but though 80 years have passed, you can still spot soil discolorations in the fields, old scars of an infamous WWII airfield that supported one of the bravest military groups known in WWII.
Barbara Evans Kinnear
Further Articles
Barbara (“Bobbie”) Evans Kinnear, daughter of Colonel Richard Ernest Evans, joins historian and author, James Holland, on his podcast, “We Have Ways of Making You Talk”