Souk-el-Khemis Airfield
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Souk-el-Khemis Airfield.png) | |
|---|---|
| Part of Twelfth Air Force | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 36°34′55.22″N 008°58′16.27″E / 36.5820056°N 8.9711861°E |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1943 |
| In use | 1943 |
Souk-el-Khemis Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, located approximately 3 km southeast of Bou Salem, and 110 km west-southwest of Tunis. It was a temporary airfield built by the US Army Corps of Engineers, used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force and by the Royal Air Force during the North African Campaign.
The use by US forces included the 325th Fighter Group during 3–19 June 1943, flying P-40 Warhawks from here.
Use by the RAF was primarily in the first 3 weeks of May 1943, during which time No.255 Squadron maintained a detachment here. Tracing such use can be problematic, because the RAF referred to the airfield only by a codename, which was "Paddington".[1]
After the 325th moved east, the airfield was dismantled and abandoned. There is little evidence of the airfield's existence other than the outlines of the perimeter track being used for agricultural roads.
