| Original caption: “Enemy air equipment and installations took a heavy pounding from bombers of the United States Army air forces as they pursued Marshal Erwin Rommel’s retreating Afrika Korps through Libya and Tripoli to the Tunisian coast. Wrecked Axis aircraft, victims of bombing and strafing lie piled up on Castel Benito Airdrome, awaiting arrival of expert salvage crews to denude the wreckage of any usable parts, the remainder to be turned into scrap.” The Royal Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica Italiana – RAI) built Tripoli-Castel Benito Aeroporto (“Castel Benito Airport,”) in 1934. The aerodrome was named for Qasr Bin Gashir, the precolonial Arabic name of the Tripoli suburb meaning “Ghashir Palace” and Italian Dictator and Prime minister Benito Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945). At least 2 Fiat G.50bis Freccia (“Arrow”) of 375ª Squadriglia (“375th Squadron”) Caccia Terrestre (“Land Based Fighter”) and several Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero (“Sparrowhawk”) are some of the 230 aircraft recovered by the United Kingdom Royal 8th Army on January 23, 1943. 375ª Squadriglia was 1st posted to Tirana, Albania on February 1, 1941, with Fiat CR.42 biplane fighters. 10 aircraft and their pilots left 152 Gruppo and formed this squadriglia at Tirana for operations against Yugoslavia. In December 1941, 375ª Squadriglia was posted to Agedabia, Cirenaica, Libya. In January 1942, the unit transferred to En Nofilia, Tripolitania. The unit was originally Autonomo (“Independent”) but then the unit attached to 160° Stormo (“160th Fighter Wing”), possibly in January 1942. 160° Stormo transferred to Castel Benito in March 1942, but most elements returned to Italy and Sardinia by April 1943, so these planes were probably wrecked before then. The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero was a 3-engined monoplane nicknamed the il gobbo maledetto (“damned hunchback”). 15° Stormo da bombardamento (“Fifteenth Bombardment Wing”) operated out of Tripoli-Castel Benito Aeroporto from June 10, 1940, to April 19, 1941, when they reequipped with Caproni Ca.313 bombers. They soon converted to Fiat CR.42 Falco biplane fighter-bombers due to the Ca.313’s inadequate performance. They fought at El Alamein in November 1942 with this type of aircraft. Tripoli-Castel Benito Aeroporto was arguably the busiest airfield in North Africa from 1940-1943. During numerous months between March 1941 and January 1943, an average of 25 to 50 Luftwaffe transport aircraft flew in and out of Castel Benito every 24 hours hauling fuel in drums, personnel and critically needed parts and supplies. On January 23, 1943, United Kingdom Royal Army General Bernard L. Montgomery (November 17, 1887 – March 24, 1976), took the surrender of Tripoli from Vice-Governor of Libya, the Prefect of Tripoli and the Mayor at the Gate of Castel Benito. By February 5, 1943, German aerial photos revealed near-total destruction of the Castel Benito airport infrastructure, but the landing area had been repaired and rolled flat by 8th Army combat engineers. After the airport was captured by the British in January 1943, the airfield was renamed Royal Air Force (RAF) Castel Benito and was used by a number of Allied operational squadrons involved in the desert war and in the Tunisia battles. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0625.jpg |
| Image Size | 827.66 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2920 x 2219 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | U.S. Army Air Forces |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 1, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Tripoli |
| State or Province | Tripolitania |
| Country | Libya |
| Archive | Library of Congress |
| Record Number | LC-USW33- 022637-C |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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