| Original caption: “Winging their way toward the front to bomb German troops in the Cassino area, North American B-25s of the Twelfth Air Force pass Mount Vesuvius as she coughs up ash and smoke thousands of feet into the air. Crew members reported the air very turbulent in this vicinity.” Mount Vesuvius erupted during March of 1944. Dozens of the 340th Bomb Group’s North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers at Pompeii Airfield were destroyed. Some were buried in ash 6 inches (15 centimeters) thick. Engines clogged and flaps and ailerons jammed. But combat operations continued, even with a raging volcano. On March 22, 1944, Pompeii Airfield was abandoned. Pompeii Airfield was an airfield in Italy, located approximately half a mile (1 kilometer) south of Terzigno, a few kilometers east of the base of Mount Vesuvius, and approximately 12 miles (20 kilometers) east-southeast of Naples. The airfield was an all-weather temporary field built by the 12th Engineering Command of the United States Army 12th Air Force using a graded earth compacted surface with Prefabricated Hessian (burlap) Surfacing (PHS). PHS was made of an asphalt-impregnated jute which was rolled out over the compacted surface over a Square Mesh Track (SMT) grid of wire joined in 3-inch squares. Pierced Steel Planking (PSP) was also used for parking areas and dispersal sites when it was available. Dumps for supplies, bombs, ammunition, gasoline drums, drinking water, and an electrical grid for communications and lighting were also constructed. Tents were used for billeting and support facilities, and an access road was built to connect the airfield facilities with existing roads. The 12th’s 340th Bomb Group with their North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers occupied the airfield on January 2, 1944. When Mount Vesuvius erupted in March 1944, the B-25s were covered with hot ash that burned the fabric control surfaces, glazed, melted, or cracked the Plexiglas, and even tipped some B-25s onto their tails from the weight of the ash and tephra (rock fragments). The eruption destroyed the base and nearly all of the 340th’s planes. Estimates vary from 70 to 90 aircraft. There were no deaths at Pompeii Airfield and the only casualties in the 340th were a sprained wrist and a few cuts, but the effects of the volcano on the aircraft proved insurmountable despite a major effort by the 12th Air Force to repair and salvage the damaged planes. The airfield was dismantled and the 340th relocated to Paestum Airfield on March 23, 1944. Robert F. McRae (December 21, 1911 – January 26, 1993), 340th Bomb Group, 489th Squadron, recorded in his diary: “Upon reaching the airport on March 26, we found almost complete devastation. Tents were torn to ribbons and eighty-eight airplanes were a total loss. Eigthy-eight B-25 Mitchells — $25,000,000 worth of aircraft. How Jerry gloated. Axis Sally dedicated her program one evening to the survivors of the 340th Bomb Group. he explained how the 340th was no longer operational. How wrong she was. Within a week the 340th was again bombing Jerry in Northern Italy. We have bombed them every day since. Each of the four Squadrons now (April 15, 1944) has fifteen or more of the finest bombers ever produced. Many of our B-25’s now carry thirteen 50-cal. machine guns. Actually a sprained wrist and a few minor cuts were the only casualties. We were unlucky enough to be windward of the mountain so that the dust got into our eyes and covered our clothing – Most uncomfortable. After the dust a fine white ash fell completely covering the country side with a snowy whiteness.” Now overgrown with vegetation, Pompeii Airfield’s main runway can still be detected in aerial photographs. 1944 was the last time that Mount Vesuvius erupted. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2054.jpg |
| Image Size | 501.46 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2048 x 1664 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Air Force |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 1, 1944 |
| Location | Pompeii |
| City | Naples |
| State or Province | Campania |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 342-FH-3A23947-50460AC |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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