Port Lyautey Airfield
| Naval Air Station Port Lyautey | |
|---|---|
| Located near Kenitra, Morocco | |
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| Coordinates | 34°17′56.10″N 006°35′42.84″W / 34.2989167°N 6.5952333°W |
| Type | Naval Air Station |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | French Naval Air Station United States Navy |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1919 (French) |
| In use | 1942–1977 |
Naval Air Station Port Lyautey is a former United States Navy Naval Air Station in Morocco, about 5 km north-northwest of Kenitra and about 120 km northeast of Casablanca. The Naval Air Station was turned over to the Royal Moroccan Air Force and the last of US military personnel departed the base in 1977. The airport was later reopened as Kenitra Airport after it was closed.
The facility was established as an Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) shortly after the Operation Torch landing at the former Vichy France airfield at Mehdiya–Port Lyautey. The facility was captured by one American destroyer and a U.S. Army Raider team. The destroyer USS Dallas (DD-199) came up the Sebou River, silenced the shore batteries with its guns and landed the Raider team which in turn captured the airfield.
After being secured, the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces Twelfth Air Force 33d Fighter Group, flying in P-40 Warhawks. The group took part in initial landings in French Morocco, arriving with the invasion force on 8 November. Remaining aircraft and ground echelon arrived shortly afterward. Moved to: Casablanca Airfield on 13 November. Other Air Force units stationed at the airfield were:
Later, the facility was used by the 2037th Antisubmarine Wing (Provisional), later being redesignated as the 480th Antisubmarine Group of Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command. The US Army Air Force units used the airfield to patrol the Atlantic Ocean approaches to the Straits of Gibraltar for German U-Boats along with two United States Navy PBY Catalina patrol squadrons. The units were assigned to the Northwest African Coastal Air Force for administration and placed under the operational control of the United States Navy Fleet Air Wing 15, which answered to the commander of the Moroccan Sea Frontier.
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