Belandah Airfield Complex

Belandah Airfield Belaudah I II Flugplatz
Ajdabiya, Al Wahat District in Libya
Site information
Type	Military airfield complex
Operator	Luftwaffe United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force
Location
Belandah Shown within Libya Belandah Belandah (Mediterranean)
Coordinates	30°34′45″N 020°24′00″E (Belaudah I Airfield) 30°33′30″N 020°26′00″E (Belaudah II Airfield)
Site history
Built	1941
In use	1941-1943

Belandah Airfield Complex, also known as Baheira Airfield Complex is an abandoned military airfield complex which is located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) Southeast of Ajdabiya, Libya.

History

The facility was built either by the Italian Regia Aeronautica or German Luftwaffe on June 1941. It consisted of two airfields, about 2.5 miles apart. During World War II, after the Axis defeat in Egypt during the Western Desert Campaign, the facility was abandoned by the retreating Axis forces.

It was later used by the United States Army Air Force during the North African Campaign by the 57th Fighter Group, which flew Curtiss P-40 Warhawks from the airfield between 3 December 1942 and 3 January 1943.

Belandah I

Location: 30°31′00″N 20°27′00″E

Belandah I, also known as Bel Audah faced little Axis usage, however in January 1942, Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters operated by the Jagdgeschwader 27 was stationed. The airfield had two natural firm airstrips measuring 915 x 135 meters and 960 x 135 meters. It was named after the Belandah Hill, located approximately 14.5 kilometres from the airfield.

Belandah II

Location: 30°27′00″N 20°28′00″E

Belandah II also faced little Axis usage. The airfield consisted of two natural firm airstrips measuring 915 x 185 meters.

Today there are no remains of either airfield, the desert has completely reclaimed the facilities and runways. Their locations can only be determined by German maps of the area.

Units

Royal Air Force:

• No. 112 Squadron RAF
• No. 250 (Sudan) Squadron RAF
• No. 260 Squadron RAF
• No. 450 Squadron RAAF

See also

• Agedabia Airfield Complex Similar airfield complex, located in Ajdabiya.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Jefford, C. G. (2001). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.

Further reading

• Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016.