Aviano Air Base
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Aviano Air Base is a base of the United States Air Force The base is located in the northeastern part of Italy at the base of the Italian Alps, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Pordenone. Headquarters for the 16th Air Force are located at Aviano Air Base, and also the 31st Fighter Wing.
History
Aviano Air Base history pre-dates the United States Air Force, it was established by Italy in 1911. During World War I, Italy used the airfield in missions against the Austro-German armies. Italian aviators, Captain Maurizio Pagliano and Lieutenant Luigi Gori, conducted an unauthorized, but heroic and successful air raid on the Austrian naval yards in Pula, in the former Yugoslavia during the war. In their honor, the base’s name was officially changed to “Aeroporto Pagliano é Gori” in 1919.
During World War II, both the Italian Air Force and the German Luftwaffe flew missions from Aeroporto Pagliano é Gori. The British captured the base in 1945 and conducted air operations there until 1947, when the Italian Air Force resumed operational use the airport. The Italian Air Force used the base until 1954.
In 1954, the U.S. and Italian governments signed a joint use agreement that brought the base into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Headquarters United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) officially activated the airfield on 15 February 1955. From the 1950’s through the 1980’s, Aviano hosted rotational fighter deployments in support of NATO alert commitments and Air Force weapons training deployments.
External links
Aviano Air Base (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/aviano.htm)
