Cerignola Airfield

The primary military airfield was closed due to the end of World War II hostilities in Europe. The subsequent civilian ultralight field was closed for economic and land-use reasons, specifically for the redevelopment of the site into a large-scale solar power plant.

The site is no longer an airport and is not used for any aviation activities. The land has been completely repurposed and is now occupied by a large photovoltaic power plant (solar farm). While the solar panels cover much of the area, the faint, ghostly outlines of the main runway and taxiways from the WWII era are still clearly visible on satellite imagery around and beneath the modern infrastructure.

Cerignola Airfield holds significant historical importance as a major World War II heavy bomber base. It was part of the vast Foggia Airfield Complex, a network of airfields in southern Italy used by the Allied forces after the invasion of Italy in 1943.

Key points:
- **Construction:** It was a temporary wartime airfield built by the US Army Corps of Engineers in late 1943.
- **Primary Unit:** It was primarily used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Fifteenth Air Force.
- **Operations:** The airfield was home to the 463rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) from March 1944 to September 1945. The group's four squadrons (772d, 773d, 774th, and 775th) flew B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from Cerignola.
- **Missions:** From this base, the 463rd BG conducted long-range strategic bombing missions against critical enemy targets, including oil refineries, aircraft factories, marshalling yards, and communication centers in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, and the Balkans. The airfield was a key asset in the Allied strategic bombing campaign to cripple the Axis war machine.
- **Post-War:** After the war, it was briefly used as a transport hub before being handed over to the Italian government. In the following decades, a portion of the old runway was used as a small private/ultralight airstrip known as 'Aviosuperficie di Cerignola' or 'Pista VDS Cerignola', with the ICAO national identifier IT-0625.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening Cerignola Airfield. The permanent installation of the large-scale solar farm on the property makes any future use for aviation purposes virtually impossible. The land has been permanently redeveloped for industrial energy production.