Stornara Airfield

Cessation of military need. Stornara Airfield was a temporary heavy bomber airfield built specifically for wartime operations during the Italian Campaign of WWII. With the conclusion of the war in Europe, the airfield became redundant and was closed, with the land being returned to agricultural use.

The site has been fully reclaimed for agriculture and is now covered by fields and olive groves. There is no remaining aviation infrastructure such as buildings, hangars, or paved surfaces. However, the faint outline of the main northwest-southeast runway and some perimeter tracks are still clearly visible in satellite imagery as scars on the landscape. The ICAO code IT-0638 is a modern, unofficial designation used in some aviation databases to mark the historical location, not an indication of an active or certified airfield.

Stornara Airfield was a significant component of the Foggia Airfield Complex, a network of bases in southern Italy crucial for the Allied strategic bombing campaign. Built by the US Army Corps of Engineers in late 1943 on farmland, it featured a single pierced steel planking (PSP) runway. The airfield was primarily used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Fifteenth Air Force for heavy bomber operations. Key units stationed at Stornara included:
- 451st Bombardment Group (B-24 Liberator): January - April 1944
- 461st Bombardment Group (B-24 Liberator): April 1944 - July 1945
- 484th Bombardment Group (B-24 Liberator): April 1944 - May 1945
From Stornara, these groups conducted long-range strategic bombing missions against critical enemy targets in Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Poland, Hungary, and the Balkans, playing a vital role in crippling Axis war production and infrastructure.

None. There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Stornara Airfield. The land has been privately owned and cultivated for over 75 years, and the complete lack of infrastructure makes any potential reactivation for aviation purposes economically and logistically infeasible.