Messina Airfield is an abandoned World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 military airfield in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, which was located just to the west of Messina in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

. It was a temporary field built by the Army Corps of Engineers used as part of the Allied invasion of Italy

Allied invasion of Italy

The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...

.

The airfield was primarily used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force 57th Fighter Group during 15–16 September 1943, flying combat operations with P-40 Warhawks.

When the 57th moved out to Reggio

Reggio Calabria Airport

The Reggio Calabria "Tito Minniti" Airport , also known as Aeroporto dello Stretto is an airport located near Reggio Calabria, Italy.-Description:...

on the Itralian mainland the airfield was closed and dismantled. Today, there are no traces of the airfield remaining on the landscape visible from aerial photography, as the area has been developed as part of the urban area over the past 60 years.