Salento Airport

Established as a military airbase in the 1920s, Brindisi began commercial service in the 1930s with Ala Littoria flights to Rome. During WWII, the site shifted to military use, though commercial flights continued until 1943. From 1941 to 1943, the German Luftwaffe operated a transport base here, deploying Junkers Ju 52 units for Mediterranean missions. Units stationed here during this period were:

III./KG z.b.V. 1
KGr. z.b.V. 800
KGr. z.b.V. 400
KGr. z.b.V. 600
KGr. z.b.V. 102

The airbase was subsequently captured by the British Eighth Army, which turned it into an Allied airbase. No. 148 (Special Duties) Squadron was based here and transported agents to be dropped over Yugoslavia.

In February 1944, four SOE agents attempted to kidnap German General Kreipe by jumping aboard a converted bomber over Crete. Leigh-Fermor jumped, but the rest of the team did not: the mission was aborted mid-air, and a rendezvous over the sea was chosen instead.

Post-WWII, Alitalia expanded routes to include Catania.

Named after aviator Antonio Papola, who died in 1948, the airport is also known as "Casale" (after the nearby district) and "Salento Airport" (after the region).

In 2008, it officially became a civilian airport, though military operations continue under the name "Military Airport Orazio Pierozzi," honoring a WWI airman.

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Source

• Text: TracesofWar
• Photos: RAF