Torretta Field

Torretta

The ground echelon moved from Hammer Field to Camp Patrick Henry, Newport News, VA on 31 December, 1943 on three trains. On 12 January, 1944 the ground echelon left Camp Patrick Henry for the port of embarkation and were loaded on four "liberty ships" (the "Arch Bishop Lamy", the "George S. Hanly", the "William Rawle" and the "John Jay"). Thirty-one days later the ships made it to Naples, Italy. It was not until 23 February that all the ground personnel were in place at the Group's final destination.

On 13 January the air echelon started its move to Oudna, Tunisia, in North Africa. Taking the southern route across the Atlantic from Brazil, this movement was completed on 8 February with the arrival of the main group of planes. By 24 February the air echelon was in place at Torretta, Italy.

Italy was Italy! The morning report showed 376 officers and 1620 enlisted men. The Group had fifty-one B-24H planes. The facilities consisted of one large airdrome with over 100 "soft" hard stands, ample but unusable taxi strips and one gravel landing strip with a long stretch of mud holes on each end and a big hump in the middle.

Training continued under questionable conditions. On 1 April 1944 the first combat mission was flown to the railroad marshalling yard at Bihac, Yugoslavia.

The 461st Bombardment Group was stationed in Italy for sixteen months. Thirteen of these were spent flying almost daily combat missions against the enemy in ten Southern and Central European countries.

For the first three months the Group, under the command of Col. Frederic E. Glantzberg, maintained the highest average bomb score in the entire Fifteenth Air Force.

Courtesy Jim Van Nostrand

Aerial Composite of Torretta Field - Late 1944

Raising the flag at Torretta Field for the first time.

Philip Hawes Collection

Torretta Field was located on the grounds of a large farm owned by the Baron Michele Zezza.

This photo is from the collection of Col. Phillip Hawes, and the caption on the back reads - "The old fellow is the baron".

Then we have the prince (Diego De Vera d’Aragona), princess (Livia) and their son (Ramiro), Fritz and I and Caroselli.

Lt. Caroselli was lost in action two days after this photo was taken.

The General's first visit.

(L-R: Maj. Scott; Lt. Col. Grogan; Lt. Col. Hawes; Maj Gen. Nathan E. Twining; Col. William L. Lee)

13 April 1944

Phillip Hawes Collection

Tower and Emergency Vehicles

-- Torretta AAF --

from Stan Staples

Control Tower.

from Stan Staples

Flight line buildings.

from Stan Staples

Maintenance area.

John Underwood Collection

The "Cheek Twitcher" certificate was awarded to all aircrew who finished their allotted missions.
This one reads:

Know ye by these presents that 1st Lt. John L Underwood, having staggered back from 35 missions over Germany, Austria, France, Pianosa, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Roumania through no fault of his own, and due to the negligence of the Luftwaffe and the Flugzeugabwehrkanonen, and by the grace of the great Gods of Formation and return, Welfi & Big Fence is hereby ordained a member of the Mystic & Nervous Disorder of Cheek Twitching. Conferred this 27th day of Feb. Nineteen hundred and forty-five, as witnessed by the hand of the Supreme Grand Twitcher.

Supreme Grand Twitcher

Brooks Lawhon