Gioia del Colle Air Base

Gioia del Colle Air Base is an Italian Air Force facility located in the province of Bari, Apulia, one kilometer south-southeast of Gioia del Colle.

During World War II, the British Eighth Army captured the airfield in October 1943. It subsequently served as a base for the United States Army Air Forces Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces. Combat units stationed at the airfield included the 1st Fighter Group operating P-38 Lightnings, the 57th Fighter Group operating P-40 Warhawks, and the 451st and 464th Bombardment Groups operating B-24 Liberators. The 8th Troop Carrier Squadron utilized the site for operations with British paratroopers, and the 41st and 38th Air Depots operated maintenance and supply facilities there. Control was transferred to the Allied Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force in September 1945.

The base currently hosts the 36th Stormo, which operates the Eurofighter Typhoon. The facility is equipped to host personnel and aircraft from the Italian Air Force and other NATO member nations. During the 2011 military intervention in Libya, the base functioned as a forward operating base for Royal Air Force units flying Panavia Tornado GR4 and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.