Wheelus Air Base (Mellaha Air Base)

Wheelus Air Base, originally known as Mellaha Air Base, was established in 1923 by the Italian Royal Air Force on the coast of Tripoli, Libya. The German Luftwaffe based reconnaissance and liaison units at the airfield during the North African Campaign. The British Eighth Army captured the facility in January 1943, and the United States Army Air Forces began flight operations there the same month. In 1945, the installation was renamed Wheelus Army Air Field, transferring to the USAF Military Air Transport Service (MATS) as Wheelus Air Base in 1948. The United States withdrew its personnel and transferred the facility to Libyan authorities on 11 June 1970. It was renamed Okba Ben Nafi Airfield, serving as the headquarters for the Libyan Air Force and hosting Soviet Union forces. Today, the facility operates as Mitiga International Airport.

The installation covered 52 square kilometers, housing over 15,000 military personnel and dependents. Infrastructure included a military hospital, a missile launch area 24 kilometers east of Tripoli, the El Uotia Gunnery Range, and an additional weapons range 19 kilometers east of the air base.

Throughout its history, the base hosted multiple commands and aircraft types. Early operations included Luftwaffe Hs 126, Fi 156 Storch, and Ju 52 aircraft, followed by USAAF B-24 Liberators of the 376th Bombardment Group. During the Cold War, MATS operated C-47, C-54, SA-16, H-19, HH-3E, and HC-130 aircraft. The Strategic Air Command utilized the base as a forward operating location for rotational bomber and tanker deployments, operating B-36, B-47, B-50, KB-29, KB-50, and KC-97 aircraft. United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) managed a weapons training center at the installation, hosting tactical fighter wings equipped with F-84, F-86, F-100, F-102, and F-4 Phantom II aircraft. Additionally, the 38th Tactical Missile Wing launched TM-61 Matador missiles from the facility's southern section.