WSF: Weather in North Africa

[Dog Soldier]

And here is another story of how miserable North Africa can be for flying in winter.

111th Reconnaissance Squadron
World War II Narrative History
Part VII: North Africa

I like this part....visibility is not the only issue.

On November 16 we moved to the air field at Tafaroui, which is just a few miles from Oran. By this time we were firmly convinced that the man who had written the weather section of the little "blue book" was a practical joker of the lowest order. The flat plains were seas of gumbo and the continuous downpours kept them that way. We pitched four-man pup tents to give us protection against the wind in all directions, and made floors out of ration-box cardboard and planking. Every man had himself a fox-hole within spitting distance. The mess section was set up on the lee side of a shrapnel-packed show and we were now eating hot steak and kidney pudding. No improvement. The area around the mess tent was ankle deep in mud and the man in the outfit who, at one time or another, did not take a header into that goo with his mess-kit contents pouring all over himself, is a fortunate character indeed.

With the ground ankle deep in mud an a consistency of "gumbo", I doubt any planes could take off or land.

Dog Soldier