Lajes Field or Lajes Air Base, officially designated Air Base No. 4, is a multi-use airfield near Lajes and 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira Island in the Azores, Portugal. It is home to the Portuguese Air Force Base Aérea N º4 and Azores Air Zone Command, a United States Air Force detachment unit, and a regional air passenger terminal. Located about 3,680 km (2,290 mi) east of New York City and about 1,600 km (990 mi) west of Lisbon, Portugal; the base sits in a strategic location midway between North America and Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean.
A variety of US Air Force aircraft seen at Lajes, the airfield being used as a stop-off whilst aircraft transit between the Americas and Europe
A Vickers Wellington Mk XIV, No. 172 Squadron RAF undergoing servicing at Lajes airfield during 1944
Lajes Air Base Diagram
Aerial view of Lajes Field, 1946
Terceira is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, and the island group is an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately 396.75 km².
Terceira Island
Terceira in 1595 by Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, "A cidade de Angra na ilha de Iesu xpō da Tercera que esta em 39. graos"
Troops disembarking during the Battle of Terceira; mural in the Monastery of São Lorenzo de El Escorial
Print of the Angra op Tercera, showing the city of Angra and portions of the island, Jacob van Meurs, 1671