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RAF Habbaniya

Coordinates: 33°22′37.0″N 43°34′4.0″E / 33.376944°N 43.567778°E / 33.376944; 43.567778
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 62.166.34.203 (talk) at 00:10, 19 January 2010 (→Current use: Tammuz Airbase -> Al Taqaddum). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

33°22′37.0″N 43°34′4.0″E / 33.376944°N 43.567778°E / 33.376944; 43.567778

Royal Air Force Station Habbaniya
Active1936 - 1959
CountryIraq
AllegianceUnited KingdomUK: British Armed Forces
BranchRoyal Air Force
TypeFlying station
Part ofBritish Forces in Iraq
Based nearHabbaniyah, Iraq
Royal Air Force Ensign
MarchRoyal Air Force March Past
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Harry George Smart
John D'Albiac
Map of Iraq during World War II

Royal Air Force Station Habbaniya, more commonly known as RAF Habbaniya, (originally RAF Dhibban) was a Royal Air Force station at Habbaniyah, about 55 miles (89 km) west of Baghdad in modern day Iraq, on the banks of the Euphrates near Lake Habbaniyah. It was operational from October 1936 until the 31 May 1959 when the British were finally forced to withdraw following the July 1958 Revolution.

It remained a major Iraqi military airbase.

History

RAF Habbaniya was constructed on the west bank of the Euphrates and opened on 19 October 1936. Squadrons, units and headquarters and the hospital gradually moved in from RAF Hinaidi, Baghdad, which was vacated by the British and re-named "Rashid Airfield" by the Iraqis. Originally called RAF Dhibban, the station was renamed RAF Habbaniya on 1 May 1938. The station was a large flying training school during World War II, as well as a transport staging airfield. During the Rashid Ali rebellion in 1941 the base was besieged by the Iraqi Army encamped on the overlooking plateau. On 2 May, British forces from the base launched pre-emptive airstrikes on Iraqi forces throughout Iraq and the Anglo-Iraqi War began. The siege was lifted by the units based at Habbaniya, including pilots from the training school, a battalion of the King's Own Royal Regiment flown in at the last moment, Number 1 Armoured Car Company RAF and the RAF's Iraq Levies. The subsequent arrival of a relief column (Kingcol), part of Habforce sent from Palestine, then a British mandate, combined with the Habbaniya units to force the rebel forces to retreat to Baghdad.

Later in World War II Habbaniya became an important stage on the southern air route between the UK and the USSR. British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) ran a regular passenger service via North Africa and the Middle East using Consolidated Liberator transports. The United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command used Habbaniya as a stopover point between the large Lend-Lease aircraft assembly facility at Abadan Airport, Iran and Payne Field, Cairo. Also ATC operated a transport route from Habbaniya to Mehrabad Airport. Tehran.

Lake Habbaniya Sailing Club

In the late 1930s Imperial Airways established a staging post on Lake Habbaniya for the flying boat service from the UK to British India using Short Empires. The lake provided the necessary landing area for these aircraft in the middle of the Mesopotamian desert.

Rest and Leave Centre

Roald Dahl was stationed there in 1940, as described in his book, Going Solo. After WWII, BOAC discontinued the flying boat service and the hotel buildings at the lake were acquired by the RAF and used as a Rest and Recreation Centre.

Among the Units located at Habbaniya at various times were:

Current use

Following the departure of the RAF, the Iraqi Military took control and renamed it Al Taqaddum.

According to the Federation of American Scientists the site was used to produce Mustard gas (a chemical weapon). The site was built in 1983 - 1984. The factory produced the gas for use against the Iranians during the Iran–Iraq War. The factory produced 60-80 tonnes per year. [1]

May 2007 view of the Habbaniyah Olympic pool

In present times, the former British base is used by both the United States Armed Forces and the New Iraqi Army as a forward operating base, and is now known as Camp Habbaniyah. From this outpost, combat operations are run from the outskirts of Fallujah to the outskirts of Ramadi. Since 2006 Camp Habbaniyah has grown into a Regional Training and Regional Support Center as well as the headquarters for the Iraqi Army 1st Division. On going Coalition and Iraqi construction projects have revitalized much of the base.

On April 16, 2009, a suicide-bomber dressed as an Iraqi 1st Lieutenant detonated a bomb among a group of Iraqi soldiers at a canteen.

British media and service members make a brief visit to the cemetery for Remembrance Day ceremonies

Units and aircraft

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Air Force.

References

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/gulf/cia/960517/60886_01.htm

Bibliography

  • Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE,BA,RAF (Retd). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
  • Sturtivant, Ray, ISO and John Hamlin. RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. ISBN 0-85130-365-X.
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