) , location = Habbaniya , country = Iraq , image = Habbaniya airfield, circa 1941.jpg , alt = A black and white image of some hangars, tentage and hard standings in a desert , caption = Habbaniya airfield, circa 1941 , image2 = RAF Habbaniya Unit Badge.jpg , alt2 = The heraldic badge of RAF Habbaniya , caption2 = Station badge (''Infestos ferimus''
la, We strike the troublesome) , type = Flying station , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Iraq , ownership =

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of Stat ...

, operator =

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, controlledby =

RAF Iraq Command Iraq Command was the Royal Air Force (RAF) commanded inter-service command in charge of British forces in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the period of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. It continued as British Forces in Iraq until ...

, built = , used = 1936– , past_commanders = , r1-number = , r1-length = , r1-surface = Royal Air Force Habbaniya, more commonly known as RAF Habbaniya ( ar, قاعدة الحبانية الجوية), (originally RAF Dhibban), was a

station at

Habbaniyah Al Habbaniyah or Habbaniya ( ar, ٱلْحَبَّانِيَّة, ''al-Ḥabbānīyah'') is a city 85 km (53 mi) west of Baghdad in Al-Anbar Province, in central Iraq. A military airfield, RAF Habbaniya, was the site of a battle in 1941, during Wor ...

, about west of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

in modern-day

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, on the banks of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

near

Lake Habbaniyah Lake Habbaniyah ( ''Baḥīra al-Ḥabbāniya'') is a lake located halfway between Ramadi and Fallujah near Al-Taqaddum (TQ) Air Base in Al Habbaniyah in Anbar Province, Iraq. In the late 1930s and 1940s Lake Habbaniyah was used by Imperial Airw ...

. It was developed from 1934, and was operational from October 1936 until 31 May 1959 when the RAF finally withdrew after the July 1958 Revolution made the British military presence no longer welcome. It was the scene of fierce fighting in May 1941 when it was besieged by the Iraqi Military following the

1941 Iraqi coup d'état The 1941 Iraqi coup d'état ( ar, ثورة رشيد عالي الكيلاني, ''Thawrah Rašīd ʿAlī al-Kaylānī''), also called the Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani coup or the Golden Square coup, was a nationalist coup d'état in Iraq on 1 April 1941 t ...

. It is currently a major Iraqi military

airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

History

Originally called RAF Dhibban, the station was built on the west bank of the Euphrates at a cost of £1,750,000 (), and opened on 19 October 1936. It was the British

(RAF) base built "West of the Euphrates" in accordance with Article 5 of the

Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930 The Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930 was a treaty of alliance between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British-Mandate-controlled administration of the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq. The treaty was between the governments ...

. It was on the West bank of the

between

Ramadi Ramadi ( ar, ٱلرَّمَادِي ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate w ...

and

Fallujah Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Je ...

, and was a major military and air base for the entire

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. The squadrons, units and headquarters and the hospital gradually moved in from

RAF Hinaidi Royal Air Force Hinaidi or more commonly known as RAF Hinaidi (or Hinaidi Cantonment), is a former Royal Air Force station near Baghdad in the Kingdom of Iraq. It was operational from 1922 until 1937, when operations were transferred to RAF ...

, Baghdad, which was then finally vacated by the British on 21 December 1937 and renamed "Rashid Airfield" by the Iraqis. RAF Dhibban was originally named after the nearby village of Sin el Dhibban, in Arabic "Teeth of the Fly", but was renamed, more appropriately, RAF Habbaniya on 1 May 1938. Not long after its renaming, an aircraft went missing on a flight from Habbaniya. The aircraft, a bomber of No. 30 Squadron, left on 10 December 1938, and was found 11 days later some north of Habbaniya. All six occupants were dead. RAF Habbaniya was extensive and, as well as the airfield, included the Air Headquarters of

, communication facilities, maintenance units, an aircraft depot, an RAF hospital, RAF

Iraq Levies The Assyrian Levies (also known as the Iraq Levies) were the first Iraqi military force established by the British in British controlled Iraq. The Iraq Levies originated in a local Arab armed scout force raised during the First World War. After I ...

barracks, the RAF Armoured Car Company depot as well as fuel and bomb stores. There were numerous billets, messes and a wide range of leisure facilities including swimming pools, cinemas and theatres, sports pitches, tennis courts and riding stables. It was self-contained with its own power station, water purification plant and sewage farm. Water taken from the Euphrates for the irrigation systems enabled green lawns, flower beds and even ornamental Botanical Gardens. After World War II the families of British personnel started living at Habbaniya and a school was started. Within the camp perimeter was the Civil Cantonment which provided the accommodation for the families of the RAF

and the civilian workers and their families. The cantonment population of about 10,000 had their own schools, hospital, mosques, churches, temples, cinema and bazaars. The base had extended to some , which required a taxi service to get people around. Just outside the perimeter was the village of Humphreya in which more locally employed civilians and their families lived. It was the original construction camp for the company which built the base, Messrs Humphreys of

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End. Toponymy Knightsbridge is an ancien ...

, London (and from which the name Humphreya arose). There was a perimeter fence round the base but this did not enclose the airfield which was outside. In 1952 a second airfield was built on the plateau to cope with the long range and jet aircraft using the base (this subsequently became the Iraqi Air Force

Al Taqaddum Al Taqaddum Airbase ( ar, قاعدة التقدم الجوية), or Al Taqaddum AB , (Called TQ in military shorthand slang), is an air base that is located in central Iraq, approximately 74 kilometers (46 miles) west of Baghdad, at Habbaniyah. Th ...

airbase). In the late 1930s

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...

established a staging post on Lake Habbaniya for the flying boat service from the UK to

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

using

Short Empire The Short Empire was a medium-range four-engined monoplane flying boat, designed and developed by Short Brothers during the 1930s to meet the requirements of the growing commercial airline sector, with a particular emphasis upon its usefulness ...

s. The lake provided the necessary landing area for these aircraft in the middle of the

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

desert.

The station was a large flying training school in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, as well as a transport staging airfield. In the

Rashid Ali Rashid Ali al-Gaylaniin Arab standard pronunciation Rashid Aali al-Kaylani; also transliterated as Sayyid Rashid Aali al-Gillani, Sayyid Rashid Ali al-Gailani or sometimes Sayyad Rashid Ali el Keilany (" Sayyad" serves to address higher standing ...

rebellion in 1941, the airfield was besieged by units from the Royal Iraqi Army encamped on the overlooking plateau. On 2 May 1941, British forces from the airfield launched pre-emptive

airstrikes An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offici ...

on Iraqi forces throughout Iraq and the

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq under Rashid Gaylani, who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, with assistance from Germany and Italy. The ca ...

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 The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the ...

flown in at the last moment,

Number 1 Armoured Car Company RAF The No.1 Armoured Car Company RAF was a military unit of Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) based in Iraq and which played a role in the defence of RAF Habbaniya during World War II. Creation On 19 December 1921, "No. 1 Armoured Car Company ...

and the RAF's Iraq Levies. The subsequent arrival of a relief column (''

Kingcol Kingcol was a British Army flying column created during the Anglo-Iraqi War. Creation and composition ''Kingcol'' was created to allow a portion of '' Habforce'' to relieve RAF Habbaniya as soon as possible. The column was named after its comma ...

''), 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 the Second World War, Habbaniya became an important stage on the southern air route between the UK and the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pass ...

(BOAC) ran a regular passenger service via

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

using

Consolidated Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models de ...

transports. The

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies ...

used Habbaniya as a stopover point between the large

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

aircraft assembly facility at Abadan Airport,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and

Payne Field Payne Field is a former World War I military airfield, located north-northeast of West Point, Mississippi. It operated as a training field for the United States Army Air Service between 1918 until 1920. The airfield was one of thirty-two Ai ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

. Also ATC operated a transport route from Habbaniya to Mehrabad Airport,

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. After the Second World War,

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pa ...

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. In 1949, Habbaniya was assessed as having six hangars and two metal runways, the longest being in length. No. 6 Squadron RAF,

No. 8 Squadron RAF Number 8 Squadron (sometimes written as No. VIII Squadron) of the Royal Air Force last operated the Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW1 ( AWACS) from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. As of 2020, the RAF AWACS fleet was made up of three Sentry AEW1s, down fr ...

and No. 73 Squadron RAF were the last flying squadrons to depart the base in the mid-1950s. Although the British presence continued until 1959, on 2 May 1955, command of the base was handed over to the Iraqi government. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

, from 1 August 1946,

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Uni ...

ran a large

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

(SIGINT) monitoring station at Habbaniya staffed by 276 Signals Unit until 31 July 1958. It also operated SIGINT aircraft over Iran and the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

to monitor the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. On 14 July 1958, the July 1958 Revolution took place. At that time, Habbaniya had 900 personnel and the uprising in Baghdad had caused the loss of one British life and the burning of the embassy. By the start of 1959, the base was host to 600 RAF staff with 60 dependants. The dependants were flown back to the United Kingdom in early April 1959. The base closed on 31 May 1959 when the RAF finally withdrew after the July 1958 Revolution made the presence of British military no longer welcome. On abandonment of the base, a question was asked in the UK

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

concerning the cost of the base over the 23 years of its operational life. It was estimated that it had the amount was £3.5 million (). In June 1961 there were two

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...

squadrons at the base: * No.1 Squadron, Venom FB.Mk.1, based at Habbaniyah AB, CO Capt. A.-Mun’em Ismaeel * No.6 Squadron, Hunter, based at Habbaniyah AB, CO Capt. Hamid Shaban The airbase was bombed in

Operation Kaman 99 Operation Alborz ( fa, عملیات البرز), more commonly known by the code-name Operation Kaman 99 (), was an operation launched by the Iranian Air Force in retaliation to Iraqi surprise aerial attacks on Iran the day before which marked ...

on the second day of the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Counci ...

, just after the Iraqi invasion of Iran. Tom Cooper's book ''Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat'' describes Habbaniya as a base for

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...

s by 1990.

RAF Hospital Habbaniya

As part of the treaty of 1930, the RAF were required to withdraw from Hinaidi and Mosul, so the hospital at Hinaidi was also relocated to Habbaniya in 1937 with 500 beds. Sometimes referred to as ''No. 6 RAF Hospital'', it operated as a general hospital until 1956, being downgraded to a station hospital until 1958. In 1942, the commanding officer of the hospital, Group Captain Gerard Hanly, was killed in an aircraft crash.

Current use

According to the

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who w ...

the site was used to produce

Mustard gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, ...

(a chemical weapon). The site was built in 1983–84. The factory produced the gas for use against Iran in the

. The factory produced 60–80 tonnes per year. RAF Habbaniyah Olympic Pool

After 2003, the former British airfield was used by both the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

and the

New Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), or the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup ...

as a

forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, machine ...

, and is now known as Camp Habbaniyah. From this outpost, combat operations are run from the outskirts of

to the outskirts of

. Since 2006 Camp Habbaniyah has grown into a Regional Training and Regional Support Center as well as the headquarters for the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), or the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup ...

1st Division. On going Coalition and Iraqi construction projects have revitalised much of the base. In December 2008, the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and all civilian contractors, less twelve contractors from MPRI, departed Camp Habbaniyah. U.S. Marines had stayed behind to provide the Iraqi Army with additional perimeter security until a time TBD. On 16 April 2009, a suicide-bomber dressed as an Iraqi 1st Lieutenant detonated a bomb among a group of Iraqi soldiers at a canteen. In 2015, Habbaniya was a base for Shia militias, the Iraqi army and its American trainers, in their ongoing campaign against

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

289 British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

personnel, along with women, children and babies, remain buried in the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

(CWGC) cemetery in Habbaniya. The register of those buried is held by the RAF Habbaniya Association. In 2019, the site was renovated and 289 replacement Portland stone grave markers were installed.

Notable personnel

Michael Beetham Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael James Beetham, (17 May 1923 – 24 October 2015) was a Second World War bomber pilot and a high-ranking commander in the Royal Air Force from the 1960s to the 1980s. As Chief of the Air Staff during t ...

, later Marshal of the Royal Air Force, served at Habbaniya in 1951 on detachment *

Hugh Hamilton Brookes Air vice-marshal Hugh Hamilton Brookes (14 October 1904 – 16 March 1988) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. Biography Born on 14 October 1904, Hugh Hamilton Brookes was educated at Bedford School and at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell ...

, commanding officer, 1954–1956 *

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

was stationed there in 1940, as described in his book, ''

Going Solo ''Going Solo'' is a book by Roald Dahl, first published by Jonathan Cape in London in 1986. It is a continuation of his autobiography describing his childhood, ''Boy'' and detailed his travel to Africa and exploits as a World War II pilot. Plot ...

'', but his opinion rather was unfavourable compared with that of most personnel who served there. *

Hughie Edwards Air Commodore Sir Hughie Idwal Edwards, (1 August 1914 – 5 August 1982) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force, Governor of Western Australia, and an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "i ...

, commanding officer, 1956–1958 * Jeremy Swan, was a medical officer at Habbaniya in the 1940s * George Unwin, officer commanding No. 84 Squadron in 1949

Flying Units and Aircraft

* No. 6 Squadron RAF (1950–1954) de Havilland Vampire FB5 & FB9 *

(1956) de Havilland Vampire FB4 *

No. 11 Squadron RAF No. 11 or XI Squadron (sometimes featuring an 'F' to represent its historic fighter role (No. 11(F) or XI(F) Squadron)), is "the world's oldest, dedicated fighter unit" and continues the traditions established by the similarly numbered Royal Fly ...

(1941)

Bristol Blenheim IV The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until t ...

* No. 14 Squadron RAF (1941) Bristol Blenheim IV * No. 30 Squadron RAF (1938)

Hawker Hardy The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...

, later Bristol Blenheim I * No. 45 Squadron RAF (1941) Bristol Blenheim IV * No. 52 Squadron RAF (1941–1942)

Hawker Audax The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...

No. 55 Squadron RAF No. 55 Squadron Royal Air Force, commonly abbreviated 55 Sqn RAF, is a formerly active flying squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was formed on , as a unit of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). No. 55 Squadron was the last RAF squadron to o ...

(1937–1939)

Vickers Vincent The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent were two very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers and used as light bombers, torpedo bombers and in army cooperation roles. First flown i ...

Bristol Blenheim I * No. 70 Squadron RAF (1937–1939) Vickers Valentia * No. 73 Squadron RAF (1953–1955) de Havilland Vampire FB9 & FB1 * No. 74 Squadron RAF (1943) Hawker Hurricane I *

No. 82 Squadron RAF No. 82 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron that was first formed in 1917 and last disbanded in 1963. It served at times as a bomber unit, a reconnaissance unit and lastly as an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) unit. History For ...

detachment (1951–1952) Avro Lancaster PR1 *

No. 84 Squadron RAF No. 84 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is at present a Search and Rescue Squadron based at RAF Akrotiri, using the Bell Griffin HAR.2 helicopter. It is currently one of the two operational parts of the RAF Search and Rescue Force left in ser ...

(1941) Bristol Blenheim IV *

No. 94 Squadron RAF No. 94 Squadron RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force that served during World War I & World War II. The squadron has been formed a total of four times. World War I The squadron was formed at Harling Road on 1 August 1917 as a training uni ...

detachment (1941)

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed private ...

* No. 123 Squadron RAF (1942) Gloster Gladiator *

No. 162 Squadron RAF No. 162 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was a radio jamming/calibration and light bomber unit in World War II. History Formation and World War I No. 162 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed on 1 June 1918 but it was not equi ...

(1942) Bristol Blenheim IV *

No. 185 Squadron RAF No. 185 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed in World War I and reformed as a bomber and fighter unit in World War II. It then reformed in Malta in the post war period as a jet fighter squadron. History Formation and World War I N ...

(1952) de Havilland Vampire FB5 *

No. 203 Squadron RAF No. 203 Squadron RAF was originally formed as No. 3 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service. It was renumbered No. 203 when the Royal Air Force was formed on 1 April 1918. History First World War The squadron can be traced to The Eastchurch Squadron, wh ...

detachment (1941) Bristol Blenheim IV * No. 208 Squadron RAF detachment (1941)

No. 216 Squadron RAF Number 216 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2020 and is tasked with testing future drone swarm technology. It had previously operated Lockheed TriStar K1, KC1 and C ...

detachment (1942) Lockheed Hudson IV *

No. 223 Squadron RAF No. 223 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. Originally formed as part of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), the Squadron flew in both World Wars. History What later became 223 Squadron was formed as B Flight (soon known as "B Sq ...

detachment (1942)

Martin Baltimore The Martin 187 Baltimore was a twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company in the United States as the A-30. The model was originally ordered by the French in May 1940 as a follow-up to the earlier Martin Maryland, then ...

* ' Squadron RAF Formed Habbaniya 1939 & re-designated No. 244 Squadron RAF on move to RAF Shaibah on 1 November 1940. * No. 249 Squadron RAF (1946) de Havilland Mosquito, de Havilland Mosquito FB26 Hawker Tempest, Hawker Tempest F6 * No. 261 Squadron RAF (1941)

Hawker Hurricane I *

No. 651 Squadron RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

detachment (1948) Auster AOP6 *

No. 680 Squadron RAF No. 680 Squadron RAF was a photo-reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force, active during the Second World War. History No. 680 Squadron RAF was formed in February 1943 from 'A' Flight of No. 2 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU), equi ...

detachment (1945–1946)

Fairchild Argus The Fairchild Model 24, also called the Fairchild Model 24 Argus and UC-61 Forwarder, is a four-seat, single-engine monoplane light transport aircraft designed by the Fairchild Aviation Corporation in the 1930s. It was adopted by the United St ...

* No. 683 Squadron RAF (1952–1953) Vickers Valetta C1 * No. 1415 (Meteorological Flight) RAF (1942–1946)

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

* No. 1434 (Photo Survey) Flight RAF (1942)

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

* No. 4 Flying Training School RAF (1939–1941) * A Communications Flight (with various designations) was based at Habbaniya from 1936 until 1 April 1958.

Ground Units

* No. 104 Maintenance Unit RAF (1954–1956) * No. 134 Maintenance Unit RAF (1942 and 1943 to 1946) * No. 115 Maintenance Unit RAF (1945 to 1958) * No. 123 Signals Unit RAF (1 January 1956 to 31 October 1958) * No. 276 Signals Unit RAF (1946–1958) * 19 Topographical Squadron R.E. * No. 1 Armoured Car Company RAF (1936–1946) * Number 2 Squadron RAF Regiment (1948–1955) * 1st Battalion King's Own Royal Regiment *

, HQ, 1st, 2d,3d, 4th, and 5th

Assyrian Levies The Assyrian Levies (also known as the Iraq Levies) were the first Iraqi military force established by the British in British controlled Iraq. The Iraq Levies originated in a local Arab armed scout force raised during the First World War. After I ...

and 8th Levy. All companies of 125 men plus their dependents totaling 2,000 people. * RAF

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Ro ...

Servicing Flight/(Royal Iraqi Air Force) (1957–1958) * RAF Hospital, Habbaniya (variously named; General Hospital, No.6 RAF Hospital, Station Hospital). Transferred from

December 1937.AIR 29/943, The National Archives, Kew

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Dudgeon, Air Vice-Marshal A.G., CBE,DFC (Retd). ''Hidden Victory: The Battle of Habbaniya, May 1941''. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Tempus Publishing Ltd., 2001. . * * * * * * * Sturtivant, Ray, ISO and John Hamlin. ''RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. .

External links

RAF Habbaniya Association
* – diary entries for May and June 1941 by an RAF pilot officer stationed at Habbaniya * – daily intelligence reports from May 1941 {{DEFAULTSORT:Habbaniyah Al Anbar Governorate Royal Air Force stations in the Middle East Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the Middle East Military history of Iraq World War II sites in Iraq World War II airfields in Iraq Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in the Middle East Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Iraq–United Kingdom relations Airports established in 1936 1936 establishments in the British Empire