Royal Air Force Krendi, also known as RAF Qrendi, was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

base located on the island of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, near the town of

Qrendi Qrendi () is a village in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta, with a population of 3,148 people as of October 2021. It is located close to Mqabba, Żurrieq and Siġġiewi. Within its boundaries are the two Neolithic temples of ...

. The station was officially inaugurated in 1941 as a diversion airstrip for the main operating bases such as nearby

RAF Luqa Royal Air Force Luqa (or more simply RAF Luqa) is a former Royal Air Force station located on the island of Malta, now developed into the Malta International Airport. It hosted aircraft of Air Headquarters Malta (AHQ Malta) during the Seco ...

. Other diversion airstrips similar in function to Krendi were located at RAF Safi and on Malta's second island of

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

. Later, in November 1942, the British began basing fighter squadrons at Krendi. These remained until late 1943. After the war, the airfield was used as a tracking station and vehicle park, before falling into disuse.

History

Second World War

RAF Krendi was constructed at a time when Malta was under intense aerial bombardment and Malta's Air Command needed to have alternative diversion airstrips on Malta, as the RAF's main operating bases were being bombed. During construction the airfield at Krendi was used as a decoy for other main bases on Malta, switching on runway lighting as enemy bombers approached. The station opened on 10 November 1942 and received its first squadron of Spitfires a few months later. The base was officially inaugurated by AOC Malta

Sir Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group was pivotal to the defeat of the ...

in 1941; it would remain operational throughout the war in the Mediterranean. In February 1942, RAF Krendi appears to be acting as a decoy site for RAF Luqa. Although a shortage of materials, labour and transport delayed its development, in December 1942 one runway at Krendi came into use, and after this progress became more rapid. Weblog entries from RAF veterans based at RAF Krendi quote the following RAF fighter squadrons as being based at the airfield: * 185 (Fighter) Squadron RAF was equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vc (5 June 1943 – 23 September 1943) * 229 (Fighter) Squadron RAF was equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vc (10 December 1942 – 25 September 1943) * 249 (Fighter) Squadron RAF was equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vc and later Mk IX (23 November 1942 – 24 September 1943). No more Spifires or other RAF fighters were based at RAF Krendi after Autumn 1943.

Post war

After the war, Krendi was one of a number of military facilities retained on Malta by the British due to the island's strategic location. Reduced in terms of operational functionality, in 1953 it would become a vehicle storage area for

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

units. The base would also remain a weather

radiosonde A radiosonde is a battery-powered telemetry instrument carried into the atmosphere usually by a weather balloon that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them by radio to a ground receiver. Modern radiosondes measure or calculat ...

tracking station in the 1960s. The RAF left in 1979 following a decision not to renew the lease on RAF Luqa.

Current use

Whilst RAF Krendi's concrete runways have long gone, the outline of the airfield is obvious from the air. The runway is commonly used by vehicles heading towards Wied-iz-Zurrieq (Blue Grotto).

References

External links

RAF Luqa RememberedRAF LuqaImperial War Museum Photographic ArchiveSafi Aviation Park InauguratedMalta Aviation Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:RAF Maintenance Base Safi Defunct airports Military installations of Malta World War II sites in Malta Military installations closed in 1979 Qrendi