December 2018 FLYPAST 33
HABBANIYA 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
Above
The Air Headquarters
building at
Habbaniya, 1944-45.
MARILYN ALSTON VIA RAF
HABBANIYA ASSOCIATION
Left
A map showing the
base’s position, just
west of the Euphrates.
TOD NICOL
Below
The sign at RAF
Habbaniya’s main
gate. It points to
London (3,287 miles)
and Baghdad (55
miles). RAF HABBANIYA
ASSOCIATION
Kirkuk were handed over to the
Royal Iraqi Air Force (RIAF), but
Basra’s supply depot, flying boat
station and neighbouring Shaibah
airfield remained in RAF hands.
The air force began to move in to
Habbaniya in 1936. The first
operational unit was 30 Squadron,
flying Hawker Harts. In 1937, 55
Squadron arrived with Vickers
Vincents, accompanied by
70 Squadron and its
Valentia bombers.
At the outbreak of World
War Two the AOC at
Habbaniya was AVM Harry
George ‘Reggie’ Smart. He
No.4 Service Flying Training School
(4SFTS) moved from Abu Sueir,
Egypt, to the seemingly more
peaceful skies of Iraq.
By late 1940, Habbaniya was home
to around 1,200 RAF officers and
men, eight companies of enlisted
Iraqis, their families and civilian
workers, amounting to nearly 10,000
occupants employed in a variety of
roles. Equipment comprised 18
Rolls-Royce armoured cars, the
Communications Flight’s three
Valentia bombers, and a trio of
elderly Gloster Gladiators. In
addition, 4SFTS’s motley selection of
aircraft included three Gladiators, 30
Hawker Audax, seven Fairey Gordon
bombers, 27 Airspeed Oxford
trainers, 28 Hawker Hart
bombers, 20 Hart dual-
control trainers and one
Bristol Blenheim Mk.I.
UPRISING
The nominal
ruler of Iraq
in 1939 was
four-year-
old King
Faisal II,
represented
by his
was no stranger to Iraq having
previously led 6 Squadron at Mosul
in 1922. Habbaniya’s
operational squadrons
were moved to Europe
and the Middle East,
where need was more
pressing, while
IRAN PERSIA
BAGHDAD
RUTBA WELLS FALLUJAH
BASRA
MOSUL
KIRKUK
DAMASCUS
PALESTINE
TRIPOLI
CYPRUS
HAIFA RAF HABBANIYA
ARABIA
TRANS
JORDAN
SYRIA
TURKEY
IRAQ
EGYPT
PERSIAN
GULF