32 FLYPAST December 2018
OF THE DESERTOF THE DESERT
JEWEL
OF THE DESERT
JEWEL
OF THE DESERT
TOD NICOL, PRODUCER OF A RECENT DOCUMENTARY ON RAF HABBANIYA
IN IRAQ, REFLECTS ON THE HISTORY OF THE RAF’S LARGEST AND MOST
PRESTIGIOUS AIRFIELD
IN IRAQ, REFLECTS ON THE HISTORY OF THE RAF’S LARGEIN IRAQ, REFLECTS ON THE HISTORY OF THE RAF’S LARGEST AND MOST ST AND MOST
course, stables, polo field and even a
horse racing course. However with
summer temperatures reaching 50°C
(122°F), it was considered
unsuitable for British women and
children – apart from, occasionally,
nursing staff and the AOC’s family.AIR HEADQUARTERS IRAQ
Construction began in 1934. The
main contractor, Humphries of
Knightsbridge, shipped most of the
equipment and materials out from
England. Originally named RAF
Dhibban after a local village, it was
changed to RAF Habbaniya in 1938
when it was realised that Dhibban
meant ‘teeth of the fly’ in Arabic –
not an ideal name for Trenchard’s
most prestigious station.
In keeping with a 1932 treaty, RAF
airfields at Hinaidi, Mosul andrunways. The base was overlooked by
a plateau, beyond which lay Lake
Habbaniya with its yacht club and an
RAF rest and leave centre; originally
a hotel for Imperial Airways flying
boat passengers.
The station was equipped with
state-of-the-art, technically
advanced equipment. The buildings
included an aircraft depot with two
large repair shops, six hangars and a
control tower facing the taxiways.
The runways lay beyond the gated,
12ft high perimeter fence.
Every recreational convenience had
been laid on: cinema, theatre,
botanic
gardens with
fountains,
swimming
pools, 73 tennis
courts, golfT
he creation of a huge airfield
in Iraq was perhaps the
ultimate realisation of Sir
Hugh Trenchard’s dream. The man
nicknamed Father of the Royal Air
Force had long since foreseen the
need for such a large base. Resulting
from an ambitious ‘air policing’
strategy, Habbaniya opened in 1936
to replace RAF Hinaidi in Baghdad.
It was built under the terms of a
new Anglo-Iraq treaty, and had to
be “at least 55 miles from Baghdad
and west of the River Euphrates”.
Habbaniya enabled the RAF to
continue maintaining peace and
order in Iraq and the Persian Gulf
from 1936, throughout World War
Two, and up to a 1958 coup d’état in
the former. It protected oil supplies
and maintained vital RAF staging
posts from Great Britain, through
Iraq to the Far East and beyond.
This vast station was surrounded
by a 9-mile (14.5km) perimeter
fence that enclosed 28 miles of
shady, tree-lined roads, all given
such names as Piccadilly, Cranwell
Avenue, Kingsway, Duxford Road
and Uxbridge Road. These led to
comfortable billets, numerous
messes, NAAFIs, an RAF hospital,
three churches and ‘Air House’, the
Air Officer Commanding’s
(AOC) headquarters.
The site was chosen for its ease of
access to water from the Euphrates,
and the large flat area to the
southwest was ideal forRight
A Hawker Audax
formation over Fallujah
in 1941. RUTTER VIA RAF
HABBANIYA ASSOCIATIONBelow
A Hawker Audax fl ying
over an armoured car
in 1941. C MORRIS VIA RAF
HABBANIYA ASSOCIATION1918 2018