| Air Headquarters Iraq (1941–1943) Air Headquarters Iraq and Persia (1943–1946) Air Headquarters Iraq (1946–1955) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–1955 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Headquarters | RAF Habbaniya (1941–43, 1946–55) |
AHQ Iraq (Air Headquarters Iraq or Air H.Q. Iraq) was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF).
The command was formed on 1 November 1941 by renaming HQ British Forces in Iraq, the former RAF Iraq Command. AHQ Iraq was renamed AHQ Iraq and Persia on 1 January 1943. [1] AHQ Iraq and Persia was a sub-command of Middle East Command which at the time was a sub-command of the Allied Mediterranean Air Command. [2] AHQ Iraq was reformed by renaming AHQ Iraq and Persia on 1 March 1946. [1] [3] The Headquarters (A.H.Q.) were situated in RAF Habbaniya.
No. 6 Squadron RAF flew out from the Suez Canal Zone to Shaibah on 17 June 1951, during a period of high tensions with Iran - the Abadan crisis over oil nationalisation. [4] On 18 December 1951 a detachment of No. 683 Squadron, long-range photo-reconnaissance, flying Lancasters and a Valetta, appears to have arrived from Kabrit/Khormaksar (Jefford 1988, 105; Lee, FFME, 94) From July 1952, the squadron moved between Habbaniya, Abu Sueir, May 1952 back to Nicosia, 11 July 1952 back to Habbaniya, finally leaving Habbaniya on 12 December 1955 (Jefford 1988, 26). In September 1952 the station at Amman in Jordan was placed under AHQ Iraq, with No. 19 Wing RAF Regiment located there. By that date the AOC was responsible for Amman, Aquabah, and Mafraq in Jordan; Habbaniya, Baghdad, Basrah, Mosul, Shaibah, and Ser Amadia in Iraq; Sharjah and Bahrain lower down the Gulf; and Mauripur in Pakistan (Lee FFME 94-95). No. 185 Squadron arrived at Habbaniya on 13 October 1952 to form a two-squadron FGA Vampire wing with 6 Squadron (Lee FFME 96; Jefford 1988, 66). 185 Squadron was then disbanded after only seven months, but 73 Squadron replaced it, transferring in from Takali, circa 1 May 1953. For the second time, both squadrons at Habbaniya were commanded by officers named Roberts!! (Lee FFME 96-98). On 30 November 1953 No. 683 Squadron was disbanded at Habbaniya.
In April 1955 a new agreement was made with the Iraq Government for the defence of Iraq and the use of bases by the RAF, after the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty had been somewhat superseded by the Baghdad Pact. The result was AHQ Iraq was disbanded by being renamed AHQ Levant on 1 May 1955. The handover ceremony took place at Habbaniya on 2 May 1955 (Lee FFME 103) and the RAF personnel remaining at Habbaniya, Basrah, and Shaibah were to known henceforth not as stations but 'RAF Unit, Habbaniya' etc. 73 Squadron, at Armaments Practice Camp at Nicosia, remained there, having spent 23 months at Habbaniya; 2 Field Squadron RAF Regiment moved to Cyprus under the command of AHQ Cyprus; and 21 Independent LAA Squadron RAF Regiment was disbanded (Lee FFME 103-104). The stations at Bahrain and Sharjah, along with the staging post at Mauripur were transferred to the control of HQ British Forces Aden.
On 14 January 1955 No 32 Squadron arrived from Kabrit to Shaibah (Jefford 1988, 36) replacing 73 Squadron and with 6 Squadron maintaining two Venom squadrons in Iraq. 32 Squadron returned west to Takali in Malta in October, after only ten months in Iraq. No. 128 Wing was disbanded on at Habbaniya on 31 October 1955 (Lee FFME 105), and during the same month the civil cantonments at Habbaniya, Shaibah, and Basrah were handed over to the Iraqi authorities. On 1 December 1955 AHQ Levant started to transfer from RAF Habbaniya to Cyprus and, on 15 January 1956 when the move was complete, AHQ Cyprus and AHQ Levant were amalgamated as AHQ Levant. [5] No. 6 Squadron remained past the departure of the merging AHQ, only leaving Habbaniya on 6 April 1956. [6]
One of the two main stations in Iraq, RAF Shaibah, was handed over to Iraqi control on 1 March 1956. [7] Past this point, under the auspices of the Baghdad Pact, the RAF retained staging posts at Habbaniya and Basra; two signals units; and a skeleton maintenance unit at Habbaniya, to victual the flow of aircraft on their way to the Far East (Lee FFME 106).
The RAF maintained a presence in Iraq until mid-1959; all personnel were withdrawn from Habbaniya on 31 May, and those from Basra on 8 June (Lee FFME 106). The long-present Iraq Levies had already been disbanded in May 1955. [8]
Some of the units and commanders assigned to these commands for four different dates during World War II are illustrated below.
| AHQ Iraq 27 October 1942 | AHQ Iraq and Persia 10 July 1943 |
|---|---|
No. 215 Group
| No. 215 Group
|
No. 214 Group
|
The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 Group RAF under RAF Middle East Command in North Africa in 1941 to provide close air support to the British Eighth Army against Axis forces. Throughout the Second World War, the DAF was made up of squadrons from the Royal Air Force (RAF), the South African Air Force (SAAF), the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and other Allied air forces.
The former Royal Air Force Far East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Far East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the east of Asia. It was originally formed as Air Command, South East Asia in 1943 during the Second World War. In 1946, this was renamed RAF Air Command Far East, and finally Far East Air Force in June 1949.
Number 6 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 at RAF Lossiemouth. It was previously equipped with the SEPECAT Jaguar GR.3 in the close air support and tactical reconnaissance roles, and was posted to RAF Coltishall, Norfolk until April 2006, moving to RAF Coningsby until disbanding for the first time in its history on 31 May 2007. The squadron officially reformed as a Typhoon squadron on 6 September 2010. No. 6 Squadron is unique in having two Royal standards, having been awarded its second one by King Abdullah I of Jordan in October 1950 due to its long period of service in the Middle East.
The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq, then ruled by Rashid Gaylani who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état with assistance from Germany and Italy. The campaign resulted in the downfall of Gaylani's government, the re-occupation of Iraq by the British, and the return to power of the Regent of Iraq, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, a British ally.
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 1941 when it was replaced by AHQ Iraq. It consisted of Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, British Army, Commonwealth and locally raised units, commanded by an RAF officer normally of Air Vice-Marshal rank.
Royal Air Force Habbaniya, more commonly known as RAF Habbaniya, , 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 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.
No. 73 Squadron, Royal Air Force was formed on 2 July 1917 during the First World War. It was disbanded in 1969.
Iraqforce was a British and Commonwealth formation that came together in the Kingdom of Iraq. The formation fought in the Middle East during World War II.
Harry George Smart, is best known for having been the commander of RAF Habbaniya during the first part of the Anglo-Iraqi War. Smart was an officer in the British Army, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force. He served during the First World War, during the interwar period, and during the Second World War.
Royal Air Force Hinaidi or more commonly known as RAF Hinaidi, 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 Habbaniya.
No. 205 Group was a long-range, heavy bomber group of the Royal Air Force (RAF) established on 23 October 1941 by boosting No. 257 Wing to Group status.
Air Headquarters Malta was an overseas command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. It was established on 28 December 1941 by renaming RAF Mediterranean under Air Vice Marshal Hugh Lloyd. Lloyd was named Air Officer Commanding in Malta on 1 June 1941.
Air Headquarters East Africa was a command of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) formed on 19 October 1940 by expanding AHQ RAF Nairobi. On 15 December 1941, the command was reduced to Group status as No. 207 Group. On 16 November 1942, Air H.Q. East Africa was reformed by raising No. 207 Group back to Command status again.
Air Headquarters Levant was a command of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) established on 1 December 1941, by renaming the command known as H.Q. RAF Palestine and Transjordan. It controlled RAF units in the Mandate of Palestine and in the Emirate of Transjordan. Prior to being disbanded on 27 July 1948, Air H.Q. Levant was a sub-command of RAF Middle East Command and its successors. RAF Middle East Command became a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command in February 1943.
Middle East Command was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) that was active during the Second World War. It had been preceded by RAF Middle East, which was established in 1918 by the redesignation of HQ Royal Flying Corps Middle East that had been activated in 1917 although a small Royal Flying Corps presence had been operational in the region since 1914.
The former Royal Air Force Near East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Near East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force (RAF) assets in the Eastern Mediterranean.
No. 244 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an anti–submarine unit in World War I and a bomber and anti-submarine unit in the Middle East in World War II.
Air Marshal Sir Paul Davie Holder, was a Royal Air Force officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Coastal Command.
Shaibah Air Base is an Iraqi Air Force airfield in the Basrah Governorate of Iraq.
RAF India, later called Air Forces in India (1938–47) was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) that was active from 1918 until Indian independence and partition in 1947. It was the air force counterpart of the British Army in India.