RAF Beit Daras

Last updated
RAF Beit Daras
Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
Bayt Daras, in Israel
Israel location map with stripes.svg
Red pog.svg
RAF Beit Daras
Shown within Israel
Coordinates 31°44′10″N34°41′57″E / 31.73611°N 34.69917°E / 31.73611; 34.69917
Site information
Owner Air Ministry
Operator Royal Air Force
Site history
Built1941
In use1941 - 1949
FateDemolished
Airfield information
Elevation100 metres (328 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
NW/SE1,827.8 metres (5,997 ft) Asphalt
N/W1,508.76 metres (4,950 ft) Asphalt

Royal Air Force Beit Daras or more simply RAF Beit Daras is a former Royal Air Force station located in Bayt Daras, Israel.

Contents

History

RAF Beit Daras was built in 1941 by the Royal Air Force in the British Mandate Palestine. It was used by the RAF’s De Havilland Mosquito bombers up until 1948 for supply flights. On the night of March 31, 1948 apart of The Czechoslovak Arms Deals, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster landing in the airfield as the first flight of Operation Balak to airlift the arms from Czechoslovakia to Israel. In 1949, the units were withdrawn from the airfield due to increasing anti-British resistance. [1] [2] After the war, the airfield was operated by the Israeli Air Force as an emergency landing ground for occasional manoeuvres. [3] After the war, the airfield was used as a one-time minor civil airfield known as Kiryat Gat or El-Faluja. Currently, there is no remnants of the airfield. [4]

Layout

On-site was two wooden hangars, two asphalt runways (NW/SE, 1,827 meters, N/W, 1,508 meters), and also a nearby power plant. [5]

Units

The followings units based at RAF Beit Daras at one point.

Operational Units


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References

  1. "The RAF in Palestine". Britain's Small Wars. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  2. "The Czechoslovak Arms Deals" . Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  3. "Middle Eastern Airfields Study page 179" (PDF). OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  4. "World Air Forces". aeroflight. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  5. "Middle Eastern Airfields Study page 179" (PDF). OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  6. "Stations-B". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  7. "USAAF Worldwide Operations Chronology". Aircrew Remembered. Retrieved 15 November 2024.