Ismailia Air Base

Ismailia Air Base
RAF Ismailia
RAF Moascar
Ismailia Air Base; RAF Ismailia; RAF Moascar
Arabic: قاعدة الاسماعيلية الجوية
Ismailia, Ismailia Governorate in Egypt
	Members of No. 458 Squadron RAAF at RAF Ismailia, 1942
	Ismailia Air Base Shown within Egypt
Coordinates	30°35′53.75″N 32°14′12.86″E / 30.5982639°N 32.2369056°E
Type	Air Base
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defense (Egypt)
Operator	Royal Air Force; United States Army Air Forces; Egyptian Air Force
Controlled by	Royal Air Force (1935-1956); Ninth Air Force (1942) ; Egyptian Air Force (1956 – present)
Site history
Built	1915
In use	1915 - present
Battles/wars	World War II Western Desert campaign;
Airfield information
Elevation	11 metres (36 ft) AMSL
Runways
13/31	980 metres (3,215 ft) Asphalt

Ismailia Air Base El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīyä is an air base of the Egyptian Air Force located approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west-northwest of the city of Ismailia; 116 kilometres (72 mi) northeast of Cairo, Egypt.

History

Ismailia was a pre-World War II station, originally opened by the British about 1915 as Moascar.

On 5–7 November 1938, RAF Vickers Wellesley aircraft set a non-stop distance record by flying from Ismailia to Darwin, Australia, a distance of 7,162 miles (11520.4 km).

During World War II, the airfield, then known as RAF Ismailia, continued to be used as a military airfield by the British Royal Air Force and also the United States Army Air Forces during the North African campaign against Axis forces.

History

Royal Air Force

No. 6 Squadron RAF between 28 October 1929 and 29 May 1936 with the Fairey Gordon, Hawker Hart and Hawker Demon^[1]
No. 11 Squadron RAF between 9 May and 16 June 1940 with the Bristol Blenheim I^[2]
No. 14 Squadron RAF initially between 23 November 1915 and 20 January 1917 with the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2C & E, Farman MF.11 Shorthorn, Martinsyde S.1, Martinsyde G.100 and Airco DH.1A the between 24 August and 19 December 1940 with the Vickers Wellesley^[3]
No. 30 Squadron RAF between 25 August 1939 and 9 July 1940 with the Blenheim I & IF^[4]
No. 33 Squadron RAF between 14 November 1936 and 21 October 1938 with the Hart and Gloster Gladiator I^[5]
No. 38 Squadron RAF between 24 November and 7 December 1940 with the Vickers Wellington IC^[6]
No. 45 Squadron RAF between 3 January and 4 August 1939 with the Wellesley and Blenheim I^[7]
No. 55 Squadron RAF between 25 August 1939 and 11 June 1940 with the Blenheim I^[8]
No. 64 Squadron RAF between 9 April and 1 August 1936 with the Demon^[9]
No. 80 Squadron RAF between 10 May 1938 and 16 January 1939 with the Gladiator^[10]
No. 94 Squadron RAF between 22 April and 29 August 1941 with the Gladiator II and the Hawker Hurricane I^[11]
No. 113 Squadron RAF between 1 August and 10 October 1917 with the B.E.2E and the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8^[12]
No. 142 Squadron RAF initially between 2 February and 13 February 1918 with the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12A then between 3 August and 5 November 1936 with the Hart^[13]
No. 208 Squadron RAF initially between 1 February 1920 and 28 September 1922 with R.E.8 and Bristol F.2B Fighter then between 26 September 1923 and 27 October 1927 with the F.2B^[14]
No. 211 Squadron RAF between 31 January and 10 August 1939 and Hawker Hind and Blenheim I^[15]
Detachment from No. 213 Squadron RAF between July and December 1941 with the Hurricane I^[16]
No. 237 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF between 6 February and 1 March 1942 with the Hurricane I^[17]
Detachment from No. 274 Squadron RAF between February and April 1941 with the Hurricane I^[18]
No. 651 Squadron RAF between 10 November 1945 and 2 February 1946 with the Taylorcraft Auster V^[19]

United States Army Air Forces (Ninth Air Force)

12th Bombardment Group October 1942-Undetermined (North American B-25 Mitchell)
436th Troop Carrier Group, 13 August – 18 October 1942. Douglas C-47 Skytrain
434th Bombardment Group, 14 August – 29 September 1942, B-25 Mitchell^{[dubious – discuss]}

^[20]

Current use

The base houses an Mil Mi-17 unit and further this baseis being used for other military movements.^[21]

References

^ Jefford 1988, p. 25.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 27.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 28.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 34.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 36.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 37.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 40.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 42.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 45.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 49.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 52.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 56.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 61.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 69.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 70.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 71.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 75.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 82.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 102.
^
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
^ "Egypt - Air Force - Al Ismailiyah". Scramble.nl. Retrieved 27 November 2024.

Jefford, C. G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.

External links

"Gladiator Ace" (2010), B. Cull, Haynes Publishing, p. 20 -21.
Royal Air Force Airfield Creation for the Western Desert Campaign

External links

Media related to RAF Ismailia at Wikimedia Commons

[FOOTNOTEJefford198825-1] Jefford 1988, p. 25.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198827-2] Jefford 1988, p. 27.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198828-3] Jefford 1988, p. 28.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198834-4] Jefford 1988, p. 34.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198836-5] Jefford 1988, p. 36.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198837-6] Jefford 1988, p. 37.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198840-7] Jefford 1988, p. 40.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198842-8] Jefford 1988, p. 42.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198845-9] Jefford 1988, p. 45.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198849-10] Jefford 1988, p. 49.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198852-11] Jefford 1988, p. 52.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198856-12] Jefford 1988, p. 56.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198861-13] Jefford 1988, p. 61.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198869-14] Jefford 1988, p. 69.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198870-15] Jefford 1988, p. 70.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198871-16] Jefford 1988, p. 71.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198875-17] Jefford 1988, p. 75.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198882-18] Jefford 1988, p. 82.

[FOOTNOTEJefford1988102-19] Jefford 1988, p. 102.

[20] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.

Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

[21] Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.

[22] Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

[21] "Egypt - Air Force - Al Ismailiyah". Scramble.nl. Retrieved 27 November 2024.

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History

History

Current use

See also

References

External links

External links