Battle of Habbaniya 1941

The RAF Habbaniya Society is still very much active today index

I took plenty of photographs for them during my stay in Shaiba in 2004.

RAF Habbaniya was the green fertile garden, whereas RAF Shaiba was the bakers oven and classed as a punishment posting even as far back as the 1920's. The RAF sang the 'shaibah blues'

Many of the original buildings still remain in Shaiba today - including the swimming pool, bomb stores, hangars and the guard room. It ceased being an RAF station in around 1955

The Iraqis based in Shaiba from the 1970's to Gulf One in 1991 also classed the airbase as a punishment posting - or the devils oven due to its swelterring summer heat

 

The RAF Habbaniya Society is still very much active today index

I took plenty of photographs for them during my stay in Shaiba in 2004.

RAF Habbaniya was the green fertile garden, whereas RAF Shaiba was the bakers oven and classed as a punishment posting even as far back as the 1920's. The RAF sang the 'shaibah blues'

Many of the original buildings still remain in Shaiba today - including the swimming pool, bomb stores, hangars and the guard room. It ceased being an RAF station in around 1955

The Iraqis based in Shaiba from the 1970's to Gulf One in 1991 also classed the airbase as a punishment posting - or the devils oven due to its swelterring summer heat

I can vouch for that

Cheers for this Post Bill- Very Interesting. I was at Shaiba before 7 Armd Bde moved into Basrah.

 

I recommend Air Vice-Marshal A G Dudgeon, CBE, DFC. Hidden Victory - The Battle of Habbaniya, May 1941, Stroud, 2000 (Tempus). There is also a chapter on the battle in Robert Lyman, First Victory - Britain's Forgotten Struggle in the Middle East, 1941, London, 2006. (Constable)

With best wishes,
David

 

What a first class web site has been generated by the RAF Habbaniya Society.In my time the station was an essential bridge on the way to Singapore.Many a piston engine change was undertaken here on the way to the Far East, many emergency planned. With the advent of jet transports having greater engine reliability and range,the station would have fallen by the wayside had it not fallen under the Iraqi revolution of 1958.Later it would fit into our withdrawal plans as the Empire receeded.

After the defeat of Raschid Ali, Vichy France gave the Germans notice to leave Syria which surprisingly they did and this rang the bell for the British assault on the presence in the Middle East by an unfriendly French regime.The British were always suspicious of the French League of Nations mandate presence in Syria and the the Lebanon insofar as it appeared to be a weak link in the assurrance of the defence of the Suez Canal Zone.The defeat of Axis forces in Syria and the Lebanon ensured that the Suez Canal was secure from attack from the east, but that is another interesting piece of military history.By the time this era of 1941 was behind us, things were looking up but we had still to put a block on Axis expansion to the Nile delta from the west.

 

Kieron, I took the liberty of posting the truck picture on an MLU Mack thread.

Mack military trucks - MLU FORUM

Cheers, Rich

 

No worries Rich I was wondering what it actually looked like
and found these pictures on the following site:

MACK NJU-1 PONTON

thanks again Rich

Regards
Kieron

 

recently stumbled across these pics of habbinaya on flickr

Iraq 1942 - 1943 World War 2 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!