Al Ismailiyah Air Base

Al Ismailiyah Air Base RAF Ismailia
Near: Ismailia, Egypt
Members of No. 458 Squadron RAAF at RAF Ismailia, 1942
Al Ismailiyah Air Base Location in Egypt
Coordinates	30°35′53.75″N 032°14′12.86″E / 30.5982639°N 32.2369056°ECoordinates: 30°35′53.75″N 032°14′12.86″E / 30.5982639°N 32.2369056°E
Site information
Owner	Egyptian Armed Forces
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
Battles/wars	World War II Western Desert Campaign
Airfield information
Runways Direction Length and surface 13/31 3217 ft Asphalt

Al Ismailiyah Air Base is an Egyptian Air Force (Arabic: القوات الجوية المصرية‎, Al-Qūwāt al-Gawwīyä al-Miṣrīyä) base, located approximately 4 km west-northwest of Ismailia; (Al Isma`iliyah); 116 km northeast of Cairo.

History

During World War II, the airfield, then known as RAF Ismailia or Ismailia Airfield, was used as a military airfield by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force during the North African Campaign against Axis forces. Ismailia was a pre-World War II station, originally opened about 1916.

Today, the airfield is an active Egyptian Air Force base. Its World War II configuration is still evident in aerial photography.

Major units assigned

Royal Air Force

• No. 208 Squadron RAF 1920-1922
• No. 113 Squadron RAF Aug-Sep 1917
• No. 211 Squadron RAF Jan 1939-Nov 1940
• No. 40 Wing RAF 1919-Apr 1920

United States Army Air Forces (Ninth Air Force)

• 12th Bombardment Group October 1942-Undetermined (B-25 Mitchell)
• 436th Troop Carrier Group, 13 August - 18 October 1942. C-47 Skytrain
• 434th Bombardment Group, 14 August – 29 September 1942, B-25 Mitchell

^[1]

See also

• Media related to RAF Ismailia at Wikimedia Commons
• List of World War II North Africa Airfields

References

1.  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of 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.

• Royal Air Force Airfield Creation for the Western Desert Campaign

External links