RAF Shaibah

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RAF Shaibah was an RAF station situated about 13 miles south west of the city of Basrah in Iraq. The area was the site of a battle with Turkish Forces during the Mesopotamian campaign of the First World War. First occupied by the RAF in 1920, the resident squadron was No. 84 Squadron RAF until 1940 when No. 244 Squadron RAF took over. 244 Sqn was involved in the Rashid Ali rebellion on 1941. RAF Shaibah was a small and primitive base in the desert with a harsh hot and humid climate. It expanded during the Second World War but was handed over to the Iraqi Air Force in 1956. It became the site of a British Military Hospital and logistics base following the Gulf War of 2003. Original RAF buildings remain.

[edit] External links

• Habbaniya.org