RAF Castel Benito
RAF Castel Benito![]() RAF Idris | |
---|---|
IATA: none – ICAO: none | |
Summary | |
Owner/Operator | Desert Air Force |
Location | Near: Tripoli, Libya |
Built | 1938 |
Coordinates | 32°40′10″N 013°09′24″E / 32.66944°N 13.15667°E |
Map | |
![]() ![]() Location of RAF Castel Benito |
RAF Castel Benito (later RAF Idris) was a Royal Air Force station near Tripoli in Libya between 1943 and 1966.
History
Originally a Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) airfield where later the first units of Italian parachutists were trained and formed shortly before the Second World War. The first Italian Military Parachute School was located at Castel Benito. The first troops trained were two Libyan battalions, the Libyan Parachute Battalion and the 1st National Libyan Parachute Battalion, of the Royal Colonial Corps.[1]
In 1938 the Italian Libya governor Italo Balbo enlarged the military airfield and created an international airport for civilians, served by Ala Littoria: the Tripoli-Castel Benito Airport.
After it was captured by the British, the airfield was renamed RAF Station Castel Benito and was used by a number of operational squadrons involved in the desert war, sometimes for only a few days or weeks at a time.
In 1952, the station was renamed RAF Idris in honour of the Libyan King Idris at the request of the Libyan government. The station was used as a staging post for flights to and from the United Kingdom to the Middle East and Far East. It was also used in the 1950s as a base for aircraft using the Libyan desert bombing ranges (Tahuna) for practice. The station was closed in the late 1960s when the Libya became a republic.
Following the withdrawal of the RAF from Libya, the airfield became Tripoli Idris Airport. It is now known as Tripoli International Airport.
Units and aircraft
Unit | Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
No. 6 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Hawker Hurricane | IID | Only stayed for six days |
No. 73 Squadron RAF | 1951 | de Havilland Vampire | FB9 | |
No. 73 Squadron RAF | 1952 | de Havilland Vampire | FB9 | (RAF Idris) |
No. 89 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Bristol Beaufighter | VIF | |
No. 92 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Supermarine Spitfire | VB and VC | |
No. 108 Squadron RAF | 1943-1944 | Bristol Beaufighter | VIF | Detached aircraft from RAF Luqa |
No. 112 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Curtiss Kittyhawk | III | |
No. 117 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Lockheed Hudson and Douglas Dakota | ||
No. 145 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Supermarine Spitfire | VB | Detached from Wadi Suri later based |
No. 185 Squadron RAF | 1952 | de Havilland Vampire | FB5 | (RAF Idris) |
No. 208 Squadron RAF | 1951 | Gloster Meteor | FR9 | Detached aircraft from Abu Sueir |
No. 250 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Curtiss Kittyhawk | III | |
No. 260 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Curtiss Kittyhawk | III | |
No. 283 Squadron RAF | 1944-1946 | Vickers Warwick | I | Detached aircraft from Hal Far |
No. 294 Squadron RAF | 1943-1944 | Vickers Wellington | IC | |
No. 318 Squadron RAF | 1944 | Supermarine Spitfire | VC | |
No. 417 Squadron RCAF | 1943 | Supermarine Spitfire | VC | |
No. 450 Squadron RAAF | 1943 | Curtiss Kittyhawk | III | |
No. 601 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Supermarine Spitfire | VC | |
No. 651 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Auster | I | |
No. 651 Squadron RAF | 1948-1950 | Auster | Based but later detached from Ismailia | |
No. 680 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Various (Electra/Spitfire/Hurricane) | Detached aircraft from LG219 (Photo Reconnaissance Unit) |
See also
- List of former Royal Air Force stations
- Tripoli-Castel Benito Airport
References
Citations
- ↑ Fowler 2010, p. 61.
Bibliography
- Fowler, William (2010). The Secret War in Italy: Operation Herring and No 1 Italian SAS. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 9780711035287.
- Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE,BA,RAF (Retd). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
- Sturtivant, Ray, ISO and John Hamlin. RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. ISBN 0-85130-365-X.