Ismailia Air Base

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.

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
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 (1915)
In use	1915 - present
Battles/wars	World War II Western Desert campaign
Airfield information
Elevation	11 metres (36 ft) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 13/31 980 metres (3,215 ft) Asphalt

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]

See also

• List of North African airfields during World War II