RAF Beit Daras
Former Royal Air Force station in Israel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Royal Air Force Beit Daras or more simply RAF Beit Daras is a former Royal Air Force station located in Bayt Daras, Israel.
| RAF Beit Daras | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayt Daras, in Israel | |||||||||
 An aerial photograph taken in 1948, shows the runway of RAF Beit Daras in the lower left corner. | |||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
  RAF Beit Daras Shown within Israel | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 31°44′10″N 34°41′57″E | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1941 | ||||||||
| In use | 1941 - 1949 | ||||||||
| Fate | Demolished | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 100 metres (328 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
History
RAF Beit Daras was built in 1941 by the Royal Air Force in the British Mandate Palestine. The airfield operated as a satellite under RAF Qastina.[1] It was used by de Havilland Mosquito bombers for supply flights. On the night of March 31, 1948, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster landed on the airfield to airlift the arms from Czechoslovakia to Israel. This was the first flight of Operation Balak, which was made in part of the Czechoslovak Arms Deals. In 1949, the British units were withdrawn from the airfield after facing increasing anti-British resistance.[2][3]
When British forces were withdrawn, the airfield was operated by the Israeli Air Force as an emergency landing ground for occasional manoeuvre.[4] Afterwards, the airfield was used as a one-time minor civil airfield known as Kiryat Gat or El-Faluja. Currently, there is no remnants of the airfield.[5]
Layout
On-site was two wooden hangars, two asphalt runways (NW/SE, 1,827 meters, N/W, 1,508 meters), and also a nearby power plant.[6]
Units
The followings units based at RAF Beit Daras at one point.
- No. 1434 (Photographic Survey) Flight RAF between 24 May and 1 July 1943, when the flight was disbanded[7]
- HQ, No. 283 (Airborne Forces) Wing, 1 Feb 1946 - 17 Jan 1947.[8][9]
- 64th and 66th Fighter Squadrons, 57th Fighter Group (only temporarily)
- 66th Weapons Squadron, 19 August 1942 - 16 September 1942[10]