RAF Gaza
Royal Air Force airfield in Gaza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Royal Air Force Gaza or more simply RAF Gaza is a former Royal Air Force station on the southwest coast of Mandatory Palestine, in the modern day Gaza Governorate in Palestine.[1]
| RAF Gaza | |
|---|---|
| Gaza Governorate in Palestine Previously Mandatory Palestine | |
 Imperial Airways sign, Gaza, ca. 1935 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Royal Air Force station |
| Owner | Air Ministry |
| Operator | Royal Air Force |
| Location | |
  RAF Gaza Shown within the State of Palestine | |
| Coordinates | 31°28′41″N 34°29′40″E |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1917 |
| In use | 1917 - 1946 |
| Battles/wars | Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II |
History
The airfield was one of the first to be built in Palestine. It was constructed in 1917 for military use by the Ottoman Empire, with German assistance.[2]
RAF Gaza was used for passenger services by Imperial Airways from 1927 as a stop en route to Baghdad and further to Karachi or Batavia, correspondingly.[3]) and KLM (since 1933[4])[5][6] In the 1930s, an illustrated London magazine proclaimed that passengers overnighting at Gaza, hailed as "the gateway to the Holy Land", were staying where Samson had once removed the city gates.[7]
During the Second World War RAF Gaza was used by a number of RAF squadrons, including 33, 45, 127, 208, 318 and 451 Squadrons. No. 2 Air Crew Officers School RAF was based on the airfield, and the Greek Training Flight RAF was also based there in 1941–1942. The airfield was used as the Middle East ammunition depot from July to September 1942.[8]
RAF Gaza was on the site of the modern Karni crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel.[8] Although no remains of the airfield are visible today, the British concrete road linking the airfield with the ammunition storage areas (located about 6 km (3.7 mi) south of the airfield is visible and in good shape.[9]
Incidents
- On February 14, 1930, an Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.66 Hercules (G-EBNA, City of Tehran) suffered a non-fatal landing mishap after the pilot misjudged the plane's altitude and struck a ridge 100 yards from the runway. The plane was damaged beyond repair. The incident took place during a passenger flight from Great Britain to India.[10]