Deversoir Air Base
RAF Deversoir
LG-209
Near Abou Sultan, Egypt
RAF Deversoir - Airfield about 1945 mosaic
RAF Deversoir is located in Egypt
RAF Deversoir
RAF Deversoir
Location in Egypt
Coordinates30°25′22″N 032°20′07″E / 30.42278°N 32.33528°E / 30.42278; 32.33528
Site information
OwnerEgyptian Armed Forces
Operator Royal Air Force
 United States Army Air Forces
 Egyptian Air Force
Controlled byRoyal Air Force (1935-1956)
Ninth Air Force (1942-45)
Egyptian Air Force (1956-Present)
Site history
Battles/warsWorld War II

Yom Kippur War

Deversoir Air Base (LG-209) is an active airbase of the Egyptian Air Force, known as 'Abu Sultan', located approximately 19 km south-southeast of Ismailia (Al Isma`iliyah); 116 km northeast of Cairo. It was formerly a major Royal Air Force airfield known as RAF Deversoir built before World War II. A helicopter unit with SA-342 Gazelle helicopters is based here.

The remaining RAF units vacated Deversoir following the coup that saw Gamal Abdel Nasser seize power in June 1956.

History

Deversoir was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military airfield built in the 1930s. It was built part of the defences of the Suez Canal, being constructed at the northwest shore of the Great Bitter Lake. During World War II, it was used as a military airfield by the RAF and the United States Army Air Force during the North African Campaign against Axis forces.

The airfield received United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 12 February 1945 as he flew from the Yalta Conference to rejoin the USS Quincy, which was anchored in the Great Bitter Lake and would host the President's meetings with King Farouk of Egypt, King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia before transporting him back to the United States.[1]

An RAF pilot from 213 (Fighter) Squadron beside a Vampire FB.9 at RAF Deversoir in summer 1954.

Deversoir was used by the RAF after the war until March 1955 when it was handed over to the Egyptian Air Force.[2] Modern hardened aircraft shelters were built on wartime-era dispersal pads, and recent runway markings are evident in aerial photography. The airbase is being used to accommodate a helicopter unit flying SA 342 Gazelle, armed helicopters.

RAF Deversoir was operative as 324 Fighter Wing in 1950 when it was the home of three squadrons of De Havilland Vampire aircraft plus three Gloster Meteors, one to each squadron. The squadrons were numbers 213 and 249. Some time near the end of WW2 the station had been used to house Italian prisoners of war and this was evidenced by a painting done by one of them which was present in 1950 - 1952 in one of the cookhouse dining room for other ranks.

During the mid 1950s Canal Zone patrols were carried out by RAF jets from the station. A rotation of standby aircraft from the station's Vampire squadrons was put in place, with RAF jets frequently scrambled to intercept Egyptian air force aircraft. This included Meteors and Constellations.

Relations between the United Kingdom and Egypt continued to deteriorate in the wake of the 1952 revolution.

213 (Fighter) Squadron, the last RAF flying squadron based there, disbanded at Deversoir on 30th September, 1954, with the pilots and ground crew dispersed to other RAF stations outside Egypt.[3]


Major units assigned

Royal Air Force[4]
  • No 33 Air Stores Park (4 - 17 Jul 1942, 2 Sep - 15 Oct 1943)
  • No 63 Repair & Salvage Unit (7 Jul - Aug 1943)
  • No 26 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit (6 Mar 1945 - 1 Jan 1946)
  • HQ, No 324 Wing (28 Aug 1948 - Feb 1951)
  • Known squadrons (dates assigned undetermined)
6, 8, 32, 73, 213, 249, 256 417, 680
United States Army Air Forces (Ninth Air Force)[4]

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  • Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
  • Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
  • Royal Air Force Airfield Creation for the Western Desert Campaign
  1. ↑ "February 12th, 1945 - FDR: Day by Day". FDR: Day by Day. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  2. ↑ The National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom, AIR28/1014
  3. ↑ Jefford, C.G. (2001). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
  4. 1 2 "RAF Deversoir". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 30 March 2015.



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