| Lake Habbaniyah | |
|---|---|
  Lake Habbaniyah | |
| Coordinates | 33°17′43″N 43°27′10″E / 33.29528°N 43.45278°E |
| Primary inflows | Euphrates River |
| Primary outflows | Lake Milh |
| Basin countries | Iraq |
| Surface area | 140 km2 (54 sq mi) |
Lake Habbaniyah (Arabic: بحيرة الحبانية Buḥayrat al-Ḥabbāniya) is a lake located halfway between Ramadi and Fallujah near Al-Taqaddum (TQ) Air Base in Al Habbaniyah in Anbar Province, Iraq.[1]
In the late 1930s and 1940s Lake Habbaniyah was used by Imperial Airways as a refueling point and hotel for flying boats flying from the United Kingdom to India.[2] Nearby on the banks of the Euphrates had already been established the Royal Air Force airbase of RAF Dhibban, later renamed RAF Habbaniya.[3]
It was the scene of action during the Rashid Ali rebellion Anglo-Iraqi War when the RAF trainee aircrew and troops stationed there effectively saw off the besieging Iraqi troops and subsequent German aerial attacks.[4]
- ^ Duraid Adnan and Timothy Williams (23 August 2009). "Dancing by the Waves, Iraqis Forget War for a Day". New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ Dudgeon, Mike (2010). "No. 4 SFTS and Raschad Ali's War - Iraq 1941". Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society (48). London: Royal Air Force Historical Society: 41. ISSN 1361-4231.
- ^ Fairbairn, Tony (1991). Action stations overseas. Sparkford: P. Stephens. p. 82. ISBN 1-85260-319-4.
- ^ Dudgeon, Mike (2010). "No. 4 SFTS and Raschad Ali's War - Iraq 1941". Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society (48). London: Royal Air Force Historical Society: 47. ISSN 1361-4231.