Mesopotamian Half Flight

Mesopotamian Half Flight
Members of the Half Flight gather around a Short 827 seaplane
Active1915–1916
CountryAustralia
BranchAustralian Flying Corps
Part ofNo. 30 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps
EngagementsWorld War I
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Henry Petre

The Mesopotamian Half-Flight (MHF), or Australian Half-Flight, was the first Australian Flying Corps (AFC) unit to see active service during World War I. Formed in April 1915 at the request of the Indian Government, the half-flight's personnel were sent to Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) where they were equipped with a small number of outdated and barely serviceable aircraft. They later operated in the Tigris Valley in support of British and Indian forces under the command of Major General Charles Townshend. The unit's operations came to an end in December 1915 and the following month the flight was subsumed into other units of the AFC which were being formed in Egypt. It was officially disbanded in October 1916.