RAF Iraq Command

{{Short description|Royal Air Force command in charge of British forces in Iraq (1922–1941)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}} {{Use British English|date=October 2017}} {{Infobox military unit |unit_name = RAF Iraq Command |image = |caption = Command crest |start_date = 1922–1941 |country = {{flagicon|UK}} [[United Kingdom]] |allegiance = |branch = [[File:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg|23px]] [[Royal Air Force]] |type = [[Command (military formation)|Command]] |role = Control of RAF Forces in Iraq |size = |command_structure = |garrison = |garrison_label = |equipment = |equipment_label = |nickname = |patron = |motto = |colors = |colors_label = |march = |mascot = |battles = |anniversaries = |decorations = |battle_honours = <!-- Commanders --> |current_commander = |current_commander_label = |ceremonial_chief = |ceremonial_chief_label = |colonel_of_the_regiment = |colonel_of_the_regiment_label = |notable_commanders = <!-- Insignia --> |identification_symbol = |identification_symbol_label = |identification_symbol_2 = |identification_symbol_2_label = <!-- Aircraft --> |aircraft_attack = |aircraft_bomber = |aircraft_electronic = |aircraft_fighter = |aircraft_interceptor = |aircraft_recon = |aircraft_patrol = |aircraft_trainer = |aircraft_transport = }} '''Iraq Command''' was the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) commanded [[British Armed Forces|inter-service]] [[Command (military formation)|command]] in charge of [[United Kingdom|British]] forces in [[Iraq]] in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the period of the [[British Mandate of Mesopotamia]]. It continued as '''British Forces in Iraq''' until 1941 when it was replaced by [[AHQ Iraq]]. It consisted of [[Royal Air Force]], [[Royal Navy]], [[British Army]], [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] and locally raised units, commanded by an RAF officer normally of [[Air Vice-Marshal]] rank.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1922/1922%20-%200679.html Appointments] Flight, 16 November 1922</ref>

==Origins== Following the end of [[World War I]] and the accompanying British defence cuts, the new RAF took up the task of policing the [[British Empire|Empire]] from the air. In May 1920 [[Iraqi revolt against the British|an insurgency]] broke out around the Euphrates and this uprising rapidly extended to a more general area. The Air Officer Commanding the Middle East dispatched an additional squadron from Egypt to Iraq. In London the Government were seeking a solution and the Army's proposal, which involved reinforcing Iraq with large numbers of personnel, was considered to be too expensive by the Cabinet. [[Winston Churchill]], remembering the [[1920 conflict between British forces and the Dervish State|RAF's success in Somaliland]] asked [[Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard|Trenchard]] for a cheaper alternative and a plan for air control using air power as a more cost-effective way of controlling large areas than by using conventional land forces was proposed.<ref>Boyle, Andrew. ''Trenchard Man of Vision'' p. 371</ref> In [[Mesopotamia]] there was a need to counter [[Turkey|Turkish]] aspirations and by 1920 a Mesopotamian [[Wing (air force unit)|Wing]] had been established. In January 1921 Mesopotamian [[Group (air force unit)|Group]] was formed by raising Mesopotamian [[Wing (air force unit)|Wing]] to group status.

In March 1921 at the [[Cairo Conference (1921)|Cairo Conference]], Churchill, who was by then [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Colonial Secretary]], along with the three service chiefs, decided that all British forces in Iraq would be put under control of the RAF. The intention was to apply the model of imperial air control which had worked in Somaliland to a much larger region which was similarly troubled.<ref name="Dean">{{cite web | last =Dean | first =David J. | title =Air Power in Small Wars – the British air control experience | work =Air University Review | publisher =[[Air University (United States)|Air University]] | date =July–August 1983 | url =http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1983/jul-aug/dean.html | archive-url =https://archive.today/20120717151139/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1983/jul-aug/dean.html | url-status =dead | archive-date =17 July 2012 | access-date =2008-01-13 }}</ref> The following year, on 1 October 1922 Mesopotamian Group was absorbed into the newly formed Iraq Command which was given control of all British forces in Iraq.

==Locations== Air Headquarter initially situated in the Old British Residency in [[Baghdad]]. The Officers were accommodated in various messes in [[Baghdad]] and the airmen in a compound at Southgate. In December 1928 the Headquarters moved from Baghdad to [[RAF Hinaidi]] Cantonment and was located in one block of the original RAF General Hospital buildings. Apart from the Air Officer Commanding's staff mess, all the AHQ personnel were then accommodated at [[RAF Hinaidi]].<ref>An Introduction to Iraq. British Forces in Iraq, RAF Hinaidi. 1935</ref> In 1937 Air Headquarters and the personnel moved from [[RAF Hinaidi]] Cantonment to the newly built [[RAF Dhibban]] (renamed [[RAF Habbaniya]] in 1938). The Air Officer Commanding then lived in Air House at Habbaniya.

==Actions== Iraq Command was responsible for the following military actions: *1920 to 1922 - The [[Iraqi revolt against the British|Great Iraqi Revolution of 1920]] started in [[Baghdad]] in the summer of 1920 and dragged on until 1922. *February to May 1923 - Following the anti-British activities of [[Mahmud Barzanji|Sheikh Mahmud]], delayed-action bombs were dropped outside [[Sulaymaniyah]] in an effort to get the Sheikh to adopt more pro-British policies. British land forces occupied Sulaymaniyah on 17 May and Sheikh Mahmud fled to [[Persia]]. *March to April 1923 - In response to the uncovering of Turkish plans for an attack on [[Kurdistan]], supported by local tribes associated with Sheikh Mahmud, Imperial troops and levies occupied [[Rowanduz]] and drove Turkish troops into nearby Persia. *April 1923 - The RAF flew 280 [[Sikhism|Sikh]] troops from [[Kingarban]] to [[Kirkuk]] in the first British air trooping operation. *25 December 1923 - Sheikh Mahmud proclaimed himself [[Kingdom of Kurdistan|King of Kurdistan]]; subsequently, the RAF bombed his house in Sulaymaniyah. *December 1923 to January 1924 - The RAF bombed [[Ikhwan|Akhwan]] raiders from [[Najd]] in an attempt to stop their attacks on the tribes living in southern Iraq. *4 May 1924 - Following a dispute between [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] levies and the Muslims living in [[Kirkuk]], the levies ran amok. [[Air Vice-Marshal]] [[John Frederick Andrews Higgins|J F A Higgins]] had two platoons of the 1st Battalion the [[Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers]] airlifted from [[RAF Hinaidi|Hinaidi]] to Kirkuk to restore order. *5 May 1924 - The fusiliers were reinforced by air with two additional infantry platoons. [[No. 30 Squadron RAF]] carried out thorough air reconnaissance of the Kirkuk district.

''The above section is incomplete.''

==Follow-on== Since August 1921, [[Faisal I of Iraq|Faisal I]] had been [[King of Iraq]] under the [[League of Nations Mandates|League of Nations Mandate]]. As of 1932, the mandate ended and the [[Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq]] was nominally independent. In accordance with the [[Anglo-Iraqi Treaty (1930)|Anglo-Iraqi Treaty]] of 1930, British forces remained in Iraq.

In 1933 or 1934, "Iraq Command" was renamed the "British Forces in Iraq." By the late 1930s, these forces were restricted to two [[Royal Air Force station]]s, [[RAF Shaibah]] near [[Basrah]], [[RAF Basrah]] (the supply depot on the [[Shatt-al-Arab]] at [[Basrah]] and [[RAF Habbaniya]] west of [[Baghdad]].<ref>David Lee, ''Flight from the Middle East'', pg. 95</ref> There were several Commanders of the "British Forces in Iraq". This command appears to have lasted until 1942. During the 1941 [[Anglo-Iraqi War]], ''[[Iraqforce]]'' subsumed this command.

On 1 November 1941, "British Forces in Iraq" was renamed Air Headquarters Iraq ([[AHQ Iraq]]).

==Commanders== Commanders included:<ref>[http://www.rafweb.org/Cmd_O3.htm Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Overseas Commands - Iraq, India and the Far East] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080806113118/http://www.rafweb.org/Cmd_O3.htm |date=6 August 2008 }}</ref>

===Precursor formations=== *6 January 1921 (as Officer Commanding, HQ Mesopotamian Group) [[Group Captain]] [[Amyas Borton|A E Borton]] *13 October 1921 (as Officer Commanding, HQ Iraq Group) Group Captain, later [[Air Commodore]], A E Borton

===RAF Iraq Command=== *1 October 1922 [[Air Vice-Marshal]] [[John Salmond|J M Salmond]] *13 March 1924 Air Vice-Marshal [[John Frederick Andrews Higgins|J F A Higgins]] *3 November 1926 Air Vice-Marshal [[Edward Ellington|E L Ellington]] *1 November 1928 Air Vice-Marshal [[Robert Brooke-Popham|H R M Brooke-Popham]] *2 October 1930 Air Vice-Marshal [[Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt|E R Ludlow-Hewitt]] *1932 [[Air Commodore]] [[Christopher Courtney|C L Courtney]] (temporary appointment)<ref>[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Courtney.htm Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Christopher Courtney]</ref> *23 November 1932 Air Vice-Marshal [[Charles Burnett (air force officer)|C S Burnett]]

===British Forces in Iraq=== *1932 Air Vice-Marshal [[Charles Burnett (RAF officer)|C S Burnett]] *1934 Air Vice Marshal [[William Mitchell (RAF officer)|W G S Mitchell]] *1937 Air Vice Marshal / [[Air Marshal]] (from 1939) [[Christopher Courtney|C L Courtney]] *1937 Air Vice Marshall [[John Tyssen]] (from 20 November 1937)<ref>His Majesty's Stationery Office London: The Air Force List, February 1939</ref> *1939 Air Vice Marshal [[Harry George Smart|H G Smart]] *1941 Air Vice Marshal [[John D'Albiac|J H. D'Albiac]]

==Chief staff officers== The following served as Chief [[Staff Officer]] (or Senior Air Staff Officer) at the headquarters of Iraq Command: *2 February 1923 Air Commodore [[Lionel Charlton|L E O Charlton]] (resigned) <ref>[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Charlton.htm Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Lionel Charlton]</ref> *22 October 1923 Air Commodore [[John Hearson|J G Hearson]]<ref>[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Hearson.htm Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - John Hearson]</ref> *19 August 1924 Air Commodore [[Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding|H C T Dowding]]<ref>[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Dowding.htm Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Hugh Dowding]</ref> *24 April 1926 Air Commodore [[Thomas Higgins (RAF officer)|T C R Higgins]]<ref>[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/HigginsT.htm Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Thomas Higgins]</ref> *9 March 1928 Group Captain (later Air Commodore) [[Frederick Bowhill|F W Bowhill]] (as Senior Air Staff Officer)<ref>[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Bowhill.htm Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Frederick Bowhill]</ref> ''list incomplete''

==See also== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * [[Ottoman Iraq]] * [[British Mandate of Iraq]] * [[Kingdom of Iraq]] * [[Iraqi revolt against the British]] * [[Iraqforce]] * [[Persia and Iraq Command]] * [[Iraq Levies]] * [[List of Royal Air Force commands]] {{div col end}}

==Notes== {{reflist|2}}

==References== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080806113118/http://www.rafweb.org/Cmd_O3.htm Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Overseas Commands - Iraq, India and the Far East] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060310223543/http://www.regiments.org/formations/uk-cmdarmy/os-iraq.htm Regiments.org - British Forces in Iraq 1921 to 1955] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20040531064401/http://www.rafmuseum.com/milestones-of-flight/british_military/1923.html RAF Museum - British Military Aviation in 1923] *{{cite book |title=RAF Operations 1918-1938 |last=Bowyer |first=Chaz |year=1988 |publisher=William Kimber |location=London |isbn=0-7183-0671-6|chapter= Chapter Four: Mespot and Chapter Five: Mahmud}} * {{cite book| first=David E.| last=Omissi| title=Air Power and Colonial Control: The Royal Air Force, 1919-1939 | publisher=Manchester University Press | date=1990 |location=New York |isbn= 0-7190-2960-0 }} *[[David Lee (RAF officer)|David Lee]], Flight from the Middle East: A history of the Royal Air Force in the Arabian Peninsula and adjacent territories 1945–1972, HMSO 1980

[[Category:Royal Air Force overseas commands|Iraq Command]] [[Category:Military history of Iraq]] [[Category:Military units and formations established in 1922]] [[Category:Iraq–United Kingdom relations]] [[Category:Iraqi revolt of 1920]] [[Category:Anglo-Iraqi War]]