RAF Beit Daras

RAF Beit Daras
Bayt Daras, in Israel
RAF Beit Daras Shown within Israel
Coordinates	31°44′10″N 34°41′57″E
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Site history
Built	1941
In use	1941 - 1949
Fate	Demolished
Airfield information
Elevation	100 metres (328 ft) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface NW/SE 1,827.8 metres (5,997 ft) Asphalt N/W 1,508.76 metres (4,950 ft) Asphalt

Royal Air Force Beit Daras or more simply RAF Beit Daras is a former Royal Air Force station located in Bayt Daras, Israel.

History

RAF Beit Daras was built in 1941 by the Royal Air Force in the British Mandate Palestine. It was used by the RAF’s De Havilland Mosquito bombers up until 1948 for supply flights. On the night of March 31, 1948 apart of The Czechoslovak Arms Deals, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster landed on the airfield as the first flight of Operation Balak to airlift the arms from Czechoslovakia to Israel. In 1949, the units were withdrawn from the airfield due to increasing anti-British resistance.[1][2] After the war, the airfield was operated by the Israeli Air Force as an emergency landing ground for occasional manoeuvres.[3] After the war, the airfield was used as a one-time minor civil airfield known as Kiryat Gat or El-Faluja. Currently, there is no remnants of the airfield.[4]

Layout

On-site was two wooden hangars, two asphalt runways (NW/SE, 1,827 meters, N/W, 1,508 meters), and also a nearby power plant.[5]

Units

The followings units based at RAF Beit Daras at one point.

• Satellite, RA Qastina, 11 Nov 1943 - unknown
• No 1434 Photographic Survey Flt, 24 May - 1 July 1943.
• HQ, No 283 Airborne Forces Wing, 1 Feb 1946 - 17 Jan 1947.

Operational Units

• No. 203 Squadron RAF, 11 Nov 1943 - unknown[6]
• 64th and 66th Fighter Squadrons, 57th Fighter Group (only temporarily)
• 66th Weapons Squadron, 19 August 1942 - 16 September 1942[7]

References

1. "The RAF in Palestine". Britain's Small Wars. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
2. "The Czechoslovak Arms Deals". Retrieved 15 November 2024.
3. "Middle Eastern Airfields Study page 179" (PDF). OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
4. "World Air Forces". aeroflight. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
5. "Middle Eastern Airfields Study page 179" (PDF). OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
6. "Stations-B". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
7. "USAAF Worldwide Operations Chronology". Aircrew Remembered. Retrieved 15 November 2024.