British aircraft at Habbaniya, during the Iraqi revolt

The British had a presence in Iraq from 1917. At the outbreak of war in 1939, the King of Iraq was a small boy. The regent was the pro-British Amir Abdul Illah. In March 1941, a revolt took place, and eventually, the RAF training base at Habbaniyah was besieged. Habbaniya had an odd collection of aircraft, especially since it was a training base, but partly because that was what the RAF had in the Middle East and Africa. The aircraft at Habbaniya consisted of:

• 32 Hawker Audaxes
• 8 Fairey Gordons
• 29 Avro Oxfords
• 3 Gloster Gladiators
• 1 Bristol Blenheim I
• 5 Hawker Hart trainers

In addition, there was a squadron of Vickers Vincent bombers at Shaibah. They faced an Iraqi air force with 50 or 60 aircraft of similar vintage to what the British had.