; Second World War Originally a
Royal Air Force installation ("Landing Ground 224").
No. 104 Squadron RAF flew
Vickers Wellington bombers against retreating Axis forces from the base after the
Battle of El Alamein. The last RAF unit was
No. 620 Squadron RAF's stay from 6 March to 14 June 1946 with the Halifax A.7. Landing Ground 224 •
No. 14 Squadron RAF between 10 and 25 August 1942 with the
Bristol Blenheim IV,
Martin Baltimore II and
Martin Marauder I •
No. 37 Squadron RAF between 26 and 29 June 1942 initially then between 6 and 13 November 1942 with the
Vickers Wellington IC •
No. 39 Squadron RAF between 3 and 11 June 1943 with the
Bristol Beaufort II • Detachment from
No. 46 Squadron RAF between May 1942 and January 1943 with the
Bristol Beaufighter IF •
No. 70 Squadron RAF between 26 and 29 June 1942 then between 6 and 11 November 1942 with the Wellington IC • Detachment from
No. 76 Squadron RAF between October 1941 and September 1942 with the
Handley Page Halifax II •
No. 104 Squadron RAF between 7 and 12 November 1942 with the Wellington II •
No. 267 Squadron RAF between 19 January and 18 November 1943 with the
Lockheed Hudson IV &
Douglas Dakota •
No. 450 Squadron RAAF between 2 and 14 October 1942 with the
Curtiss Kittyhawk III • Detachment from
No. 454 Squadron RAAF between April and September 1942 Kilo 26 •
No. 6 Squadron RAF between 22 January and 28 April 1943 with the
Hawker Hurricane I Cairo West • Detachment from
No. 74 Squadron RAF between October and November 1943 with the
Supermarine Spitfire VB, VC & IX • Detachment from
No. 89 Squadron RAF between December 1941 and January 1943 with Beaufighter IF •
No. 96 Squadron RAF between 30 March and 1 May 1945 with the Halifax III and Dakota •
No. 216 Squadron RAF between 27 November 1942 and 15 July 1945 with the Hudson VI & Dakota ; Cold War
Six Day War The Air Base was temporarily put out service was it was one of the air bases in Egypt attacked simultaneously by the Israeli Air Force during
Operation Focus.
Late history After submission of the
Fiscal Year 1981 budget, the
United States Secretary of Defense/JCS - ordered "Proud Phantom," at a request to Egypt which was an unprogrammed tactical deployment, not part of the regular exercise program. Twelve F-4E Phantom IIs and at least 400 personnel were dispatched from the
347th Tactical Fighter Wing at
Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, to Cairo West, in July 1980. On 29 May 1981 a
Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashed after takeoff from the base. For a long period it has been frequently listed by aviation periodicals as the home of the 222nd Tactical Fighter Brigade of the
Egyptian Air Force, flying
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs. It has been a frequent site for
United States Air Force deployments, with the
487th Air Expeditionary Wing located here in March-May 2003 during the
2003 invasion of Iraq. The Cairo West
TACAN (Ident:
BLA) is located on the field. ==See also==