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UID:5h2kmp@events.aero
DTSTAMP:20261010T171321Z
DTSTART:20270218T190000Z
DTEND:20270218T200000Z
SUMMARY:Birmingham\, Wolverhampton and Cosford Branch: The Siege and Battle
  of Habbinya
DESCRIPTION:In May 1941\, Habbaniya was besieged by the Iraqi Army and atta
 cked by the Iraq Air Force and Luftwaffe (the Italian Air Force arrived to
 o late). The RAF's defensive force consisted of only 4 FTS\, RAF Armoured 
 Cars\, the RAF Iraq Levies and 300 men of the KORR flown in at the last mi
 nute. Squadron Leader Tony Dudgeon (later Air Vice-Marshal) and Wing Comma
 nder Larry Ling of 4 FTS pushed through modifications to Audaxes and Oxfor
 ds to carry heavy bomb loads against all official opposition. On 2 May\, t
 he RAF took the initiative\, defeated the Iraqis and regained Baghdad and 
 Iraq.\nThis was a little-known but critically important victory in World W
 ar 2. Had the RAF lost\, the Axis would have controlled Iraq and gained ac
 cess to vital oil supplies. Egypt would likely have fallen\, and British c
 ommunications with the Far East would have been severed. The consequences 
 could have changed the entire course of the war.\nDr Christopher Morris pr
 esents this fascinating historical lecture exploring one of the Second Wor
 ld War's pivotal but overlooked moments.
LOCATION:RAF Cosford\, Cosford
URL:https://events.aero/gb/events/birmingham-wolverhampton-and-cosford-bran
 ch-the-siege-and-battle-of-habbinya
GEO:52.6405240;-2.3053260
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