Deversoir Air Base

Deversoir Air Base RAF Deversoir LG-209
Near Ahou Sulan, Egypt
275px RAF Deversoir - Airfield about 1945 mosaic
File:Egypt adm location map.svg RAF Deversoir Location in Egypt
Coordinates
Site information
Owner	Egyptian Armed Forces
Operator	Royal Air Force  United States Army Air Forces  Egyptian Air Force
Controlled by	Royal Air Force (1935-1956) Ninth Air Force (1942-45) Egyptian Air Force (1956-Present)
Site history
Battles/wars	World War II Western Desert Campaign

Deversoir Air Base (LG-209) is a former military airfield in Egypt, located approximately 19 km south-southeast of Ismailia (Al Isma`iliyah); 116 km northeast of Cairo. It was formerly a major Royal Air Force airfield known as RAF Deversoir built before World War II.

History

Deversoir was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military airfield built in the 1930s. It was built part of the defences of the Suez Canal, being constructed at the northwest shore of the Great Bitter Lake. During World War II, it was used as a military airfield by the RAF and the United States Army Air Force during the North African Campaign against Axis forces.22

The airfield received United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 12 February 1945 as he flew from the Yalta Conference to rejoin the USS Quincy, which was anchored in the Great Bitter Lake and would host the President's meetings with King Farouk of Egypt, King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia before transporting him back to the United States.

Deversoir appears to have been used by the RAF after the war until 1956, then turned over to the Egyptian Air Force. Modern hardened aircraft shelters were built on wartime-era dispersal pads, and recent runway markings are evident in aerial photography. However, the airfield does not appear to be in current use.

Major units assigned

Royal Air Force

• No 33 Air Stores Park (4 - 17 Jul 1942, 2 Sep - 15 Oct 1943)
• No 63 Repair & Salvage Unit (7 Jul - Aug 1943)
• No 26 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit (6 Mar 1945 - 1 Jan 1946)
• HQ, No 324 Wing (28 Aug 1948 - Feb 1951)
• Known squadrons (dates assigned undetermined)

6, 8, 32, 73, 213, 249, 256 417, 680

United States Army Air Forces (Ninth Air Force)

• 57th Bombardment Wing 5 June-28 August 1943
• 12th Bombardment Group, 31 July–October 1942, B-25 Mitchell
• 316th Troop Carrier Group, 23 November–December 1942. C-47 Skytrain
• 19th Photographic Mapping Squadron, January 30, 1944-31 Jan 1945 (B-24/F-7 Liberator)

See also

• List of World War II North Africa Airfields

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• Royal Air Force Airfield Creation for the Western Desert Campaign