Shaibah Logistics Base
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| Also known as | Shaibah Air Base; RAF Shaibah; Wahda (Al-Wahda) Air Base; SLB; Patrol Base Shaibah |
|---|---|
| Location | Basra Province / Shaibah, on the outskirts of Basra |
| Type | Logistics base, field hospital and detention facility on a former air base (British-led) |
| Category | NATO-member coalition base |
| Opened | 2003 (coalition use; airfield founded by the RAF in 1920) |
| Closed or transferred | Handed over to Iraqi control on 24 April 2007; U.S. Patrol Base Shaibah returned to full Iraqi control on 30 March 2010 |
| Coordinates | 30.42611, 47.64278 (30°25′34.0″N 47°38′34.0″E) |
Overview
Shaibah Logistics Base occupied the old Shaibah airfield in Basra Province, founded by the Royal Air Force in 1920 as RAF Station Shaibah. The RAF used it through the Second World War and into the 1950s before handing it to the Iraqi Air Force on 1 March 1956, after which it was known as Wahda Air Base. It was bombed by Iran in 1980 and by U.S. Navy and RAF aircraft in the 1991 Gulf War, and was abandoned after Operation Desert Storm.
Coalition forces captured the airfield in 2003 and turned it into the Shaibah Logistics Base, the site of a British military field hospital, with the original RAF buildings still standing. While it operated, the base was home to British, Dutch, Czech, Danish and Norwegian forces under the British-led Multi-National Division (South East).
34 Field Hospital set up a 25-bed hospital at Shaibah within six and a half hours of arriving early in the 2003 war, and a 200-bed hospital was later built. The hospital took in more than 3,500 casualties, over 350 of them major trauma cases. British Territorial Army and regular units rotated through the base providing transport, supply, medical, engineering and force protection, and the base also housed the BFBS Radio studios during the operation.
UK forces maintained a Divisional Temporary Detention Facility at Shaibah for people considered a threat to security, and from December 2006 the ICRC ran a family visit allowance program for the British internment facility there. On 24 April 2007 the base was handed to Iraqi control, one of a series of handovers that consolidated UK forces at Basra Air Station; a reconnaissance troop of 38 Engineer Regiment carried out the handover on Operation Telic 9.
U.S. forces later operated a Patrol Base Shaibah, staffed in 2010 by a Logistics Military Advisory Team, and a Shaibah Training Center near COB Basra hosted Iraqi border enforcement training. Patrol Base Shaibah was returned to full Iraqi control in a ceremony on 30 March 2010.
Timeline
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1920 | Royal Air Force established RAF Station Shaibah. |
| 1956-03-01 | Airfield handed to the Iraqi Air Force and renamed Wahda Air Base. |
| 1991 | Bombed by U.S. Navy and RAF aircraft in the Gulf War; later abandoned. |
| 2003 | Captured by coalition forces; became Shaibah Logistics Base and site of a British field hospital. |
| 2004-2005 | Royal Artillery batteries and other British units provided force protection. |
| 2006-12 | ICRC family visit allowance program started for the British internment facility at Shaibah. |
| 2007-04-24 | Shaibah Logistics Base handed over to Iraqi control. |
| 2010-03-30 | U.S. flag lowered for the final time at Patrol Base Shaibah; site returned to full Iraqi control. |
Units stationed at Shaibah Logistics Base
Units documented in public sources as based at or operating from Shaibah Logistics Base. This list is not complete; units rotated frequently and many smaller elements were never reported. Veterans can add their unit on the message board below.
| # | Unit | When | Role at the base | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34 Field Hospital | 2003 (Operation Telic 1) | Established the first 25-bed hospital at Shaibah | link |
| 2 | 202 (Midlands) Field Hospital (Volunteers) | May-July 2003 | Field hospital staff | link |
| 3 | 22 Field Hospital | dates not stated in source | Field hospital at the base | link |
| 4 | 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers) | April-August 2004 | Lead unit for the field hospital | link |
| 5 | 84 Medical Supply Squadron, RAMC | from August 2003 | Medical supply | link |
| 6 | 29 Armoured Engineer Squadron, 35 Engineer Regiment (attached to 28 Engineer Regiment) | 2003 | Built a 1,500-person expeditionary camp | link |
| 7 | 14 Independent Topographic Squadron, Royal Engineers | dates not stated in source | Topographic support | link |
| 8 | 160 Transport Regiment (V) RLC, attached to 2 (Close Support) Battalion REME | 28 February-19 August 2003 | Transport support | link |
| 9 | 150 Transport Regiment RLC (V), attached to 1 (GS) Regiment RLC | 2003 (Operation Telic 1) | Transport support | link |
| 10 | 156 Regiment RLC (V), deployed as 236 Squadron RLC (V) | 2003 | Transport squadron; first TA formed unit compulsorily mobilized since the Second World War | link |
| 11 | 9 Supply Regiment (detachment) | from March 2003 | Supply | link |
| 12 | 8 Transport Regiment RLC | May-November 2004 | 3 Tank Transporter Squadron, 5 and 13 GT Squadrons | link |
| 13 | Tyne Tees Regiment (with Light Infantry, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and Green Howards elements) | July 2003-January 2004 | Base security (Operation Telic 2 and 3) | link |
| 14 | East of England Regiment (Volunteers) | Operation Telic 1, 2 and 6 | Base security | link |
| 15 | 220 Battery, 104th Regiment Royal Artillery | April-December 2004 | Force protection | link |
| 16 | 210 Battery, Royal Artillery (V) | 2004 (Operation Telic 4) | Force protection | link |
| 17 | 200 Battery, Royal Artillery | May 2004-February 2005 | Posted at the base | link |
| 18 | 105th Regiment Royal Artillery (13 HQ Battery, attached to 19th Regiment RA) | Operation Telic 5 | Posted at the base | link |
| 19 | A Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment | dates not stated in source | Posted at the base | link |
| 20 | Royal Army Veterinary Corps | dates not stated in source | Posted at the base | link |
| 21 | Dutch, Czech, Danish and Norwegian contingents | dates not stated in source | Coalition forces based at the SLB | link |
| 22 | 38 Engineer Regiment (specialist reconnaissance troop) | April 2007 (Operation Telic 9) | Handed the base over to the Iraqi Army | link |
| 23 | Patrol Base Shaibah Logistics Military Advisory Team (U.S. Army) | until 30 March 2010 | Advised Iraqi forces; lowered the U.S. flag at the final handover | link |
Notable events and facts
- Before 2003 the airfield was RAF Shaibah (1920-1956) and then the Iraqi Air Force's Wahda Air Base.
- In May 1987 an Iraqi Falcon 50 flying from Wahda fired the Exocet missiles that struck the frigate USS Stark.
- The British field hospital at Shaibah treated more than 3,500 casualties, including about 70 pediatric trauma cases.
- UK forces held security detainees at a Divisional Temporary Detention Facility at Shaibah until the base was handed over in April 2007.
- The base housed the BFBS Radio studios during Operation Telic.
Photographs
Roll call: who served at Shaibah Logistics Base
No names have been added yet. This roll call is built from the people who served here, one post at a time.
Message board: Shaibah Logistics Base
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Sources
- Shaibah Air Base (Wikipedia). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaibah_Air_Base
- House of Commons Defence Committee, UK land operations in Iraq 2007, chapter 4. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmdfence/110/11008.htm
- Camp Bucca (Wikipedia) - ICRC program at Camp Shaibe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Bucca
- Wikimedia Commons file descriptions for Shaibah. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Shaibah&ns6=1