Lake Habbaniyah | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 33°17′43″N 43°27′10″E / 33.29528°N 43.45278°E |
Primary inflows | Euphrates River |
Primary outflows | Lake Milh |
Basin countries | Iraq |
Surface area | 140 km2 (54 sq mi) |
Lake Habbaniyah ( Arabic: بحيرة الحبانية Buḥayrat al-Ḥabbāniya) is a lake located halfway between Ramadi and Fallujah near Al-Taqaddum (TQ) Air Base in Al Habbaniyah in Anbar Province, Iraq. [1]
In the late 1930s and 1940s Lake Habbaniyah was used by Imperial Airways as a refueling point and hotel for flying boats flying from the United Kingdom to India. [2] Nearby on the banks of the Euphrates had already been established the Royal Air Force airbase of RAF Dhibban, later renamed RAF Habbaniya. [3]
It was the scene of action during the Rashid Ali rebellion Anglo-Iraqi War when the RAF trainee aircrew and troops stationed there effectively sawed off the besieging Iraqi troops and subsequent German aerial attacks. [4]