Royal Air Force Habbaniya, more commonly known as RAF Habbaniya (Arabic: قاعدة الحبانية الجوية), (originally RAF Dhibban), was a Royal Air Force station at Habbaniyah, about 55 miles (89 km) west of Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, on the banks of the Euphrates near Lake Habbaniyah.

It was developed from 1934, and was operational from October 1936 until 31 May 1959 when the RAF finally withdrew after the July 1958 Revolution made the British military presence no longer welcome.

Originally called RAF Dhibban, the station was built on the west bank of the Euphrates in the then Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq at a cost of £1,750,000 (equivalent to £150,192,104 in 2023), and opened on 19 October 1936.

[5][1] It was the British Royal Air Force (RAF) base built "West of the Euphrates" in accordance with Article 5 of the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930.

[6] It was on the West bank of the Euphrates, between Ramadi and Fallujah, and was a major military and air base for the entire British Empire.

The squadrons, units and headquarters and the hospital gradually moved in from RAF Hinaidi, Baghdad, which was then finally vacated by the British on 21 December 1937 and renamed "Rashid Airfield" by the Iraqis.

[11] There were numerous billets, messes and a wide range of leisure facilities including swimming pools, cinemas and theatres, sports pitches, tennis courts and riding stables.

It was the original construction camp for the company which built the base, Messrs Humphreys of Knightsbridge, London (and from which the name Humphreya arose).

[16] In 1952 a second airfield was built on the plateau to cope with the long range and jet aircraft using the base (this subsequently became the Iraqi Air Force Al Taqaddum airbase).

In the late 1930s, Imperial Airways established a staging post on Lake Habbaniya for the flying boat service from the UK to British India using Short Empires.

British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) ran a regular passenger service via North Africa and the Middle East using Consolidated Liberator transports.

After the Second World War, BOAC discontinued the flying boat service and the hotel buildings at the lake were acquired by the RAF and used as a Rest and Recreation Centre.

The base closed on 31 May 1959 when the RAF finally withdrew after the July 1958 Revolution made the presence of British military no longer welcome.

After 2003, the former British airfield was used by both the United States Armed Forces and the New Iraqi Army as a forward operating base, and is now known as Camp Habbaniyah.