HMS Grebe

HMS Grebe
RNAS Dekheila
Alexandria in Egypt
Site information
TypeNaval Air Station
OwnerRoyal Egyptian Air Force
OperatorRoyal Navy
Controlled byFleet Air Arm
Location
HMS Grebe
Shown within Egypt
HMS Grebe
HMS Grebe (Africa)
Coordinates31°08′00″N 29°48′00″E / 31.13333°N 29.80000°E / 31.13333; 29.80000
Site history
In use1940 - 1946 (1946)
Garrison information
Occupants
  • Fleet Requirements Unit
  • Accommodation for disembarked units
  • Night flying training
  • Torpedo facilities
Airfield information
Elevation20 feet (6 m) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
04/22 980 yards (896 m) x 75 yards (69 m) Tarmac
07/25 1,050 yards (960 m) x 75 yards (69 m) Tarmac
13/31 1,030 yards (942 m) x 75 yards (69 m) Tarmac
17/35 1,100 yards (1,006 m) x 80 yards (73 m) Tarmac
Source: Royal Navy Research Archive[1]

HMS Grebe was the Royal Navy designation for the prewar Alexandria airport, known as Dekheila, during its use in the Second World War as a shore base for aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA).[2] Coordinates are given as 31°08′0″N 29°48′0″E / 31.13333°N 29.80000°E / 31.13333; 29.80000 also known as LG-34, and renumbered as LG-235.

History

Originally used as a shore base for aircraft flown ashore from aircraft carriers by the FAA (as HMS Nile II, under the control of HMS Nile), the airfield was taken over by the Royal Egyptian Air Force on the outbreak of the Second World War, but remained in use by the FAA. The field was subsequently loaned as a Naval Air Station on 16 September 1940, and commissioned as HMS Grebe, attached to HMS Nile, with a capacity of 72 aircraft. The field became self accounting on 1 April 1941, and acted as a base for all FAA units in Egypt and the Western Desert, as well as a fleet requirements unit. HMS Nile resumed control on 1 April 1943, retaining the name HMS Grebe. The field was reduced to a care and maintenance basis on 31 January 1946, before being returned to the control of Egypt on 18 March 1946.[3]

Units

The following units were here at some point:[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Dekheila". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  2. ^ Page 444 Ray Sturtivant Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. Air Britain (Historians) Ltd (1984) ISBN 0-85130-120-7
  3. ^ Page 451 Ray Sturtivant Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. Air Britain (Historians) Ltd (1984) ISBN 0-85130-120-7
  • RAF Squadrons by C.G. Jefford ISBN 1-84037-141-2 page 133


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