One of the more unusual types to wear Iraqi insignia was the Messerschmitt Bf 110, 13 of which were operated by Luftwaffe unit 4./ZG 76 during the Anglo-Iraqi War of May 1941. Here Bf 110D-3s fitted with long-range fuel tanks and adorned with shark’s mouths plus hastily-applied Iraqi markings await their next sortie over Iraq.

In December 1946 the RIAF ordered 30 single-seat Hawker Furies and four two-seat Fury Trainers, one of which, serial 263, is seen here in the UK before delivery. The original “two-bubble-canopy” configuration was found to be weak and subsequent two-seat Furies were fitted with an interconnecting cockpit “tunnel”. Only two of the four originally ordered Trainers - 261 and 263 - were delivered to the RIAF.

The Royal Iraqi Air Force’s Hawker connection continued in the late 1940s with the air arm’s acquisition of the company’s Fury fighter, essentially a denavalised Sea Fury.

A line-up of the first batch of 'Baghdad' Furies delivered to the RIAF late in 1947. Several of these are believed to have operated from Jordan and Syria during the course of the Palestine War.
Ferry crews pose beside single-seat Fury serial 233 at Langley in 1948, eager to exchange the British snow for the warmer climes of Iraq. Furthest left is Lt Jackson of the Fleet Air Arm; to the right of him is Hawker’s John Gale; next are two FAA ferry pilots who helped with ferry work, with Hawker test pilot Bill Humble furthest right.

A Hawker promotional item featuring a dramatic R.S. Franklin illustration of “Baghdad Furies” operating with the RIAF over a characteristically rugged mountainscape. A total of 55 single-seat Furies and five two-seat Fury Trainers was operated by the RIAF, the final batch of 25 single-seaters and three T.20s arriving in 1953.

A total of 30 Gloster Gladiators was operated by the RIAF, plus eight delivered as spares machines, the first batch of six arriving in 1937 and another of nine the following year. Another five, including serial 202 seen here, arrived in October 1942, followed by another five in January 1943, with a final batch of five being acquired in February 1944.

Iraqi student pilots in immaculate white flying suits pose beside a Hawker Nisr during their training in the UK circa 1934.

Four of the first batch of five Nisrs for the RIAF shortly after their departure from Brooklands for their new home in Iraq on September 24, 1934. The Audax was originally developed as an Army Co-operation machine for the RAF, based on the Rolls-Royce Kestrel-engined Hart Trainer, but the Iraqis fitted theirs with Pegasus engines.

Bearing serial 28, the first of 34 Hawker Audaxes powered by Bristol Pegasus engines (and named Nisr in RIAF service) is seen here at Brooklands with the distinctive banked racing track in the background. The first 12 were delivered in late 1934 and early 1935, the remainder during 1936-37. Six more were ordered but not delivered.

In 1937 the RIAF placed an order for 15 Italian Breda Ba 65bis light bombers, much to the displeasure of the British, who reminded the Iraqis that, as a mandated territory, they were obliged to “buy British”. The Bredas began arriving in early March 1938, but most had become unserviceable by mid-1944. This example is serial 117.

Designed and developed by the original Northrop company, which became the El Segundo Division of Douglas in 1937, the Douglas 8A was essentially an export version of the Northrop A-17. Iraq ordered 15 for the RIAF in November 1939. THis as-yet-unserialled example is seen at the factory at El Segundo before delivery to Iraq in the summer od 1940.

When King Ghazi was killed in a car crash in April 1939, the throne descended to his three-year-old son, Faisal II. Until such time as the latter came of age, Iraq was ruled by his uncle, Abdul Hah, seen here in the Douglas 8A-4 in which he flew from Baghdad to Amman to visit his uncle, the Emir of Transjordan, in August 1942.

During late 1944 and early 1945 the RIAF took delivery of a total of 30 Avro Anson Mk Is, including serial 189, seen here, for general-purpose duties. Although most of the Ansons were in poor condition, having been in storage for some time, a number were used by the RIAF’s No 7 Sqn during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948.

The RIAF received several batches of D.H.82A Tiger Moths, the first seven being acquired during 1935-36. This example, serial 207, was one of 15 delivered in July 1947. The air arm would ultimately receive 42 examples of the trusty biplane trainer.

Photographed by Eddie Riding at Hatfield before its departure for Iraq, de Havilland D.H.84M serial 21 was one of the eight delivered to the RIAF in May 1933. The Iraqi examples - D.H.84M for military - were fitted with a gun position in the mid-upper fuselage and a curving dorsal fin, plus two machine-guns in the nose.

Given the unusual registration YI-MYOB (do any readers know why?), de Havilland D.H. 104 Dove Series 1 c/n 04032 was awarded its Certificate of Airworthiness on July 2, 1947, and was delivered to the RIAF Royal Flight the following day. It is seen here in a photo taken by Rex Nicholls at Heathrow in July 1949.

The RIAF entered the jet age in 1953 with the delivery of de Havilland Vampires, including single-seat and two-seat variants, the latter including serial 333, seen here. Following a military coup in July 1958, in which Faisal II was murdered, the new Iraqi government turned to the Soviet Union to fulfil the Iraqi Air Force’s requirements.

Иракцы использовали учебно-тренировочные самолеты D.H.60 Gipsy Moth в качестве легких бомбардировщиков
The RIAF’s first aircraft were five de Havilland D.H.60M Moths numbered 1 to 5, c/ns 1675 to 1679, which were delivered by air from Hatfield to Baghdad in April 1931. Number 5 was later impressed into RAF service as HK906 in 1943.

The first batch of Iraqi pilots to graduate from the Flying Training School pose in front of a Moth at Hinaidi/Moascar al Rashid on May 13, 1934. Seated in the lighter uniform is RIAF Director Az-Za’im Ismail Namiq, who was replaced by Mohammad Ali Jawad (second row, standing, third from left) in 1936.

King Faisal I, seen here being greeted by Sir Henry Dobbs (left), High Commissioner to the Kingdom of Iraq, beside an RAF Vickers Vernon on the King’s return to Iraq from the UK in 1927. Faisal was declared King of Iraq in March 1921, largely under the supervision of the British, who were responsible for maintaining Mandatory Power within the nation. He died of a heart attack, aged 48, in Switzerland in 1933.