Content deleted Content added
→History: added citation |
→History: added text |
||
Line 75:
Access to the island was not possible for six months of the year other than by air due to the monsoon season, so efforts were made to supply the site by ship six months per year. Unfortunately, there was no harbour, so ships would moor offshore and unload from there, making them susceptible to enemy action. To speed up the offloading process, and also because the engineering team lacked the right materials to make a road, a section of [[Decauville]] track was laid from the shore onloading point to the RAF base.{{sfn|Richardson|2003|p=119}} This was eventually replaced by a narrow-gauge railway, or nicknamed the ''Ras Hilf State railway''. Work on the base was undertaken by No. 5153 (M&E) Squadron, who were allocated to Aden.{{sfn|TRAFBFW|1997|p=683}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Browne |first1=John |title=Airfield construction by the Royal Air Force 1939 to 1966 |journal=Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society |date=2011 |issue=51 |page=12 |publisher=RAFHS |location=London |issn=1361-4231}}</ref> They arrived on Masirah in 1942 to build an aerodrome, for which they initially used discarded petrol and oil tins filled with sand for the building walls. This led to the island being nicknamed the ''Tin-Can Island'' or ''Petrol Tin Island''.{{sfn|TRAFBFW|1997|p=387}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carter |first1=Bill |editor1-last=Panton Bacon |editor1-first=Victoria |title=Remarkable Journeys of the Second W: A Collection of Untold Stories |date=2020 |publisher=The History Press |location=Cheltenham |isbn=978-0750994866 |pages=47-49 |chapter=2: Land of Hope and Glory}}</ref> From 1942 until 1945, a detachment of Consolidate Catalinas from [[No. 321 (Dutch) Squadron RAF|No. 321 Squadron]] worked from near to RAF Masirah. 321 had their headquarters at [[RAF China Bay]].{{sfn|Jefford|2001|p=88}}
Initially, it was known as ''No. 33 Staging Post'', but it was given full base status in 1943.{{sfn|Fairbairn|1991|pp=127–128}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Oman and the Second World War |url=https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/an-enduring-relationship-a-history/oman-and-the-second-world-war/ |website=rafmuseum.org.uk |access-date=14 May 2023}}</ref> [[No. 244 Squadron RAF|No. 244 Squadron]] was moved from [[RAF Sharjah]] to Masirah to continue with anti-submarine patrols (ASW - anti-submarine warfare) and to allow Sharjah to be redeveloped as a staging post.{{sfn|TRAFBFW|1997|p=386}} When the detachment at Masirah became an offical posting for the squadron, the commanding officer of 244 Sqn became the de facto commanding officer of the base and the first operations room (actually a tent) was installed for the base.{{sfn|Richardson|2003|p=108}}
In the Second World War, Masirah was also a location for an Air Sea Rescue (ASR) section. This continued post [[Victory over Japan Day|VJ day]] as the island became a staging post for [[Prisoner of war|PoW]] repatriation flights.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sutherland |first1=Jonathan |last2=Canwell |first2=Diane |title=The RAF Air Sea Rescue Service, 1918-1986 |date=2010 |publisher=Pen and Sword |location=Barnsley |isbn=9781848843035 |page=147}}</ref>{{sfn|Lee|1978|p=2}} Some RAF personnel transiting through had to spend some time at Masirah, however, the climate was cooler than at Aden and the small base was said to have fostered a "community spirit".{{sfn|Lee|1978|p=6}} The base was the location of several detachments of the 200 series squadrons in the ASR and ASW role, notably [[No. 212 Squadron RAF|212]], [[No. 259 Squadron RAF|259]] and [[No. 265 Squadron RAF|265]] squadrons.{{sfn|Jefford|2001|pp=73, 82, 83}} From June 1945 until April 1946, a detachment of [[Vickers Warwick|Warwicks]] from No. 294 Squadron were outbased at Masirah.{{sfn|Jefford|2001|p=86}}
| |||