RAF Krendi
RAF Krendi Qrendi | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 35°50′5.5″N 014°26′5.96″E / 35.834861°N 14.4349889°E |
Type | Diversion airfield then storage base |
Site information | |
Owner | Now Government of Malta |
Condition | Extensively developed as mixed use developments one runway now a road |
Site history | |
Built | 1940 |
In use | 1943–1945 |
Royal Air Force Krendi, also known as RAF Qrendi, was a
History
Second World War
RAF Krendi was constructed at a time when Malta was under intense aerial bombardment and Malta's Air Command needed to have alternative diversion airstrips on Malta, as the RAF's main operating bases were being bombed.[2] During construction the airfield at Krendi was used as a decoy for other main bases on Malta, switching on runway lighting as enemy bombers approached.[3]
The station opened on 10 November 1942 and received its first squadron of Spitfires a few months later.[4][5]
The base was officially inaugurated by AOC Malta Sir Keith Park in 1941; it would remain operational throughout the war in the Mediterranean.[6]
In February 1942, RAF Krendi appears to be acting as a decoy site for RAF Luqa.[3] Although a shortage of materials, labour and transport delayed its development, in December 1942 one runway at Krendi came into use, and after this progress became more rapid.[7]
Weblog entries from RAF veterans based at RAF Krendi quote the following RAF fighter squadrons as being based at the airfield:[8]
- 185 (Fighter) Squadron RAF was equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vc (5 June 1943 – 23 September 1943)
- 229 (Fighter) Squadron RAF was equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vc (10 December 1942 – 25 September 1943)
- 249 (Fighter) Squadron RAF was equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vc and later Mk IX (23 November 1942 – 24 September 1943).[9]
No more Spifires or other RAF fighters were based at RAF Krendi after Autumn 1943.[5]
Post war
After the war, Krendi was one of a number of military facilities retained on Malta by the British due to the island's strategic location.[10] Reduced in terms of operational functionality, in 1953 it would become a vehicle storage area for British Army units.[5] The base would also remain a weather radiosonde tracking station in the 1960s.[4] The RAF left in 1979 following a decision not to renew the lease on RAF Luqa.[6]
Current use
Whilst RAF Krendi's concrete runways have long gone, the outline of the airfield is obvious from the air.[5][11][12]
The runway is commonly used by vehicles heading towards Wied-iz-Zurrieq (Blue Grotto).
See also
References
- ^ "Stations-K RAF Krendi/Qrendi". www.rafweb.org. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ "The Royal Air Force And Malta (1918–1978)". Malta Independent. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0-912799-55-2. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Krendi (Qrendi) RAF Heraldry Trust". www.rafht.co.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Qrendi". www.forgottenairfields.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ a b Allied, Newspapers (8 March 2017). "An evening of nostalgia for RAF base in Luqa". Times of Malta. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
- OCLC 3633363.
- ^ "RAF Krendi (Qrendi)". www.rafcommands.com. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ Cull, Brian; Galea, Frederick (2017). 249 at Malta: RAF's Top-Scoring Fighter Squadron Appendix 5. Fonthill Media. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ISBN 9781784381905.
- ^ "Naval & Military – Runway 13/31 at RAF Krendi – Tal-Ħandaq Nostalgia". www.talhandaqnostalgia.org. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ The, Aviation Magazine. "Malta International Airshow 2016 review by The Aviation Magazine". www.theaviationmagazine.com. Retrieved 21 July 2017.