123 Signals Unit was a

Ground Controlled Interception Ground-controlled interception (GCI) is an air defence tactic whereby one or more radar stations or other observational stations are linked to a command communications centre which guides interceptor aircraft to an airborne target. This tactic was p ...

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

Unit of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

formed on 1 July 1954 at

RAF Habbaniya Royal Air Force Habbaniya, more commonly known as RAF Habbaniya ( ar, قاعدة الحبانية الجوية), (originally RAF Dhibban), was a Royal Air Force station at Habbaniyah, about west of Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, on the banks of the E ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

History

It was initially equipped as a Type 21 Radar Convoy with one Type 13 Radar, one Type 14 Radar, a VHF cabin, a Control Centre and a

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

power unit. One Type 15 Radar was added in February 1955. On 8 August 1954, the equipment was moved to a site on the Jabal-Az-Zaban plateau about four miles from the camp. The Type 21 Convoy was removed in August 1955 and replaced by a Type E Convoy. The technical equipment of the now enlarged unit comprised six radar aerials, (three Type 13s, one 14 Mk 7, one 14 Mk 8 and one Type 15), two RV 10 Control Centres, four RV 540 Cable Carriers, three

-powered alternator sets RV 550 and

VHF Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF ...

facilities. Each Control Centre contained two PPI consoles, two range/altitude consoles, aerial controls, fighter

plotting board A plotting board was a mechanical device used by the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps as part of their fire control system to track the observed course of a target (typically a moving ship), project its future position, and derive the uncorrected d ...

and communications. All of this equipment plus the workshop, stores and Unit Administration offices was built on Leyland lorry and trailer chassis. The unit, and later 276 Signals Squadron, ran a large

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

(SIGINT) monitoring station at Habbaniya for

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Unit ...

. It also operated in SIGINT aircraft over Iran and the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

monitoring the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

De-commission

The Signals Unit ceased operations on 15 July 1958, following the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. At the end of October 1958, work began on removing the convoy from the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

, the Unit strength was reduced to a closing party of ten. At various times during its brief life, 123 Signals Unit had several high-ranking visitors including: *

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were ...

Sir

Dermot Boyle Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Dermot Alexander Boyle, (2 October 1904 – 5 May 1993) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the Second World War initially as a staff officer with the Advanced Air Striking Force in Reims ...

( KCVO,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

, CB, DFC), Chief of the Air Staff * Air Vice-Marshal H.H. Brookes (CB, CBE, DFC), Air Officer Commanding British Forces in Iraq *Air Vice-Marshal W.J. Crisham (CB, CBE), Air Officer Commanding,

Air Headquarters Levant Air Headquarters Levant (AHQ Levant) was a command of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) established on 1 December 1941, by renaming the command known as H.Q. RAF Palestine and Transjordan. It controlled RAF units in the Mandate of Palestine and ...

*General Enver Alpahy, Director General of Electronics and Communications,

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

*Brigadier Ismael,

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), or the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup ...

*Colonel Baghdadi,

Royal Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...

*Colonel Azzazi, Royal Iraqi Air Force 123 Signals Unit, Royal Air Force became operational again, but this time in Aden at RAF Steamer Point during the early 1960s. Situated on high ground above Steamer Point Hospital it enjoyed magnificent views over the famous natural harbour of Aden and Little Aden to the west. After 1967 when British Forces left Aden on Independence, the Unit began operating at

Juffair Juffair ( ar, الجفير) is a district situated in Manama, Bahrain. It was originally a separate village inhabited by Shia Muslims but it has been absorbed by the suburban expansion of Manama in the 20th century, and presently includes large ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

References

*The National Archives, AIR29/2277, AIR29/3027

External links

RAF Habbaniya Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:123 Signals Unit RAF Signals units of the Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1954