The RAF Hal Far airfield was the first permanent
airfield to be built on Malta. It was opened on 1 April 1929 as HMS ''Falcon'', a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
stone frigate, and was used by
Fleet Air Arm crews. It was transferred to the Maltese Government and redeveloped from January 1979. It is now closed and one of its
runways is used by
drag racing enthusiasts. The second runway is now a road leading to an industrial estate which was developed recently. The Maltese fire service, the CPD occupy the newer building with the glass control tower on the roof. The old Royal Naval Air Station building is now occupied by the International Safety Training College who utilise part of the runway for firefighting training.
Runways
This airfield consisted of two runways, namely Runway 13/31 which was 6,000 ft (2,000 yards) long and Runway 9/27, which was 4,800 ft (1,600 yards) long. Runway 13/31 was resurfaced between 20 April and 26 May 1959 while the resurfacing of Runway 9/27 was carried out between 12 June and 28 July 1959. Its location on Malta was of great strategic importance in the Mediterranean, since it provided a base for
aircraft carrier units en route to the rest of the British Empire. Compared to other airstrips on the island, Hal Far had better approaches over the sea and was the preferred diversionary base. It also provided excellent range facilities, making it the ideal location for armament training by the squadrons.
Facilities
Hal Far airfield provided various facilities, including an armoury, explosives area, workshops, a compass base and a control tower. It had also a
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, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...
test base and a number of hangars. It also included living quarters for H.Q. Staff, Officers and other ranks, and a sick bay, for medical purposes.
World War II
During the Second World War, Hal Far airfield was one of the main targets for the
Luftwaffe and the
Regia Aeronautica and suffered several bombings during the
blitz. On July and August 1940 in the beginning of the
Siege of Malta, the Italian air-raids managed to damage several squadron aircraft. As the raids intensified during 1942 more damage was inflicted on the airfield and the squadrons, present on the airfield. On one particular attack on Hal Far by
Junkers Ju 88s, a
Fairey Swordfish was badly damaged. Further raids during January 1942 resulted in the destruction at Hal Far of two other Swordfish and a
Blackburn Skua, and damaged 15 Hurricanes, three other Swordfish and a
Fairey Fulmar. Further damage to aircraft, airfield buildings and loss of personnel resulted during attacks in 1942 and 1943, with the last bombing being recorded on 21 May 1943.
Hal Far had been the first Maltese airfield to be bombed on 11 June 1940. During this period, 2,300 tons of bombs were dropped on the airfield, nevertheless it was never made unserviceable, due to the efficiency of the airfield repair parties. On the airfield itself the ground crew casualties numbered 30 killed and 84 injured. Various officers and Maltese civilian employees were awarded the
George Cross,
George Medal
The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in cir ...
and other awards for their courage and bravery in the face of enemy action.
With enemy air raids practically at an end, and as aircraft became heavier and traffic had increased significantly, paved runways and
taxiways were added to the airfield, together with the completion of runways 13/31 and 9/27.
Post war
The Air Sea Rescue and Communications Flight, which had originally formed at Hal Far in March 1943, but which moved to
Ta' Qali the following September, returned to Hal Far in March 1944.
By 1944 Malta had therefore returned to normal and new aircraft were appearing all over the Island. The influx of large numbers of aircraft needed an expansion of dispersal areas and more huts, an undertaking carried out in October 1944. Further accommodation areas were added when FAA squadrons started arriving regularly at Hal Far for training periods.
A different kind of event occurred in January 1945, when British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and US President
Franklin D. Roosevelt came to Malta in anticipation of the Malta Conference with
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
Premier
Joseph Stalin. To deter any possible enemy attack, nine
Spitfire IXs of
No. 1435 Squadron, and six Mosquito night fighters of
No. 256 Squadron, deployed to Hal Far from
Grottaglie
Grottaglie (; scn, label=Salentino, li Vurtàgghie; la, Criptalium) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, in southern Italy.
Geography
Grottaglie is located in the Salento peninsula, dividing the Adriatic sea from Ioni ...
and
Foggia respectively, two of the Mosquitos escorting the Prime Minister's
Avro York
The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the Second World War. The design was derived from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, several sections of the York and Lancaster being identical. Due to the importance of La ...
transport aircraft outside Malta and into
Luqa airfield on 29 January. All aircraft remained at Hal Far into early February until all VIPs had left.
After the evolution from
piston to
jet engines in the 1950s, the airfield had to be closed for three weeks for the resurfacing of the runways. The airfield started housing various training camps by the UK-based
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) Air Divisions. Training including live depth charges dropping, live armament practice and rocket firing on the uninhabited islet of
Filfla, and hide and seek exercises with RN submarines in which aircraft sought out and shadowed the underwater 'raiders' and finally carried out mock attacks if they managed to find them. Several units used HMS Falcon for these annual summer camps, which started in 1950, stopped in 1951, and continued from 1952 to 1956.
During 1957, the airfield also served as a civilian airport while the runways at
RAF Luqa were being resurfaced. During 1958 Hal Far was the proving base for the world's first assault
helicopter squadron.
After being used by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
, the Hal Far airfield was returned to the RAF for a short period of time in the mid and 1960s, and the last squadron was disbanded on 31 August 1967. This brought to an end 43 very active years of Malta's oldest and most historical airfield. It was subsequently placed on a 'care and maintenance' basis and served as a satellite for RAF Luqa. Between March 1967 and September 1978 the airfield served as a base for the American aircraft maintenance company
M.I.A.Co.
During the resurfacing of Luqa's runways, all civilian and military flying was transferred to Hal Far until Luqa became operational again.
On 5 August 2010, the Employment & Training Corporation inaugurated an Underground Sick Bay which lies within the premises. This has been turned into a museum emphasising the period from 1923 to 1945. The website
halfarairfieldmalta.com/
gives an insight of the Museum. A number of model aircraft 1/72 scale have been built by a number of enthusiasts which shows some of the aircraft that landed at Hal Far in this period.
Units
* No. 22 Squadron RAF
* No. 38 Squadron RAF
No. 38 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was a bomber (and later maritime reconnaissance) squadron formed in 1916 and was disbanded most recently in 1967.
World War I
No.38 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was originally formed at Thetford in early 19 ...
* No. 43 Squadron RAF
* No. 72 Squadron RAF
* No. 73 Squadron RAF
* No. 74 Squadron RAF
* No. 93 Squadron RAF
* No. 108 Squadron RAF
No. 108 Squadron RAF was originally a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps during World War I which continued to serve with the Royal Air Force in World War II.
World War I
The unit was formed at Stonehenge or the nearby Lake Down Aerodrome in Nov ...
* No. 185 Squadron RAF
No. 185 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed in World War I and reformed as a bomber and fighter unit in World War II. It then reformed in Malta in the post war period as a jet fighter squadron.
History
Formation and World War I
N ...
* No. 208 Squadron RAF
* No. 229 Squadron RAF
No. 229 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, and is an officially accredited Battle of Britain Squadron. It became No. 603 Squadron RAF in January 1945.
History
Formation and World War I
No. 229 Squadron RAF was formed on 20 A ...
* No. 242 Squadron RAF
("Always ready")
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, equipment_label=
, battles= Battle of Britain, Invasion of Sicily, Berlin Airlift
, anniversaries=
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* No. 243 Squadron RAF
No. 243 Squadron was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force. Originally formed in August 1918 from two flights that had been part of the Royal Naval Air Service, the squadron conducted anti-submarine patrols during the final stages of World War ...
* No. 249 Squadron RAF
* No. 250 Squadron RAF
* No. 255 Squadron RAF
* No. 283 Squadron RAF
* No. 284 Squadron RAF
* No. 605 Squadron RAF
No. 605 Squadron was formed as an Auxiliary Air Force Squadron. Initially formed as a bomber unit, it was one of the most successful participants of the Battle of Britain. It also had the distinction of being active during the Second World War at ...
* No. 624 Squadron RAF
* No. 1435 Squadron RAF
* Air Headquarters Malta Communication Squadron RAF (1946-) was formed here by redesignating Air Headquarters Matla Communication Flight (1944-46)
* Malta Air Sea Rescue and Communication Flight RAF (1943) became Malta Communication, Ferry Unit and Air Sea Rescue Flight RAF
Closure
With the transfer of the airfield to the Maltese Government, who planned to convert Hal Far airfield into an industrial area, MIACO was asked to vacate its hangars and offices by September 1978. Both runways have been dug up and further development of the area reduced the airfield to a scar on the land. Runway 13/31 is currently being used by the Malta Drag Racing Association as a quarter mile dragstrip. Runway 9/27 is now a public road linking the various sections of the industrial area. Its scar can still be clearly seen on Google Maps when using the satellite image function. The control tower and the officer's quarters are still intact, together with a few Nissen huts. The kitchens and mess halls, the electricians and radio section cabin are still standing, but in a dilapidated state.
Other parts of the airfield such as the hangar have been transformed into a refugee camp .
See also
* RAF Luqa
References
Citations
H.M.S. Falcon - RNAS. Hal Far
Aviation In Malta
Hal Far Airfield info & Photos
Hal Far - A Full Account
Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hal Far
Hal
HAL may refer to:
Aviation
* Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia
* Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL)
* HAL Airport, Bangalore, India
* Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of figh ...
Hal
HAL may refer to:
Aviation
* Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia
* Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL)
* HAL Airport, Bangalore, India
* Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of figh ...
Defunct airports
Airports in Malta
Military installations of Malta
Birżebbuġa
Malta–United Kingdom military relations
Airports disestablished in 1978