Cairo West Air Base

Cairo West AB (IATA: CWE, ICAO: HECW) is a military airport on the western side of Cairo, Egypt. The air base shares some infrastructure with the adjacent Sphinx International Airport.

Not to be confused with Sphinx International Airport.
Cairo West Air Base
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
ServesCairo
Elevation AMSL550 ft / 168 m
Coordinates30°07′N 30°55′E
Map
Cairo West AB is located in Egypt
Cairo West AB
Cairo West AB
Location of the airport in Egypt
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
16/34 2,985 9,793 Asphalt
10/28 2,795 9,170 Asphalt
Source: Google Maps[1] GCM[2] SkyVector[3]

Originally a Royal Air Force installation ("Landing Ground 224"), among other units No. 96 Squadron RAF operated from the base. No. 104 Squadron RAF flew Vickers Wellington bombers against retreating Axis forces from the base after the Battle of El Alamein. The last RAF presence is listed by rafweb.org as No. 620 Squadron RAF's stay from March to June 1946.[4]

After submission of the Fiscal Year 1981 budget, the United States Secretary of Defense/JCS - ordered "Proud Phantom," at a request to Egypt which was an unprogrammed tactical deployment, not part of the regular exercise program. Twelve F-4E Phantom IIs and at least 400 personnel were dispatched from the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, to Cairo West, in July 1980.[5]

On 29 May 1981 a Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashed after takeoff from the base.[6]

For a long period it has been frequently listed by aviation periodicals as the home of the 222nd Tactical Fighter Brigade of the Egyptian Air Force, flying McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs.[7]

It has been a frequent site for United States Air Force deployments, with the 487th Air Expeditionary Wing located here in March-May 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The Cairo West TACAN (Ident: BLA) is located on the field.[8]

See also

References
Armourers ride trolley loads of 250-lb GP Bombs to Vickers Wellington B Mark IIs of No. 104 Squadron RAF at LG 224/Cairo West, Egypt, before a night operation against enemy columns retreating after the Battle of El Alamein.
  1. Google Maps – Cairo West AB
  2. Airport information for Cairo West AB at Great Circle Mapper.
  3. "Cairo West Airport". SkyVector. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  4. "RAF Stations - C". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation.
  5. Jason Brownlee (2012). Democracy Prevention: The Politics of the U.S.-Egyptian Alliance. p. 1., , and Congressional testimony.
  6. "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed C-130H Hercules SU-BAH/1276 Cairo West Air Base".
  7. Egyptian Air Force Order of Battle Archived 16 December 2003 at the Wayback Machine. Scramble Magazine, 18 November 2007. Retrieved: 29 January 2008.
  8. "Cairo West TACAN (BLA) @ OurAirports". ourairports.com. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
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