Fayid Air Base (RAF Fayid)

Fayid Air Base is located west of Fayid in the Ismailia Governorate of Egypt, situated 23 kilometers south of Ismailia and 116 kilometers northeast of Cairo. Established in 1942 as RAF Fayid, the site served as a military airfield for the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces during the North African campaign of World War II. USAAF units stationed at the airfield included the 98th Bombardment Group, operating B-24 Liberators, and the 316th Troop Carrier Group, operating C-47 Skytrains. Fayid was also the site of an internment camp for Italian Egyptians managed by British authorities.

In the post-war period, the base hosted RAF units equipped with de Havilland Mosquitoes and Supermarine Spitfire XVIIIs. By 1952, the installation functioned as a transport staging post for the Suez Canal Zone, hosting multiple squadrons of Vickers Valetta aircraft. British forces evacuated the station in April 1956. During the 1973 October War, Israeli forces captured the airfield and operated it as Nachshon Air Force Base (Wing 28). The facility supported logistics, reconnaissance, and medical evacuation flights until February 1974, when Israeli forces demolished the ground facilities and withdrew.

The base was rebuilt in 1980 and is currently operated by the Egyptian Air Force. It hosts the 149 Air Division’s 282 Tactical Fighter Wing, which consists of the 86 and 88 Squadrons. Both units operate General Dynamics F-16C/D-40 Fighting Falcon aircraft.