H-3 Air Base

H-3 Air Base, designated as 202C and 202D, is situated in the western desert of Al-Anbar Governorate, Iraq, 435 kilometers from Baghdad near the Syrian border and the highway connecting Baghdad with Jordan. The Iraq Petroleum Company established the site in 1935 as a landing ground for pumping station H3 on the Mosul-Haifa oil pipeline. During World War II, the facility supported patrols by Royal Air Force (RAF) Armoured Cars and RAF Iraq Levies.

The Iraqi Air Force expanded the complex during the 1970s under the "Super-Base" project. Yugoslav contractors built Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS) of the "Trapezoid" or "Yugo" design, characterized by diagonal taxiway exits and one-meter thick concrete shells reinforced by steel plates. Each HAS featured armored sliding doors, independent gasoline-powered electrical generators, and semi-automatic aircraft-refueling systems. The complex consists of H-3 Main and two dispersal airfields, H-3 Northwest and H-3 Southwest, along with a secondary highway strip.

During the Iran-Iraq War, the Iranian Air Force executed a long-range strike on April 4, 1981, destroying aircraft including MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-20/22, and Mirage F-1 platforms. In the 1991 Gulf War, Coalition aircraft targeted H-3 to neutralize S-shaped ammunition bunkers and chemical weapons storage facilities. A subsequent strike in September 2002 by US F-15s and RAF Tornados targeted an air defense command and control facility.

In March 2003, a coalition of British SAS, Australian SASR, and United States Special Operations forces seized the complex following precision airstrikes. Control of the base was subsequently transferred to US Rangers and British Royal Marines of 45 Commando. Current aerial imagery indicates the primary structures remain intact, though runways are obstructed by obstacles and unusable airframes. Taxiways remain exposed to the elements.