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RAF Ta Kali was developed at a time when Malta was under intense aerial bombardment and Malta's Air
Command needed to have alternative diversion airstrips in Malta, as the RAF's main operating bases were being bombed. Airfield improvements started in 1940 and for the next three years the RAF base was
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Ta' Qali originally had an unpaved airstrip before the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. The original airfield was built on a dried lake bed in the interior of the island on a reasonably featureless plain situated between Rabat and
Valletta. Before the war it was used by civil aircraft, but its runway
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Squadrons RAF all deployed to Ta' Qali with their
Gloster Meteor and de Havilland Vampire fighter aircraft during annual summer training camps in the early 1950s. The base was handed over to the Maltese Government in 1968.
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arrived from the UK to replace 261 Squadron in May 1941. 249 Squadron would be one of the most successful RAF fighter units on Malta.
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Aerial imagery of RAF Ta Kali in 1942, showing extensive bomb crater damage and trackways to aircraft dispersals.
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Official
History of the Royal Air Force 1935-1945 — Vol. II —Fight Avails [Illustrated Edition]
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airfield. The base's name reflects an anglicised corruption of the correct
Maltese spelling of
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There is also a craft village in some of the airfield's WW2-vintage support buildings.
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The former civil aviation facility was renamed RAF Station Ta Kali on 8 November 1940.
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surface became unusable in heavy rain and so it was improved somewhat by the RAF.
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620:"RAF Ta kali Malta - Regiment History, War & Military Records & Archives"
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being the first unit relocated from RAF Luqa on 20 November 1940.
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670:"British heritage, architecture, sights & museums in Malta"
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509:"8 November 1940: Former Airport Renamed RAF Station Ta Qali"
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The following fighter squadrons were based at RAF Ta Kali:
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697:"Ta' Qali Crafts Village in Malta, Lace, Artefacts, Glass"
484:"Newsletter, Vol 15 No 2 TA'QALI AS A FIGHTER BASE"
342:Mark VIFs were occasionally diverted to Ta' Qali.
266:fighter operations base located on the island of
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209:Group Captain Walter Myers Churchill DSO DFC RAF
369:Control of the airfield was transferred to the
389:T7s were based at Ta' Qali. 601, 609 and 613
560:Richards, Denis; Saunders, Hilary (2014).
402:The former Ta' Qali airbase now hosts the
357:aircraft attacks during the height of the
255:T7 of 613 Squadron at RAF Ta Kali in 1952.
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151:Extensively developed as a cultural site
785:Malta–United Kingdom military relations
243:of 249 Squadron at RAF Ta Kali in 1942.
231:of 261 Squadron at RAF Ta Kali in 1941.
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645:"Malta Aviation Museum-Ta' Qali-Malta"
349:formed a unit at RAF Ta Kali in 1942.
649:Malta Aviation Museum-Ta' Qali-Malta
408:Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre
599:www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk
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775:Royal Air Force stations in Europe
353:RAF Ta Kali remained a target for
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540:discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk
278:and on Malta's second island of
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130:Diversion airfield for fighters
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595:"HMS Goldfinch, Takali"
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404:Malta Aviation Museum
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111:35.89500°N 14.42083°E
241:Supermarine Spitfire
199:Garrison information
730:RAF Luqa Remembered
379:shore establishment
340:Bristol Beaufighter
316:heavily developed.
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30:RAF Station Ta Kali
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194:Siege of Malta WW2
116:35.89500; 14.42083
81:Shown within Malta
780:Airports in Malta
676:. 13 October 2016
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16:(Redirected from
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156:Site history
398:Current use
299:Pre-War use
276:RAF Hal Far
176:In use
114: /
102:014°25′15″E
90:Coordinates
75:RAF Ta Kali
749:Categories
444:References
371:Royal Navy
206:commanders
99:35°53′42″N
458:"Ta Qali"
423:AHQ Malta
381:known as
179:1940-1968
148:Condition
438:RAF Luqa
433:Ta' Qali
417:See also
365:Post war
288:Ta' Qali
272:RAF Luqa
49:Ta' Qali
706:25 July
680:25 July
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604:25 July
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467:25 July
294:History
284:Xewkija
181: (
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143:Various
770:Attard
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262:was a
359:siege
268:Malta
161:Built
140:Owner
47:Near
44:Malta
708:2017
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581:2017
568:ISBN
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355:Axis
345:The
280:Gozo
204:Past
183:1968
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164:1939
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