Moghra airfield

[Håkan]

Hello everybody,

My friend and colleague Ludovico Slongo is still struggling with technical problems reaching the forum and has asked me to post the following question:

"Dear all,
I'm looking for whatever kind of info (in particular precise location) on the airstrip close to the oasis of Moghra in Egypt, that at least was operative during 1942.
Would be it possible to search for some sort of document on this LG at the NA in Kew?
Any piece of information would be highly appreciated.
Ludovico Slongo."

Best wishes/Håkan

[Larry deZeng]

The name has evidently changed since the war or was originally misspelled. In a data base of 3,000,000+ place names, the closest I can get is a tiny village by the name of Moghrar (32 31 19 N - 00 35 13 W) in western Algeria near the border with Morocco.

Larry

[Håkan]

Hello Larry,

Thanks for your quick reply.
Yes, the name is probably misspelled. This is very common with North African names from the period, especially minor places. It is this that makes it so difficult to identify places from the ORBs etc using modern tools like Google Earth/Maps.

Best wishes/Håkan

[Amrit1]

Archaeological journals state that Wadi (oasis) Moghra (also called el-Moghra) is in the northeastern edge of the Qattara Depression. However, in the maps in Jefford's RAF Squadrons there are no LGs within 40 odd miles of that part of the Depression (which is clearly marked in the book). Certainly no LG by that name along the coast either.

A

[Amrit1]

From one journal that includes a map (colour insert) I have marked the the rough position of the oasis on the map of landing grounds from Jeffords book. As you can see all the LGs are quite far to the north.

[Håkan]

Thanks Amrit,

I've found it on Google Earth (30°14'22.13"N 28°56'0.52"O). It's a whole lake!
Now let's see if we can find an airstrip as well...

Best wishes/Håkan

[Larry deZeng]

There is one Luftwaffe airfield in the vicinity of Moghra Oasis that may qualify for consideration:

Bir el Abd/72 km SE of Fuka. It’s on or adjacent to the track that runs along the north side of the Qattara Depression. I can’t place it exactly, but it may be at or near Naqb Abd al Hädï, which is the only place on present-day maps for miles in any direction that shows an oasis or a water source. Luftwaffe fighters and single-engine reconnaissance aircraft used the landing ground there between July and October 1942. Prior to that, the Italians may have used it under a different name (Moghra).

L.

[Larry deZeng]

Håkan -

Your "lake" is on my map as Al Maghrah. It was that "a" instead of an "o" and that extra "h" on the end that mislead me before. On my map the name is spelled in the color blue, which probably indicates a water source (oasis). Bir el Abd is also at a water source with the name Balâtit el Kish. Mine is about 63 km WNW of yours, so that would be too far away for consideration. So the Italians must have had a landing ground at Al Maghrah that was never used as such by the British or the Germans. Here is another tool you can use - see grid squares 35-8 and 35-14:

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/north_africa/

L.

[Håkan]

Thanks Larry!

BTW the map collection was new to me - thanks for the pointer!

Best wishes/Håkan