Themes

The Navy at Home and Abroad

• Shore Establishments

  • Portsmouth

  • - Lee-on-Solent

  • - Eastney Barracks

  • - HMS Dolphin

  • - RNB Portsmouth

  • Malta

  • - Airbases

  • - HMS Talbot

  • - HMS St Angelo

  • - The Royal Marines in Malta

• Humanitarian Relief

• Flying the Flag

• Letters Home

• Prisoners of War

Learning

• How to: Understand a Uniform

Kalafrana

Kalafrana/Calafrana

Kalafrana was formed in 1917 as a seaplane station. The last recorded activity at the airbase was in 1946. 

Article Highlights

• World War One

• Recreation at Kalafrana

• Post World War One

• World War Two

World War One 

Kalafrana opened in 1917 as a Royal Navy Air Service seaplane station. It originally comprised of a seaplane shed and a slipway.

At the end of July 1917 five Curtiss H4 small American flying boats were flown out of Felixstowe, England, to begin patrolling the approaches to Malta. Later they were joined by Short type 184 seaplanes and two small FBA two-seat flying boats.

Christmas at Kalafrana 1917 Ready for Inspection (FAA)

Christmas dinner at Kalafrana 1917 (FAA)

On 1st April 1918 the base became an RAF seaplane base under command of Colonel C Reynolds.

Two DH9s took off from the nearby sports ground to search for submarines, they were the first shore-based operational aircraft in Malta.

Malta Airbases

• Introduction to Airbases

• Kalafrana / Calafrana

• Hal Far

• Ta Kali