A total of 25 Fiat-powered Ba.65s two-seaters were sold to the Kingdom of Iraq in 1938. These consisted of 22 equipped with Breda L turrets and two dual control trainers. From 2–31 May 1941, the Royal Iraqi Air Force flew the Ba.65 during the Anglo-Iraqi War. War broke out after an Iraqi "coup d'état" installed a new government while maintaining the existing monarchy. The Ba.65 was used against armed forces of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations which the coup leaders were trying to expel from bases established after Iraq's independence under the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930.