Harry George Smart Harry George Smart , CBE , DFC , AFC , ( 28 June 1891 – 28 June 1963 ) is best known as the commander of RAF Habbaniya during the first part of the Anglo - Iraqi War . Smart was a British officer in the British Army , the Royal Flying Corps , the Royal Australian Air Force , and the Royal Air Force . He served during the First World War , during the interwar period , and during the Second World War . Biography . In 1891 , Harry George " Reggie " Smart was born in Newmarket , Suffolk , in the United Kingdom . Smart attended Framlingham College between 1905 and 1907 and joined the British Army sometime thereafter . He served as a Sapper with the Royal Engineers . On 30 November 1915 , H . G . Smart received a commission with the Royal Flying Corps . From 29 April 1916 , he was a Morane Bullet pilot for the No . 60 Squadron RAF on the Western Front . On 23 Jul 1917 , Smart was made a squadron Flight Commander and , by 30 Apr 1918 , he was Officer Commanding of a squadron . On 14 Jan 1919 , Smart was Officer Commanding of No . 208 Squadron RAF . On 1 Aug 1919 , Smart was awarded a permanent commission as a Captain . By 9 Feb 1920 , Smart was a Flight Commander of No . 6 Squadron RAF and , by May 1920 , he was made the squadron ' s Acting Officer Commanding . The squadron was located in Mosul in the British Mandate of Iraq and flew Bristol F2B fighters . Interwar period . On 4 Feb 1923 , Squadron Leader H . S . Smart became a Certified Flight Instructor ( CFI ) at the Central Flying School ( CFS ) . The Commandant of the CFS at that time was Group Captain F . V . Holt . On 12 Nov 1927 , Smart was seconded to the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) . On 5 February 1930 , his service with the RAAF ended . By 19 February , he was the Officer Commanding of the No . 99 Squadron RAF . In 1935 , Wing Commander H . G . Smart was named Commandant of the Central Flying School . He was soon tasked with supervising the relocation of the school from RAF Wittering back to the original RAF Upavon location . Two weeks after completing the move , Smart was sent to the United States to study American instructional methods . On 18 Jan 1937 , Group Captain H . G . Smart took command of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at RAF Martlesham Heath where he soon made his opinion of contractors known . " Our job is to test aircraft , not to tell the constructors how to design them . " This sentence was from a speech made by Smart during the " Sixteenth Annual Contractors ' Dinner . " His speech was greeted with applause . The significance of the remark , and the sly dig contained therein , was not lost on any one of those present . In 1939 , Smart became the Commander of the British Forces in Iraq . World War II . Air Vice - Marshal ( AVM ) Smart was the Air Officer Commanding ( AOC ) at RAF Habbaniya in the Kingdom of Iraq when Iraqi rebels took up strong positions on the plateau overlooking the base with the objective of overrunning the base . He was also AOC of all RAF forces in Iraq and reported to Air Officer Commanding Arthur Longmore and to Air Vice - Marshal ( Acting Air Marshal ) Arthur Tedder of the RAF Middle East Command . During the tense period of time after the Iraqis positioned themselves on the plateau , Smart communicated directly with the British Ambassador to Iraq , Kinahan Cornwallis who was also in contact with London . Smart ' s tactics to defend the Habbaniya cantonment was to mount continuous bombing and strafing attacks with as many aircraft as possible . At 05 : 00 on 2 May , 33 aircraft from Habbaniya , out of the 56 operational aircraft based there , and eight Wellington bombers , from RAF Shaibah , began the attack . What became known as the Anglo - Iraqi War was now under way . British Prime Minister Winston Churchill hoped that Smart would be able to hold out at Habbaniya until " Habforce " could advance from Palestine and relieve him on 12 May . However , in a matter of days , the Iraqi forces were suffering heavy losses . Late on 6 May , the Iraqis abandoned the plateau and left much equipment . In the end , the flying column of " Habforce " , " Kingcol " , did not reach Habbaniya until 18 May . On 25 May , the main body of " Habforce " arrived . On 5 May , AVM Smart was injured in a car accident and was evacuated out of Habbaniya on medical grounds . Smart was evacuated to Basra and then onto India . Colonel Ouvry Roberts assumed " de facto " command of the land operations at RAF Habbaniya . AVM John D ' Albiac , who had just returned from Greece , took command of the aerial forces . Also on 7 May , apparently unaware of Smart ' s injury , Churchill sent the following message to Smart : On 17 November 1941 , AVM H . G . Smart was named AOC of Number 17 ( Operational Training ) Group . On 1 September 1945 , Smart retired from the RAF .