Before the outbreak of hostilities in Iraq, the 4th Service Training School at RAF Habbaniya operated three old Gladiators as officers' runabouts. With the increased tension, the base was reinforced with another six Gladiators on 19 April, flying in from Egypt.[84] During the early part of the war, these nine Gladiators flew numerous sorties against air and ground targets, taking off from the base's polo field.[85] The RAF's Gladiator force in Iraq was further reinforced when, on 11 May, another five aircraft arrived, this time from 94 Squadron in Ismaïlia on the Suez Canal.[86][72] A last resupply of Gladiators came on 17 May in the form of four more 94 Squadron aircraft.[87]