Nominally an independent monarchy since 3 October 1932 but in practice under British control, the Kingdom of Iraq did not declare war on Germany in 1939 but did sever diplomatic relations. In 1941 British control of the Iraqi oilfields was threatened by proposed nationalisation and the formation of a national oil company run by representatives of the Axis powers. The British were determined to counter this threat to their vital oil supplies, and an infantry division was landed at Basra on 18 April 1941 to overthrow the Iraqi government. On 2 May 1941, an Iraqi armoured train, probably a veteran of the Mesopotamian uprising of 1920–2, was spotted on the metre-gauge line to the south of the town of Ur. Bombed by two Vickers Vincents. it was stopped outside Basra, and captured by the 3rd Sikhs. One report describes it as having been put back into service by the British.
SOURCES:
Northcote, H. Stafford, Revolt in the Desert: Purnell’s History of the Second World War, Vol 2 No 4 (London: Purnell, 1967), pp 346–8.