Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of letters and telegrams related to the Royal Air Force's (RAF's) request for the acquisition of land to establish a landing ground at Bait Al-Falaj, and their request to obtain the Government of Muscat and Oman’s permission for the work to take place.Most of the file is dated 1929, apart from folios 25-26 which are dated 1933. The letter in these two folios is sent from the Muscat Political Agent to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf concerning the landing grounds at Masirah, Murbat and Bait Al-Falaj. It is most likely that there are missing folios in the file dated between 1929 and 1933.The main correspondents in the file are: Headquarters British Forces, Iraq; the Political Agency, Muscat; and the Political Residency, Bushire.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 27; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence related to the possibility of opening up an airfield at Muscat. The main correspondents in the file are: the Political Agency, Muscat; and the Persian Gulf Residency, Bahrain.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 11; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence related to the proposal of the Headquarters of the British Forces, Aden, to send by an Admiralty tanker 900 cases of petrol and fifty drums of oil to Murbat, Oman. The Sultan of Muscat and Oman was to give permission to the Wali of Murbat to arrange for the procedure to take place on 10 October 1935. The main correspondents in the file are: the British Forces Headquarters, Aden; the Political Agency, Muscat; the Persian Gulf Residency, Bahrain; and the Government of Muscat and Oman.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 17; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 1-17; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The correspondence in the file is mainly related to the construction of a new petrol store, a landing ground and a bomb store at Salalah. Upon the request of the Headquarters of the British Forces at Hinaidi, Iraq, the Political Agent at Muscat liaised with the Government of Muscat and Oman for a new petrol store to be constructed at Salalah, a coastal region in the south of Oman. The correspondence includes details of the dimensions and the type of materials to use in the building. The petrol store was completed in June 1938. Later on, a bomb store, as well as a permanent building to house direction finding wireless equipment were also established at Salalah.Other correspondence is the file is related to the request of the Muscat Government for the British Government to pay the overdue rent of the landing ground at Marbat [Mirbat], and the rent of the new store at Salalah. The Secretary to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, Ali Muhammad Al-Jamali provided statements showing the due amount and the receipts when the rent was paid.The file also includes communications regarding the following: provision of additional facilities for aircraft at Socotra and Salalah; the urgent need for the repair of the store at Marbat [Mirbat] due to a leakage; the removal of the Air Force store at Salalah in 1944; and the extension of the north-south runway at Salalah.The main correspondents in the file are: Headquarters British Forces, Iraq; the Political Agency, Muscat; the Persian Gulf Residency, Bahrain; and the Government of Muscat and Oman.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 172; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The file has one foliation anomaly, f 27A.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of letters and telegrams related to the construction of a Royal Air Force landing ground and petrol store at Shuwaimiyah, south-east Oman. The correspondence in the file covers the following: the urgency to establish operational airfield at Shuwaimiyah to help combat the submarine menace; the availability of water supplies at Shuwaimiyah; the possibility of troubles arising from the local tribes and the security arrangements there; the Muscat Government appointing local representatives at Shuwaimiyah; the Secretary to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, Ali Muhammad Al-Jamali providing statements showing the due rent of the landing ground and the receipts when the rent was paid; the supply of labourers and their fees as well as details related to the
dhowsand labourers arriving at Masirah and Shuwaimiyah.The file includes copies of draft agreements between the Political Agency, Muscat, the Muscat and Oman Government, and Muhammad bin Sullaiyim, Shaikh of Batahrah tribe, at Shuwaimiyah in connection with the development of the landing ground there.The main correspondents in the file are: Headquarters British Forces, Iraq; Headquarters British Forces, Aden; Royal Air Force, Masirah; the Political Agency, Muscat; the Persian Gulf Residency, Bahrain; and the Government of Muscat and Oman.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 157; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 1-155; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of confidential letters related to the air facilities on the Arab Coast. The correspondence includes lists of the air facilities existing or required in each region on the Arabian Coast including Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Abu Dhabi and other regions. The lists include specific details about the usage of each facility and remarks regarding agreements made/to be made with the rulers and the payment process.The main correspondents in the file are the Political Residency, Bushire; the Political Agencies, Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat; Air Headquarters, Iraq; the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf; and Air Ministry, London.Folios 3-5 are related to air aviation in Muscat. These folios seem to have been transferred from another file into the current file at an unknown date.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 76; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 6-43 and ff 46-75; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of letters, telegrams and reports related to the negotiation of either the acquisition or lease of a base at Masirah Island. The British Government acquired a base either by the purchase or exchange of Masirah Island for Kuria Muria or the lease of whole or part of the island. The main concern raised by British Officials was on how to approach the Sultan of Muscat and Oman on the issue. They argued that the Sultan will be unlikely to agree to sell or exchange Masirah Island, for the fact that one day the island might prove to contain mineral and/or oil deposits of commercial value.The file contains correspondence related to the availability of drinking water for the Royal Air Force and native labourers on the island, and the future of the administration of the island after an agreement takes place.The file also contains correspondence, folios (144-160) related to the incident of a group of Royal Air Force men shooting eleven civilian-owned goats at Masirah Island. The Sultan raised the issue with the Political Agent at Muscat and he suggested that the Royal Air Force men should be kept within their airbase boundaries in order to prevent such incidents.The main correspondents in the file are: the Government of India, Foreign and Political Department; India Office, London; the Political Agency, Muscat; the Persian Gulf Residency, Bahrain; and the Government of Muscat and Oman.A large part of the file, folios 2-117, is dated 1944.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 169; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials relating to the purchase of land in Bahrain for the use of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force as a potential replacement for Britain's naval base on Henjam [Hengam] Island in Iran.Copies of the minutes from several meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's 'Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East' that took place throughout 1933 are also included in the file.In addition, the file contains several maps of Bahrain (on folios 119-122, 231-232, 348, 413 and 421) and the following:'Fishtrap at Bahrain' a simple illustration (folio 35)'Notes of meeting with Mr C. Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Shaikh of Bahrain, 23rd July 1934' (folios 101-105)Government of Bahrain document confirming sale of land to the British Government (folios 157-158)'Anglo Persian Relations. Naval Station in the Persian Gulf. Memorandum by the First Lord of the Admiralty', 1933 (folios 223-228)'Notes of Meeting called to consider the question of purchase of lease of land at Bahrein on 6th November 1933' (folios 245-254)'Committee of Imperial Defence. Persian Gulf Sub-Committee. The Persian Gulf. Report by Chiefs of Staff' 1928 (folios 367-371)'Oil Concession signed by the Shaikh of Bahrein in favour of the Eastern and General Syndicate on the 2nd December 1925' (folios 416-419)'Memorandum by Admiralty and Foreign Office, dated 23rd February, 1932 on the subject of the British Naval Depot at Henjam' (folios 447-458).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 475; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The correspondence in the file is related to the construction of the Royal Air Force landing ground at Sohar, Oman. The main correspondents in the file are: the Political Agency, Muscat; the Persian Gulf Residency, Bushire; and the Council of Ministers to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 17; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence related to the possibility of establishing a landing ground at Sur for the Royal Air Force (RAF), which was to be within easy access of the town. The proposal was dropped later owing to the Sultan’s unwillingness and the risk of creating trouble at Sur. The file includes photographs (folios 4-10) of the proposed sites at Sur taken by an RAF pilot.The main correspondents in the file are: Air Headquarters, British Forces in Iraq; the Persian Gulf Residency, Bushire; and the Political Agency, Muscat.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 21; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence concerning the principles governing the joint use of airfields in the Persian Gulf by military and civil aircrafts. The principles were laid out in an enclosure issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation/Air Ministry Co-ordinating Committee.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 25; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of letters and telegrams that are mainly related to the extension of the Royal Air Force (RAF) landing ground at Bait Al-Falaj (also spelled Beit Al-Falaj in the correspondence), Muscat. The work on the extension had been necessitated by the Second World War owing to the high landing speed of modern military aircraft.The file includes correspondence regarding the supply of materials, workers, and equipment which were to be supplied by Khimji Ramdas contractors.The file includes communications between the Air Ministry and the Political Agency, Muscat in order to obtain the approval of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman for the work to take place. It also includes telegrams from the Government of India (Independent India) to the Political Agency, Muscat asking for the Sultan’s permission for charter flights to land at Salalah and to fly over the Muscat territory.The correspondence in the file also contains notifications that the runway at Muscat was unserviceable and required immediate attention. It also includes drawings and maps of Bait Al-Falaj landing ground showing the proposed extension and road diversions.The main correspondents in the file are: Headquarters British Forces, Iraq; the Royal Air Force, Masirah; the Political Agency, Muscat; the Persian Gulf Residency, Bushire and Bahrain; and the Government of Muscat and Oman.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 150; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.