Abstract: The file is concerned with the operations of Pan American Airlines in the Middle East; British officials were concerned that the airline was using the war as a pretext for commercial penetration of British controlled territories. The file therefore covers the militarisation of Pan American Airlines operations in the Middle East, and its absorption into the United States Army Air Force (USAAF).In addition, the file contains correspondence related to the use of the Southern Arabian Air Route by the United States Air Force: in particular, the use of aerodromes at Masirah and Salalah, as per a 1942 agreement with Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Sultan of Muscat and Oman: see folio 87 for a record of the negotiations. This includes discussion surrounding the post-war disposal of stone buildings built by the Americans at these sites.The main correspondents in the file are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (William Rupert Hay and Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat (Cornelius James Pelly), HM Ambassador to the United States (Edward Wood, Viscount, later Earl of Halifax), HM Ambassador to Iraq (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis) the Minister of State Resident in the Middle East (Walter Guiness), officials of the Foreign Office, officials of the India Office, and representatives of the Government of India.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 207; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence regarding civil aviation matters in Kuwait (also spelt Koweit in the file). The primary focus is the negotiation of a Civil Air Agreement between the British Government and the Shaikh of Kuwait, Shaikh Sir Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] in 1934, its subsequent renewal in 1938, 1945, and discussion related to its possible further renewal in 1948. Draft and final copies of each agreement can be found within the file; a 1934 copy contains both English and Arabic versions of the document (see folio 185-187). Correspondence related to occasional amendments has also been included.Also discussed in the correspondence is the granting of permission for Imperial Airways (later the British Overseas Airways Corporation - BOAC) to land in Kuwait in September 1932 for a period of six months, and the establishment of an airmail service in 1948. It also contains some correspondence relating to British military requirements in Kuwait, and the transfer of the maintenance of the Kuwait Aerodrome from the Royal Air Force (RAF) to the Kuwait Oil Company.The file also contains proposals from the Kuwait Oil Company for the construction of a new aerodrome in 1948, including two plans for the proposed airstrip (see folios 20-21).In addition to the copy of the Kuwait Civil Air Agreement (1934), the file contains a limited amount of correspondence with both English and Arabic translation.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agent at Kuwait. The file also contains correspondence with the following departments of the British Government: the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, the India Office (the Commonwealth Relations Office from August 1947), and the Ministry for Civil Aviation.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 273; 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.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and notes related to air facilities required by Imperial Airways (from 1940 the British Overseas Airways Corporation - BOAC) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) along the Arabian Coast. The file therefore contains a number of lists (some of which are categorised by priority) prepared by the Air Ministry outlining British requirements for navigation beacons, wireless transmissions sets, direction finding sets, moorings for flying boats etc; the lists prepared by the Air Ministry are revised over time to reflect changing requirements, for example the introduction of night flying. Also covered in the file is the establishment of a petrol dhow at Dubai in 1934 (see folio 402 for a copy of the agreement), and consideration in 1938 of arrangements for the provision of fuel at Ras al Khaimah [Ra's al-Khaymah] for Imperial Airways in cases of emergency.Another topic featured in the file is the introduction of a flying boat service by Imperial Airways in 1937, and the selection of a suitable stopping point along the Arabian Coast. The selection process is covered, which includes consideration of Dubai (also spelt Debai and Dabai), Ras al Khaimah, and Umm al Qaiwain [Umm al-Qaywayn] as potential sites. This process culminates in the Dubai Commercial Air Agreement (1937): see folios 223-226 for a copy of the agreement with both Arabic and English translation. This includes an agreement respecting security arrangements for passengers transferred between the alighting area at Dubai and their accommodation at Sharjah: see folio 199 for an English translation of the agreement. Further correspondence relating to its renewal in 1943 can also be found in the file. The prospects for the future use of Dubai and Sharjah, as of 1946, are also briefly discussed at the end of the correspondence.Material related to a survey of Sharjah Creek in 1939 and Dubai Creek by Bernard Whitteron in 1941 can be found between folios 36-57. This includes sketch maps the two creeks: Dubai (folio 48) and Sharjah (folios 53, and 55-56). It has been included in consideration of possible engineering work to enhance their navigability and hence their utility for flying boats.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent at Bahrain (Tom Hickinbotham, Hugh Weightman, and Reginald George Alban), officials of the Air Ministry, and officials of the India Office.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 466; 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 2-465; these numbers are also written in pencil but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and related notes on the drafting of general procedures for the provision of air facilities along the Arabian Coast Air Route, which would form the civil air agreements for Bahrain, Kuwait (also spelt Koweit), and Muscat. Numerous copies of the proposed draft agreement can be found through out the file, while printed copies of the final agreements can be found on folios 112-174 (Kuwait) and 175-177 (Bahrain); no copies of the agreement concluded with the Sultan of Muscat can be found within the file. The file also contains copies of special authorisations issued by the authorities at Bahrain, Kuwait, and Muscat, permitting access to their respective territories and airspace to aircraft of Imperial Airways, Indian Trans-Continental Airways, and Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS).The authorisations issued by the authorities at Kuwait include both Arabic and English translation.The main correspondents are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven William Fowle; Percy Gordon Loch, acting; and Hugh Weightman, acting), the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat, officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the Foreign Office, and officials of the India Office.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 394; 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.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence (mainly telegrams) on two subjects. One subject is proposals for charter flights between Aden and Bombay by Ethiopian Airways, on behalf of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). The other subject is the development of Czechoslovak civil aviation and British plans to obstruct Czech ambitions in this area. The file also contains a note on Anglo-Czech civil aviation relations produced by the Foreign Office, dated 20 April 1948: see folios 10-12.The main correspondents are the Commonwealth Relations Office and the Chief Secretary of Aden.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 13; 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 establishment of new civil airports at Baghdad (1933) and Basra (1934), and subsequent additions to these facilities. It also contains copies of a number of notices to airmen issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Communications and Works: see folios 5-8 and 11. One of these notices (see folio 11) is in both Arabic and English.The main correspondents are as follows: HM Ambassador to Iraq (Sir Francis Henry Humphrys), officials of the Foreign Office, and other officials at the British Embassy in Baghdad. The correspondence is periodically forwarded to the Under-Secretary of State for India by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in order to keep the India Office informed of developments; none of the correspondence in the file is directly addressed to the India Office.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 36; 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 volume is concerned with proposals for the development of air services to, from, and across Afghanistan. In particular, proposals from the German firm Junkers for an air service from Persia, and Russian proposals for an air bridge across Afghanistan, for the purpose of delivering mail between India and Europe. It also includes discussion as to the feasibility and desirability of a counter British service from India to Afghanistan; this includes examination of who could provide this service, proposed service frequency, the types of aircraft that could be used, and expense estimates. The file also contains comparisons between the proposed Russian air bridge and existing Imperial Airways services between the United Kingdom (UK) and India to judge the commercial viability of the new service. To a lesser extent, the file also contains details of a gift of rifles and ammunition from the Government of India to the Government of Afghanistan.The focus of discussion is Britain's desire to limit the encroachment of foreign (i.e. non British) companies towards the frontier of her Indian Empire; in particular British officials are concerned with limiting the development of services by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The financial problems of the Government of India also factor into this discussion, as an issue preventing the provision of a British service. The file therefore contains a number of notes — or aide memoirs — of a number of meetings held by HM Minister at Kabul with either the King of Afghanistan (Mohammad Nadir Shah) or his Foreign Minister. The volume also contains some discussion of the legal status of the North West Frontier under the International Air Convention, and the extent the Government of India can maintain its status as a prohibited area following the advent of civil air services.The French content consists of a short extract on folio 128 from the International Postal Convention. The volume also contains an extract from Jane's
All the World's Aircraft, 1929on folios 421-2, an extract from
The Timeson folio 346, and a copy of Imperial Airway's winter 1931-2 timetable on folios 76-7.The main correspondents are as follows: HM Minister at Kabul (Richard Roy Maconachie), officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the India Office, officials of the General Post Office, and representatives of the Foreign Department of the Government of India.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 454; 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 a notification from the Air Ministry (folio 18) dated 10 December 1934, informing the India Office of a proposal by Imperial Airways to duplicate their service between the United Kingdom (UK) and India. It also contains an explanatory note prepared for a meeting at the Air Ministry on 22 March 1935, on the necessity of introducing night flying between Cairo and Calcutta early in 1936, in order to facilitate the Empire Air Mail Scheme: see folios 2-6. A draft memorandum for transmission to HM representatives in Egypt, Palestine, and Iraq, outlines the facilities required in these countries to enable night flying: see folios 7-16.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 19; 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 present between ff 15-18 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence, meeting notes (at the Air Ministry on 9 November 1934 and 22 March 1935), and memoranda regarding proposals to introduce night flying across the Persian Gulf as part of the Empire Air Mail Scheme. The focus of the file is on the following routes: Cairo-Karachi and Alexandria-Karachi, each with an intermediate stop at Bahrain. It details the anticipated extra facilities required in terms of wireless equipment, lighting equipment, meteorological equipment, and general ground organisation. The additional facilities are broken down geographically into facilities needed in Iraq, Palestine and Transjordan, and Egypt.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf(Trenchard Craven William Fowle), officials of the Air Ministry (D L Allen, W W Burkett, and Francis Claude Shelmerdine), and officials of the India Office (Miles John Clauson and John Gilbert Laithwaite).The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 78; 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 is concerned with proposals for Lufthansa to operate an air service linking Germany with China via Egypt, Iraq, Persia, and Afghanistan (Kabul). The file contains correspondence, extracts from intelligence summaries, memoranda, and notes documenting the efforts of British officials to oppose the establishment of a German airline in Afghanistan, and the operation of an air route through Central Asia between the territories of the Soviet Union and British India. This includes detailed policy discussion between the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, and the India Office over whether to grant Lufthansa transit rights across India and Burma in order to induce the company to move away from the Central Asian route. Details of experimental flights between Berlin and Kabul are also recorded in the file; a sketch map illustrating the route of a German reconnaissance flight July 1936 between Kabul and Wakhan may be found on folio 612v.Additional correspondence is largely with William Kerr Fraser-Tytler, HM Minister at Kabul. However, there is also a small amount of correspondence with the Governments of Burma and India, and – largely in the form of circulars – British diplomatic representatives at Athens, Cairo, Baghdad, Tehran, Bangkok, and Peking. The file also includes a few letters between the Air Ministry and Herr Fisch, Germany's Aviation Minister, regarding Lufthansa's application for transit rights across India and Burma.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 621; 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 and extracts from intelligence summaries on the following three related topics:an application by the Reich Air Minister for a permit for Lufthansa to operate a service over India and Burmaupdates on the Lufthansa air service between Berlin and Kabulthe progress of negotiations for the establishment of French, German, and Japanese air services to/via Siam [Thailand]The main correspondents are as follows: HM Minister at Bangkok (Josiah Crosby), officials of the Foreign Office, and officials of the India Office.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 78; 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 requests for authorisation to undertake private flights over the Arab Coast route – the air route over Kuwait, Bahrain, Sharjah, and Muscat. These requests are entirely from French nationals and are submitted to the Foreign Office on their behalf by the French Embassy in London. One of these requests is for a flight of two French military planes. These requests are then forwarded to the India Office for comment, and occasional reference is made to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. It is noted that such requests have increased due to a recent diplomatic rupture between France and Iran.Letters from the French Embassy are in French.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 49; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.