Abstract: The file contains correspondence concerning negotiations with Shaikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi, for air facilities at Yas Island [Sir Bani Yas] and Abu Dhabi. The required air facilities include emergency landing grounds, moorings for flying boats, and petrol storage facilities. A copy of the agreement reached (in both Arabic and English) can be found on folios 83-84.Following the conclusion of the agreement, the file documents the Shaikh's subsequent refusal to permit the construction of a fuel storage tank near Abu Dhabi and his ‘discourtesy’ towards the Commander of HMS
Fowey. This includes measures taken by British authorities to ensure the Shaikh's compliance with the agreement and to obtain an apology for the aforementioned commander.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven William Fowle), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Percy Gordon Loch), and the Commander in Chief of the East Indies Squadron. It also contains correspondence with the following British Government departments: the Admiralty, Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, and 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 117; 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 A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.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 related to a forced landing by aircraft
Helenaof Imperial Airways at Jask on 16 May 1934. The flight in question was carrying the Viceroy of India, Freeman Freeman-Thomas, and his wife Marie Adelaide (Lord and Lady Willingdon): see folio 4 for a detailed account of the flight. It also contains prior correspondence – from April 1934 – regarding a request from Imperial Airways for emergency landing rights at Jask.The main correspondents are as follows: Francis George Lawder Bertram representing the Air Ministry, George William Rendel representing the Foreign Office, and John Gilbert Laithwaite representing 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 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 is concerned with aviation in Gilgit, Hunza, Mir, and the surrounding area. It primarily covers three topics.The first topic is the matter of annual Royal Air Force (RAF) flights to Gilgit over the Himalayas in 1932, 1934, 1935, and 1936. It includes a report on the 1934 flight (see folios 132-141), a report on the 1935 flight (see folios 114-129), and a memorandum on proposals for the 1936 flight (see folios 106-107). A couple of sketch maps have been included to accompany these reports: see folios 104 and 117. Forty-five aerial photographic prints from the flight in November 1934 have also been included: see folios 159-203. Press excerpts of coverage of the first flight over the Himalayas in November 1932 can be found towards the back of the file: cuttings from
The Times,28 December 1932 (folios 151-154);
The Times of India Mail Edition,1932 (folio 146);
The Near East and India,19 January 1932 (folio 145); and the
Birmingham Post,18 January 1933 (folio 144). It also includes a report of the visit by Air Marshall Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt to Gilgit between 21 and 24 October 1936: see folios 98-99.The second topic is reports of violations of the northern frontier of British India by foreign – mainly German and Russian – aircraft. Correspondence in the file documents investigations into these reports and subsequent action taken.The third topic is a reconnaissance of the Hunza Valley in 1937 to identify a site for a landing ground, the selection of Pasu, and the postponement of the project by the Government of India.The main correspondents are as follows: officials of the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India (External Affairs Department from 1937), the Political Resident at Kashmir, the Political Agent at Gilgit, HM Consul General at Kashgar, and HM Minister at Kabul. Only occasional reference is made to the India Office in London.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 205; 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.Folio 158 was a conservation box, which was removed when the photographic prints (ff 159-203) were rehoused in polyester sheets. Folio number 158 is therefore no longer used.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence regarding the development of civil and military aviation in Siam [Thailand]. This includes intelligence on purchases of aircraft and weaponry from the United States for the Siamese Air Force (Siamese Royal Air Force from 1937); the file also contains a limited amount of correspondence surrounding proposals to supply Siam with British aircraft. The correspondence also documents a visit by HMS
Hermesto Bangkok in 1929, and a visit by Siamese pilots to India in January 1930. The documentation for the latter visit also includes a report on the forced landing of one of the planes, and the fatality of Lieutenant Colonel Luang Neramitr Baijayont. The correspondence is almost entirely from either HM Minister or HM Chargé d'affairs at Bangkok and addressed to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. This correspondence is then forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India; very little correspondence in the file is directly addressed to the India Office.The file also contains details of aerodrome, landing grounds, and aircraft radio stations in Siam, compiled 12 July 1937 by the British Legation in Bagkok: see folios 21-38. Extracts from a number of local publications, and a limited amount of correspondence with representatives of the Siamese Foreign Ministery, have been included as enclosures to the correspondence.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 154; 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 the establishment of facilities along the southern coast of Oman for a proposed Muscat-Aden air route. It predominantly consists of reports on expeditions to establish (or repair) landing grounds and petrol storage facilities at the following locations: Masirah Island, Khor Jarama [Khawr al Jarāmah], Khor Gharum, and Shuwamiya [Ra’s ash Shuwāmīyah]. These reports are authored by either the Muscat Political Agent (Trenchard Craven William Fowle, Claude Edward Urquhart Bremner, and Ralph Ponsonby Watts), or the commanding officer of the deployed Royal Navy vessel: HMS Bideford or HMS Deptford. It also contains reconnaissance reports from surveys undertaken to identify suitable landing sites for the proposed air route. These reports include information on the personnel involved, progress made, incidents during the course of the expedition, navigational data, and sometimes details on eating and sleeping arrangements. It also contains a number of extracts from relevant — mainly Muscat — intelligence summaries.The file includes copies of three agreements made with local Shaikhs: two agreements (folios 50-1) with Shaikh Said bin Sultan of Mahut for Shuwamiya and Khor Gharum; and an agreement (folio 24) with Muhammed bin Suwaillim, Shaikh of Batahrah, as a result of his disputing the former’s authority over Shuwamiya. It also contains a couple of sketch maps of the coast of Oman showing the locations surveyed, and the locations where air facilities have been established; these can be found on folios 31 and 88.A report (folios 131-42), dated 29 March 1932, of a joint action between British forces and the Sultan of Muscat, Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd, against Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah al Hamudah of the Beni Bu Ali [Banī Bū ‘Alī] at Sur has also been included. The purpose of this action being to enforce the Sultan's authority by establishing a customs house at Aiqa.The main correspondents are as follows: the Persian Gulf Political Resident, the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, officials of the Admiralty, 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 commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 171; 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 is concerned with the position of British instructors employed by the Afghan Air Force. Most of the file consists of policy discussion – prompted by a letter from Colonel Alexander Stalker Lancaster, dated 13 April 1941, folios 23-31 – as to how this position should be developed considering wartime limitations, and the potential for foreign competitors to challenge Britain's position. The countries examined are Italy, Russia, Germany, France, Japan, and the United States.A small amount of correspondence related to the Afghan Government's decision to postpone consideration of the purchase of Tiger Moth trainer aircraft (folios 4-6) has also been included in the file.Most of the correspondence is generated by HM Minister at Kabul: William Kerr Fraser-Tytler and Francis Verner Wylie. Contributions from the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, the India Office, and the Government of India are also present.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 32; 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 is concerned with proposals for the development of civil aviation services connecting Iran (frequently referred to as Persia) with Iraq and India. It therefore includes correspondence related to proposed aerial surveys of possible routes. The question of whether three airfields at Zahidan, Mirjarah, and Kerman – built in consequence of the Anglo-Soviet occupation of Iran – should be retained for future civil use is also addressed by some of the correspondence.Some of the material in the file examines the interest of the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States in Iranian civil aviation.A report titled ‘Air Transport in Persia – 1944 and afterwards’ by Walter Leslie Runciman, Air Attaché at Tehran, has been included: see folios 119-129. An accompanying map illustrating proposed and existing air routes can be found on folio 130. The file also includes a couple of sketch maps: see folios 103 and 143.The most recent correspondence in the file is concerned with the re-establishment of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) services in 1946 between the United Kingdom (UK) and Tehran.The main correspondents are as follows: HM Ambassador to Iran (Sir Reader William Bullard), officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the Foreign Office, officials of the India Office, and representatives of the External Affairs Department of the Government of India.There is a gap in the file for the years 1942-43 for which no papers have been included.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 182; 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 regarding proposals to station a Royal Air Force (RAF) light bomber squadron at Sharjah and a reconnaissance squadron at Dubai. It also discusses works to be undertaken at aerodromes in Bahrain, Sharjah, Dubai, and Kalba. This correspondence has been circulated to government departments by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. Copies of telegrams dating back to the 22 January 1942 are present in the file.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 main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 23; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-22; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file is concerned with an application from Petroleum Concessions Limited for a general permission to operate aircraft within Qatar and the wider Persian Gulf; under the Qatar Oil Concession the company was required to seek permission from the Shaikh of Qatar for each flight. There is also correspondence related to a proposal from the Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited to establish a landing ground near its camp at Jebel Dukhan in western Qatar.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent at Bahrain, and officials of the India Office. It also contains letters from representatives of Petroleum Concessions Limited and Petroleum Concessions (Qatar) Limited.The file does not contain any papers from 1938, and the years 1940-1944.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 56; 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 papers related to the renewal of the Sharjah Commercial Air Agreement in 1943, and subsequent increases to the subsidy paid to the Shaikh of Sharjah under the agreement and changes to accommodation requirements for both the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and the Royal Air Force (RAF). It also contains correspondence related to the withdrawal of BOAC services from Sharjah in 1947, and discussion as to whether to amend or abandon the agreement as a result. The decision to renew the agreement in 1948 is documented by minutes of an inter-departmental meeting held on 16 March 1948: see folios 11-12.A number of statements of payments made to the Shaikh of Sharjah under the Air Agreement for the periods April 1945 to August 1946 and December 1946 to November 1947 were submitted to the India Office by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf: see folios 15, 18, 21, 39, 64, 75, 92, and 107. A list of buildings required at Sharjah by the RAF as of 1947 can be found on folios 24-28.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior and William Rupert Hay), officials of the Air Ministry (M W Low), officials of the India Office (from August 1947 the Commonwealth Relations Office; Roland Tennyson Peel, Eion Pelly Donaldson, Francis Anthony Kitchener Harrison), officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (H Jones and R C Bloodworth), and representatives of the External Affairs Department of the Government of India.The title of the file contains an error: the British Overseas Airways Corporation is mistakenly referred to as BAOC instead of BOAC.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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 128; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains papers related to the provision of facilities for the United States Air Transport Command at both Bahrain and Sharjah. This includes policy and strategy discussions over how best to maintain British control of the Arabian Coast Air Route; British planners feared that the United States might use facilities, built using American personnel and finance, as a lever for post-war concessions in civil aviation. It therefore includes correspondence related to the leasing of land, and the construction of buildings, by the Royal Air Force (RAF) for the use of the United States.A map showing Bahrain Oil Company (BAPCO) establishments in Bahrain can be found on folio 127, and a table showing the facilities required by the United States can be found on folio 102.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Tom Hickinbotham), officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the India Office (Roland Tennyson Peel, Francis Anthony Kitchener Harrison, and Dennis Mackrow Cleary), officers of Air Headquarters in Iraq, and representatives of the External Affairs 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 for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 145; 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 is concerned with proposals for the construction of an airfield – suitable for very heavy bombers – at Dhahran by the United States Army Air Transport Command as a wartime necessity, and applications from the United States to the United Kingdom for the latters support in obtaining permission from Saudi Arabia. See folios 239-241 for a brief on these proposals.The file also contains papers related to proposals for the post-war civil operation following the construction of the airfield, and the transfer of ownership from the United States to Saudi Arabia. Related papers concern proposals from Trans World Airlines for the development of civil aviation in Saudi Arabia, and counter proposals from the British Government for a civil air mission. This includes the use of Dhahran by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).A typed copy of a report by a Ministry of Civil Aviation Technical Survey Party on aerodromes in the Middle East and Persian Gulf (1947) has also been included: see folios 26-55. The minutes of a subsequent meeting held by the Civil Aviation Planning Committee on 1 April 1947 to discuss the reports findings can be found on folios 18-19.The main correspondents in the file are as follows: HM Minister at Jeddah (Sir Laurence Grafftey-Smith), officials of the Foreign Office, officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and officials of the India Office (Commonwealth Relations Office from August 1947).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 260; 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.