Abstract: The file contains memoranda, correspondence and papers, regarding provision of Royal Flying Corps (later Royal Air Force) aircraft and personnel for military operations in Mesopotamia [Iraq].Notably covers: repeated requests in 1917 from General Officer Commanding, Mesopotamia, for aircraft and personnel (pilots, observers and other ranks) to constitute an additional, third, squadron; discussion of makes and models of aircraft and engines; discussion of optimum aircraft type and parts for the climate, intended uses and enemy capability; reporting problems with machines and defective parts received; general expansion of the Royal Flying Corps establishment in Mesopotamia; and increase in number of flights to deal with local disturbances in 1919.File also includes printed weekly returns for the weeks ending 14 March 1918, 28 March 1918 and 11 April 1918, issued by General Officer Commanding, Middle East Brigade, Royal Flying Corps, Egypt, for the Air Ministry, listing squadron personnel (pilots and observers) available and unavailable and machines serviceable, unserviceable and un-erected.The papers indicate that aircraft were distributed to the Mesopotamia field of operations from Middle East Brigade, Royal Flying Corps base in Cairo, Egypt. Personnel came via various routes, such as direct from England or from the aviation base in Baghdad.Aircraft in Mesopotamia were used for long-distance reconnaissance, close reconnaissance, low flying, long-distance independent bombing, close bombing in co-operation with troops, artillery observation and communications.The primary correspondents are: the War Office; General Officer Commanding, Mesopotamia; General Officer Commanding, Middle East Brigade, Royal Flying Corps, Cairo. Correspondents also include Aviation Baghdad; General Officer Commanding, Constantinople; Commander-in-Chief, India; and Director of Air Organisation, War Office.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 80; 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; these numbers are written in coloured crayon.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence regarding the unauthorised entry of Persian [Iranian] territory by an Royal Air Force (RAF) plane. The main correspondents are as follows; the Agent to the Governor-General, Resident; the Chief Commissioner, Baluchistan; HM Ambassador to Iran and the Government of India, External Affairs Department. The aircraft is reported to have flown from Jiwani to Dashtiari by the RAF Commanding Officer at Jiwani. From here a Persian citizen and friend of the pilot, Mir Yusaf Khan Saddazai, was collected and transported back to Jiwani for a personal visit before returning with him a few days later. Also discussed is a Soviet press report suggesting that the trip had facilitated the delivery of arms to Baluchistan, a claim which is denied by the Government of India, External Affairs Department.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 20; 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 between Kenneth Roy Crook, representing the Commonwealth Relations Office, and Hawker Aircraft Limited. It concerns an outstanding claim against Hawkers for six spare Hind parts, which should have been delivered to the Afghan Air Force in 1939. The query has been left outstanding, and no resolution has been recorded within this 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 foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 12; 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 two topics. The first is a report from G Stuart Morgan regarding the intention of Barr Shipping Corporation to deliver six American bombers to Afghanistan in 1933: see folios 28-40. The second is the gift of a PT 17 (Stearman) from the United States to the Government of Afghanistan in 1943: see folios 2-27. A couple of notes regarding sales by the American Caterpillar Tractor Company to the Afghan Government can also be found in the file. The main correspondents are as follows: HM Minister at Kabul, HM Embassy in Washington, 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 for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 41; 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, notes, and records of meetings documenting negotiations between the British Government and the Government of India on the one hand, and the Government of Afghanistan on the other. The purpose of the negotiations was to facilitate the financing and purchase of military aircraft – and related equipment, weapons and ammunition – from British sources for the Afghan Air Force, and to provide for the provision of training for Afghan pilots and mechanics in India. The file also outlines the establishment of the Afghan reserve fund by the Government of India for the purpose of funding expenditure related to Afghanistan.A tour (1936-37) by the Afghan Air Commandant, Ghund Mishar Muhammad Ihdan Khan, of India (Peshwar, Risalpur, and Karachi) and the United Kingdom is also documented in the file; the tour was undertaken at the invitation of the Government of India in order to demonstrate British aircraft and Royal Air Force ground operations. The file therefore includes a number of reports from British officers on the progress of the tour.The main correspondents in the file are as follows: HM Minister in Kabul (Richard Roy Maconachie and William Kerr Fraser Tyler), officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the Foreign Office, officials of the India Office, and representatives of the Foreign and Political Department (Department of External Affairs from 1937) of the Government of India. The file also contains a limited amount of correspondence with the Afghan Legation and representatives of Hawker Aircraft Limited, as the company chosen to supply the aircraft.A sketch map of Afghanistan can be found on folio 490 illustrating the effective action of the Westland Wapiti from Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, and Farah.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 509; 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 telegrams related to the sale of ten Auster aircraft by the Government of India to the Government of Iraq; communication between the Indian and Iraqi governments is facilitated by the British Embassy in Baghdad. The file documents a delay in the release of these aircraft as a result of a United Nations Security Council Resolution to prohibit the import of war materials into Palestine, and the eventual decision by the Government of India to release the aircraft in January 1949.The main correspondents are as follows: the UK High Commissioner in India, HM Ambassador to Iraq (Sir William Henry Bradshaw Mack), officials of the Commonwealth Relations Office, and officials of the Foreign Office.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 file documents the drafting of a contract between the Air Ministry and Hawker Aircraft Limited for the purchase of eight Hawker Hind aircraft, associated aviation equipment, and weaponry, for resale to the Afghan Air Force. This includes a deal for a supply of munitions from Air Ministry stocks. A number of drafts of this contract can be found throughout the file; the contracts include detailed schedules listing and pricing the equipment desired by the Afghan Government. Supplementary correspondence related to the dispatch of British instructors to Kabul, the financing of the purchase by the Government of India, and the provision of aviation training in India for the Afghan Air Force, has also been included.The subsequent process of shipping the aircraft and associated equipment from England to Kabul via Karachi towards the end of 1937/early 1938 is also partially documented by the correspondence, as are the associated customs delays at Karachi. Furthermore, the file includes correspondence recording repayments made by the Afghan Government to the Government of India. This includes the payment of an insurance claim resulting from damage to the aircraft during shipment to Kabul.Extracts from various reports have also been filed within, they generally report on the Afghan Air Force. This includes reports of flights made using the aforementioned Hinds, accidents and damaged incurred to aircraft, and use of aircraft in military action.The main correspondents in the file are as follows: HM Minister at Kabul (William Kerr Fraser-Tytler), the Counsellor at the Kabul Legation (Arthur Ernest Henry Macann), 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. A small amount of correspondence with the Collector of Customs at Karachi, R & J Park Limited, and Eastern Express Limited, can also be found within.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 618; 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 supply of spares for Hawker Hind aircraft operated by the Afghan Air Force. A great deal of correspondence in the file is dedicated to a search for supplies amongst British and Indian stores; supplies for obsolete aircraft such as the Hind were in short supply in the 1940s. Periodic lists of supplies required by the Afghan Air Force have been filed within, along with supplementary correspondence related to financing and shipping purchases to Kabul. Arrangements for the manufacture of new propellers in the United Kingdom (UK) for Afghanistan's Hind aircraft are also documented in the file.The main correspondents are British officials within the following departments: the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, the India Office, the India Store Department, the British Legation at Kabul, and 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 commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 309; 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 small quantity of correspondence related to obtaining payment for ten Hawker Hind propellers supplied to the Afghan Air Force by the Air Ministry – via the Government of India – in 1946. The main correspondents are the Air Ministry and the Commonwealth Relations 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 22; 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 documents the replacement of the Hawker Hind aircraft – used by the Afghan Air Force since 1937 – with Avro Ansons in 1948. The selection process being the result of a long search from 1943 to 1946 for a suitable replacement. The file contains correspondence documenting the search for suitable British aircraft – both new and second hand; the search for suitable aircraft was complicated by wartime conditions and the Afghan Government's unusual requirements. Some of the other aircraft considered were as follows:the Boulton Paul Defiantthe de Havilland Dominie, Dove, and Tiger Moththe Fairey Swordfishthe Hawker Audax, Hart, and Hurricanethe Miles Masterthe Westland LysanderThe correspondence in the file also partly documents the process of ordering the Avro Ansons including: arrangements for payment for the aircraft, arrangements for shipping the aircraft, details respecting the required specification, and the production schedule for the aircraft. The file also includes minutes from inter-departmental meetings held to discuss post-war supply difficulties with the Avro Anson aircraft.The main correspondents are officials from various government departments as follows: the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, the India Office (the Commonwealth Relations Office from August 1947), and the Ministry of Supply. Other key correspondents include HM Minister at Kabul (Francis Verner Wylie and Giles Frederick Squire) and officials from the External Affairs Department of the Government of India.A few cuttings from magazines can be found within the file:A page from
Flight, 19 July 1945, which inclludes an advertisement for the De Havilland Rapide (folio 261r) and Field Aviation Services (folio 261v).The Aeroplane, 24 March 1944, which includes a photograph of a two-seater Hawker Hurricane in Russia (folio 291v).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 404; 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 majority of the file consists of records of cypher messages sent between the Air Ministry in London and Air Headquarters, India, concerning arrangements for the possible supply of Supermarine Spitfires – mark VIIIs – to the Afghan Air Force. This includes the supply of a demonstration aircraft to Kabul for evaluation purposes, and preparations for the further supply of up to twelve aircraft in the event of a purchase being made. The final message (see folio 3) records the decision not to purchase.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 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 file documents negotiations surrounding a proposal – ultimately unsuccessful – by the British Government to sell second-hand Westland Wapiti aircraft to the Afghan Air Force. It includes a significant amount of correspondence related to the availability of spare parts, and correspondence related to an unrealised demonstration flight at Kabul.The main correspondents are as follows: HM Chargé d'affaires at Kabul (Arthur Ernest Henry Macann), officials of the Air Ministry (Thomas Melling Williams and Lawrence Darvall), officials of the India Office (Horace Algernon Fraser Rumbold and Alexander Colin Burlington Symon), and officials 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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 64; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.