‘File 28/15 Submarine Menace’

Content

The file comprises correspondence and other papers relating to enemy submarine activity in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Gulf of Oman throughout the War. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban; Edward Birkbeck Wakefield; Major Tom Hickinbotham); the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. (POTC: Captain Roy Douglas Metcalfe; Captain Maurice O’Connor Tandy); and the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (SNOPG: Commodore Cosmo Moray Graham; Commodore Charles Ford Hammill).

The file includes:

• various reports of sightings of enemy submarines (f 4, f 14, ff 48-52);
• the ramming and sinking of the Italian submarine Galvani by HMS Falmouth , off the Oman coast in June 1940 (f 2);
• correspondence and memoranda relating to the import from India into Bahrain and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. of distilled water, which might indicate the possible presence in the area of an enemy submarine (distilled water being required for repairs to submarine batteries) (ff 5-10). Government of India correspondence raises concerns over distilled water imports into Bahrain by Khalil bin Ebrahim Kanoo [Khalīl Ibrāhīm Kānū], though the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. writes that Kanoo imports his water for car servicing and is above suspicion (ff 16-17). Further imports of distilled water into Bahrain and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. are closely monitored (ff 19-24, f 30);
• reports of a heavy explosion off the coast of Kalba in January 1941, with fresh oil seen on the sea shortly thereafter (ff 25-26);
• a note on enemy submarine activity off the Mekran [Makran] coast, prepared by H K Dawson Shepherd of the Combined Intelligence Centre Iraq (CICI), dated 14 February 1943, with details on: German and Japanese interests in Persia; German agents in Persia; reports of a German submarine landing arms at Jask; the possibility of U-Boats making contact with the Persian coast (ff 33-34);
• investigation into the background of a resident of Khor Fakkan [Khawr Fakkān] in November 1943, believed to have pro-Axis sympathies, and whose presence at Khor Fakkan is considered suspicious in light of the sinking of a submarine off the coast of Khor Fakkan (f 37). A report by the POTC reveals that no pro-Axis connections or suspicious activities have been discovered (ff 35-36, f 43);
• a request by the SNOPG, 17 November 1943, to investigate the Danish employees of a fish canning factory An East India Company trading post. at Bandar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās], some of whom may hold pro-German sympathies (f 39).

Extent and format

1 file (56 folios)

Arrangement

The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 54-57) mirror the chronological arrangement.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 58; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-53; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. Paginated: the file notes at the back (ff 54-57) have been paginated using pencil.

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/2/702

Former external reference(s)

Confidential Files: 28/15

History of this record

Date(s)

25 Jun 1940-24 Aug 1944 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Second World War (1939-1945)SubmarinesSubmarine warfare

Places

Persian GulfKhor FakkanGulf of Oman

People & organisations

Political Agent, Trucial CoastSenior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf

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Cite this record in your research

‘File 28/15 Submarine Menace’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/702, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000241.0x00005f> [accessed 17 February 2025]

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