مجموعة ٩/٣٠ "الخليج الفارسي: تقارير إدارية ١٩٢٦-١٩٣٨" [و‎‎٤‎٤‎٩] (١٠٢٨/٩٠٢)

Section 5.
A viation.
New Air Routes, (a) The ‘Junkers’ Weekly Air Mail Service between
Bushire and Tehran (under contract with the Persian Government) com
menced its regular service on 21st April and has maintained a regular and
highly efficient service since.
The ordinary single propeller machine has been in use, and both passen
ger and ‘goods’ planes are now regularly running. It is said that larger
twin engined passenger machines are on order.
At the commencement an aeroplane left Tehran each Friday, arriving
Bushire the same day six hours later and returned to Tehran the following
morning. The arrangement did not give much time for replies to be sent to
Tehran. From the 18th October ‘Junkers’ wisely changed this. Now the
mail aeroplane arrives on Thursday and leaves again the following Sunday.
The public find this arrangement much more convenient. On Fridays and
Saturdays the mail aeroplane makes special trips to Mohammerah and Bandar
Abbas. As the fast up mail steamer arrives at Bushire on Wednesday and
the down mail on Sunday, the new timings are especially convenient for
overseas travellers.
On the journey to Tehran, the stopping places en route are Shiraz after
1 ^ hours, and Isfahan after 3^ hours. Junkers have maintained very regu
lar timings since they started their service and have had no accident. To
their credit, it must be said, they have established a great name for regula
rity, civility and safety in Bushire, and they are deservedly popular.
In September the Post Olffi'ce notified that it had established connection
with European International Air Services via Russia, and that the Persian
Post Office would accept postal matter for foreign countries.
Actually it is now possible for a passenger to travel from London to
Bushire via Berlin, Moscow, Baku and Tehran, though a fast through service
has yet to be arranged. When this comes Imperial Airways Limited will
have a keen competitor for the “Junkers” route will actually be the shorter
of the two.
{b) Negotiations between Imperial Airways and the Persian Government
for the through London-India service via Baghdad have made good progress
during the year under review.
Flights.
British. — {a) A British aeroplane, the “Princess Xenia” arrived in
Bushire on the 13th June piloted by Captain Barnard with the Duchess of
Bedford on board. The aeroplane left Bushire for Karachi but after a short
flight returned owing to engine trouble, and had to remain in Bushire until
the 22nd of August, when it reached Karachi. The same aeroplane returned
to Bushire on the 2nd September and left next morning for Croydon.
Captain Barnard’s flight was one of 5,000 miles in days. His various
stoppages from Karachi were Bushire, Aleppo and Sofia, whence he flew
I, 400 miles to Croydon.
(5) His Majesty’s seaplane “Iris” with Sir Phillip Sassoon on board,
passed over Bushire on the 16th October on its way to India. The machine
was later held up at Hen jam owing to a mishap to the engine. On its way
back from India, the machine had to land at Jask, again owing to engine
trouble. The Royal Air Force, Karachi, rendered necessary assistance and
eventually arranged a machine to convey Sir Phillip Sassoon and party
back to England. The “Iris” finally passed over Bushire on the 1 st Nov
ember on her way to Iraq. Although permission had been obtained, the
machine did not land at Bushire.
(c) On the afternoon of the 17th October, aeroplanes Nos. H.-22 and
J. -7307 of the Royal Air Force arrived from Basrah, with nursing sister
Miss K. East of the Civil Hospital on board to attend a serious case of sick