Coll 5/5 ‘Arabia: Hejaz Air Force; Recruitment of personnel by HMG; Instruction of Hejazi pilots’ [‎23v] (48/703)

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Kaeh of the two foreign instructors has thus six machines in his charge, and the
balance in favour of Major Ciccii, all of whose machines are in working order, is
redressed to some extent by the fact that he refuses to fly the new Caudron-
Renault, which he professes to regard as difficult and even dangerous, and that
M. Naidyonoff has been using it to train some of the Saudi pilots.
6 . It is said that Major Ciccu has recently made an attempt to teach^
navigation to a class of Saudi pilots that began with five, but fell almost
immediately to two. The task of imparting any theoretical training to these
pilots is made almost impossible by their lack of mathematical and other education
and of the practice of mental concentration, but the fact that some of them
attend a class conducted by Major Ciccu shows that the boycott of the Italian
mission has ceased.
7. The change in the attitude of the Saudi authorities towards the Italian
mission affords an interesting subject of speculation. I think there is no doubt
that until recently Ibn Saud regarded the Italians with suspicion and wished to
prevent their getting a hold of any kind in his country. It may be that the Anglo-
Italian Agreement, by removing Ibn Sand’s fear of Italy, has tempted him to
put some of his eggs into Mussolini’s basket—a policy which may have been
encouraged by the recent course of events in Europe. And perhaps he has begun
at last to despair of inducing His Majesty’s Government to modify their Palestine
policy.
8 . The press state that the flight to Yanbu is only the prelude to a series
of flights to other coast towns, for the purpose of training Saudi pilots for flights
“ in the heart of the kingdom and its parts.” There has been greater activity
in the air during the last few weeks than at any time since the Italian air mission
arrived, but it is the beginning of the financial year, and it is unlikely that petrol
will be provided later in the year with the relative liberality with which it is
supplied now. Whether the Italian Government can properly continue to provide
an air mission at their expense if the Anglo-Italian Agreement comes into force
is a matter of interpretation. To provide an officer and about eight mechanics,
all drawing overseas allowances, and to change the mechanics every six months
•or so, must cost the Italian Government a considerable sum, and, as I have
suggested before, it is for consideration whether the effect of this arrangement is
not the acquisition of a privileged position of a political character. On the other
hand, what of the rights which the Iraqi Government wish to be free to exercise
under the Treaty of Arab Brotherhood and Alliance, not to mention a suggestion
that, has recently been made, that the activities of the British Council should
be extended to Saudi Arabia ?
9. I am sending copies of this despatch to His Majesty’s Ambassadors at
Cairo and Bagdad, and to his Excellency the High Commissioner for Palestine
at Jerusalem.
I have, &c.
R. BULLARD.