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Coll 5/73 ‘Afghan Air Force: Reports on’ [62r] (123/431)
The record is made up of 1 file (214 folios). It was created in 14 Jun 1938-30 Dec 1947. It was written in English. The original is part of the 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Para 9 Cent cl
Page 60
K.M. Abiur Ra.zaq Khan who accompanied the Afghan Military
- Mission on its tour in India in January and February has given
air force officers e. series of lectures in the course of which
he described and gave praise to the elaborate arrangements
made by the IUA.F* and the American air force for the repa.ir
and maintenance of their aircraft. The American air transport
^ service in India also came in for a certain amount of
appreciation©
Afghan officers have continued to talk of th%ir desire
Lpuybosc to purchase trainer aircraft, and some type of General/Saxvia®
aircraft to replace the obsolete Hinds, Romeos and Brodas#
The Tiger Moth receives most attention as a suitable trainer
aircraft, and the Harvard, Hurricane and the Fa.iry Firefly
are mentioned as possible types for th« G,P. aircraft required
to meet Afghan requirements c °f
10, British Inotiuctors,
Mr, H. Bradleyn Messrs Hawkers fitter and rigger instruct
or who has been employed by the Afghan Govt since December
1937 was 'dismissed for disciplinary reasons in April and loft
Kabul for India on route to England on April 22nd* Mr, Bradley
had had differences of opinion with Sqdn, Leader B,M, King
during the winter months, and on March 8th this culminated
in an unprovoked assault on S/L King in a hanger on the
Shejrpur airfield in the presence of Afghan officers and
mochanics, S/L King was rendered unconscious, and after
regaining consciousness was then thrown out of the hanger by
Mr, Bradley, The affair was reported to the Legation by
both sides, and the case was taken up with the Ministry of
Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs who decided to suspend
Mr, Bradley pending further investigation and report by the
Afghan air force authorities- As is usual in such cases in
Eastern countries the Afghan authorities included a number
of other charges against Mr© Bradley in their report on this
affair, and the Ministry of Defence and Ministry for Foreign
Affa.irs wore advised by the Legation to confine their
enquiries to this particular incident and , oo let the Legation
know wha.t auction they proposed to take regarding the affair.
The Ministry of Defence decided that Mr. Bradley had committed
a serious offence which, had the assault bpen mo.de on an
Afghan officer, would have resulted in his being sentenced
to several years imprisonments Later the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs intimated- that they had decided to dismiss
Mr, Bradley for disciplinary reasons ? but tpat in view of .his
past good record and valuable services he would be given the
cost of a passage to England and pay for a certain period*
Mr, Bradley was eventually given 3 months pay in lieu of
notice. This incident was hushed up as far as possible and
both S/L King and Mr, Bradley were warned that no mention
of the affair was to be made to foreigners in Kabul* These
efforts were successful and there was remarkable little talk
about the incident amongst foreigners, and British prestige
does not appear to have suffered,, The affair did however arouse
a great deal of comment amongst Afghan air force personnel*
and suggestions were made by Afghan air force officers that,
the air force was now.capable of maintaining its aircraft
without the assistance of foreigners, particularly quarrelsome
ones. This is certainly not the case, and it is believed that
these a.ir force officers Have since realised that they ca.nnot
do without the help of foreign instructors. It is therefore
hoped that British prestige in the Afghan air force • which
has ^always been higa, will not be affected by this unfortumte
incident* Signs tha.t this is the ca.se are borne out by a
request by the Afghan Govt for a replacement for Mr, Bradley
from England,, and. ah enquiry from the Comdt. of the Air Force
as to whether an observer from the R, A. F. could be made a mil-
able fpr a, period of two yeans a.s an instructor in the Afghan
air force, and if so what salary he would require.
About this item
- Content
The file contains periodical reports by the British Military Attaché at Kabul (Colonel Alexander Stalker Lancaster) on the Afghan Air Force, they cover the period 1 March 1938 to 31 October 1947. There is a gap for the period 2 May 1938 to 31 October 1940 for which no reports are present in the file.
The reports cover a range of topics such as training flights, operations conducted, condition of aircraft, accidents, maintenance work, availability of spares, petrol stores, ground facilities, administrative or political developments, and any proposals for the purchase of additional aircraft. The reports also cover the positions of the British Instructors at Kabul relative to their Italian counterparts, and indicate the progress made in training Afghan students.
The file includes a report by Squadron Leader Reid (see folios 22-23) on his testing of the Avro Anson XIX, and a report by Squadron Leader B P King on his testing of the de Havilland Tiger Moth (see folios 82-83), for service in Afghanistan.
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.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (214 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 215; 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.
A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 5/73 ‘Afghan Air Force: Reports on’ [62r] (123/431), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2034, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038334404.0x00007c> [accessed 26 March 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2034
- Title
- Coll 5/73 ‘Afghan Air Force: Reports on’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:215v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence