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Coll 5/73 ‘Afghan Air Force: Reports on’ [69r] (137/431)
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.
-Arp. 1 (::) contcU
XXX •
4
Tne present privets Russian air service froiii Tashkent
to Kabul nas toe use of tne Siierpur airfield for its
aircraft wnich noxmaliy make the journey every 10 or 14 oays.
Recently the obsolete P.5 aircraft on this service nas been
making the trip less frequently, and according to rumour tne
Russians intend to place a Douglas C.3. aircraft into
commission and use the Khwaja Ra.wash airfield. Tne i.fgnan
Govt do not at present allow Russian aircraft to purchase
aviation petrol from them or permit aircraft to land
places other tioa.n Ka.bul or allow the Russians to maintain
ground staffs in Ka.bul or elsewhere. The whole object of | r
the Afghan Govt being apparently to keep the Russians in tne
air since they fea.r that the establishment of grouna stalls
at Mazar-i-Sharif, Kha.nabad or Ka^bul would lead to a^ spread
of Russian propaganda and communistic doctrines in^the country
Whatever'developments do eventually occur in the
field of civil a.via.tion in Afghanistan they cannot be witnout
some effect on the Afghan air force. Should for example an
American, British. French or Italian controJ-led civil otir
service be established from V/est to East it will involve
the nuaintenance of grouno. sta.ffs, workshops, radio location
and W/T instaJ-lations etc. at places like Herat, Kanaanai ^
or Kabul and one country providing these facilities for civil
aviation would gradually a.cquire an influence in one Afghan
air force through tne presence in toe country of its aircraxt,
]j ground personneh*workshops ano insta.llations etc.
i There would also oe a tendency foi' Afgha-nistan to purchase
her military aircraft from the country which provides her
with a civil air service or is jointly concerned with the
Afghan Govt in providing such a service. All existing
airfields in Afghanistan are controlled by the Ministry ox
Defence, and there are no airfields allotted to civil use
at present.
Append!* A. to this report gives the number and
condition of aircraft and the number of tra.ined or partly
trained pilots in the Afghan Air Force on 31st October 1944*
Hin d S quadro ns..
(a) Flying hours . e . ^ n -
Since the Independence Generations at the enu or
July flying training has been deduced zo a minimum.
Pilot: have been limited to 3 or 4 short flights each of
10 to 15 minutes duration per month.
(b) Sta ndard of flying efficiency. . ,
There has been no improvement owing to the drastic
curtailment of f3.ying training.
(c) Operations. . ^
No active operations nave been carried out ? but*
the following reconnaissance flights were made during
tne quarter:- ^ ^
(l) Xbvo Hind aircraft from Ka.bul proceeded to Knost
on 28tn August. One aircraft returned after two houis,
a.na txie otxier force landed at katun owing to oil lea.king
from Xhe exiiaust pipes due to bad maintenance.
(11)Two Hind aircraft flew to Khost on 29th August
with spares for the aircraft which force landed at Matun
on the previous day. These aircraft plus the one wiiich
he.d force landed^returned to Ka.bul at 4 pm on the same day.
(Ill) On 9th October two Hind aircraft from Kabul
visited Khost and returned the same day after an absence
of two hours.
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’ [69r] (137/431), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2034, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038334404.0x00008a> [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