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Coll 5/73 ‘Afghan Air Force: Reports on’ [137r] (273/431)
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.
r
REPORT CI T rHI] .aFGH/V' AIR FCHC3
FCR TII5 P3RIQD 13T AUGU3T TO 3lbT OGTQBPR. 1942
1
srrPL
1343
^V-^.ry ,ttx*' j -r-■ -
^ns) Th? month ol August began with the usual int nsive practice in
xorelation flying prior to tne Independonc: Day Ravi, w which took
place on August 23rd. Practice flying was, however, som-what limit-
.a tnis year as comp red witn previous y>-rs owing to a de-sir-, to
conserve stocks of patrol.
Three squadrons of aircraft in flights of three aircraft;fl.w past
King Zanir Shah at ten- R: vi w, the s. coeisisting of 21 British Hind
aircraft and 7 Italic-* Rom .h aircraft. Th. in, was *.o marked improv -
m nt in 'Ch. standara of fematio . flying. For about s niO itn alter
the- Review practically no flying trai .mg was carried out, but ily-
r come need on Beptnnbcr 20th and from th n until the . sd of
October dgna* pilots w r . ach allowed about 20 mieu t-s flying
practice p.r fortnight.
(b) F.Ie. Luhd Ihsan iJn.-.n ( ■/. /.363) r .analend on tnn sick, list
during most of the quarter under r vmw* a.*d in tn middle- of October
after securing a r. comm me? tion for lav: from a committee of for. ign
ooctors in mabul proceeded to India for medical treatment. It is
anticipated that ne will stay in Inaia about six months.
i G.r. Luhd Hashim Khan (V.7.339) has oeen appointed officiating
I Commandant of trie Air Force during tne absence of the pormaaent
;Commandant. The British instructors report that ns has become more
(popular with his subordinates and is gradually withing tn: ir
‘CO nf id.'-nc --.
The rumours to the eff.-ct that a new permanent Commandant was to
be appointed have di d down.
(c) Ho op rations hav. been carri:-d out by the Air Force during
th r quart, r.
(d) Th, British instructors state that while th. re has been no
real improvement in effici ncy, more work has b-; an done this
quarter, and stores and spares if available ar®, now issued to them
on d rnand.
• Th: y also report that one. of th£ real wtftknessts in tne Afghan
Air Force is the lacK of an efficient system of storek.,spi,ag. This
could be put right oy securing th. scrvic s of a compete et British
K.C.O. but they fear that tne inner.nt suspicions of tne Afghans
pr- clud- the employment of any foreigner for tnis task.
expenditure on tne Afghan Air Force continues to be strictly
controlled, and tne construction of workshops on tne new Khwaja
Rawash aerodrome has bean postponed, though work on th- hangars is
proceeding.
(a) Aviation petrol arriving from India is now oeing stored in 45
gallon drums on the Snerpur aerodrome as all tne petrol storage
tanks available, are full. Paragraph 6 of tne report gives approx
imate- details of tne stocks of patrol now held. Tne British instruct-
jors nave point, d out to the Commandant of trn-; Air Force that a
frequest turn over of the stocks of aviation p trcl hold is necessary
Jin order to pr vent dot ricration in tn. quality of tn petrol, out
I tW action nas Dee:* tak-n on tn ir advice.
(f) b qu dr o n- L e a d o r B.D. biggin ton, R.A.F., arriv d in Kabul from
C .glana on 13tn iUgust ned took over tne duties of pilot instructor
to tne Afgnar. ir Force on 17tn ugust. He nas been- engaged for a
period o f o n.- y< a r.
(g) .ppendix !, A n to tnis report gives the number and condition of
aircraft, and the numoor of trained or partly trai .ed pilots in the
Af gn oh Air Force on 31st Octob.r, 1942.
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’ [137r] (273/431), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2034, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038334405.0x00004a> [accessed 13 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