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Coll 5/73 ‘Afghan Air Force: Reports on’ [145r] (289/431)
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
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REPORT ON THE AFGHAN AIB FORCE
FOR THE PERIOD 1st H/IAY to~~3lst JULY,1942.
!• General *
(a) The Comdt of the Air Force F.M. Muhd Ihsan Khan (W.W.363) has
rejnained on the sick list during most of the quarter, and is still
"si .. G.M. Muhd Hashim Khan (V.Y/.339) , Air staff Officer has been in
charge of the Air Force during the absence of the Comdt. The latter,
however, is unpopular with his subordinates and lacks influence and
the qualities of a commander. There has therefore been a slight
general decrease in efficiency during the period under review.
Should F.M. Muhd Ihsan f s health not improve in the near future it is
considered that a new Comdt will be appointed, and rumour has it that
either F.M. Muhd Daud Khan (W.W.238) or F.M. Asadullah Khan (W.W.199)
will take his place.
(b) G.M. Ghulam Dastagir Khan (W.W.271) , the officer in charge of the
workshops of the Air Force, has been appointed Director of the Kabul
Arsenal, and left the Air Force. The British instructors regret the
departure of this officer as he has always proved helpful to them.
(c) Flying by Afghan pilots in squadrons has been limited to a n
hour per pilot per week. There are no pupils under training in the
Flying Training School, and backward pilots who passed out of the
school last year have had no flying training during the last 40 days
of the quarter. There has therefore been a slight all-round decrease
in flying efficiency due to lack of practice.
(d) No operations have been carried out by the Air Force during the
quarter under review.
(e) Aviation petrol is now arriving from India, and recent receipts
have been immediately utilized to re-fuel aircraft on the Sherpur
aerodrome, as storage tanks available are believed to be full.
Supplies of aviation petrol from India were considerably curtailed
during May and June, and for a short period no supplies were delivered.
It is understood short deliveries of the quote, of aviation petrol will
be supplied in the near future.
1 (f) Expenditure on the Afghan Air Force is still being strictly con
trolled, but against this has to be set a report from a Swiss engineer
to the effect that designs for workshops and other buildings on the
Khwaja Rawash aerodrome have been rejected on the grounds that they
are not on a sufficiently grand scale.
(g) Ah accident to a Romeo aircraft on the Sherpur aerodrome on June
28th resulted in the complete loss of the aircraft, and the deaths of
the Afghan pilot and mechanic.
(h) Squadron-Leader G.W. M. N. Neman, R.A.F., pilot instructor
attached to the Afghan Air Force, left Kabul on 19th July after the
completion of his years f contract. The Afghan Government have
I accepted the services of Squadron-Leader Wiggington, R.A.F., as pilot
instructor on similar terms for a further year, and he is now on his
way to Kabul from England.
(i) Appendix "A" to this report gives the number and condition of
aircraft, and the number of trained or partly trained pilots in the
Afghan Air Force on the 31st July, 1942.
f
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’ [145r] (289/431), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2034, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038334405.0x00005a> [accessed 7 April 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