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Coll 5/11 ‘Air Route to India: Arab Coast Route – Emergency Landing Ground at Qatar’ [142v] (284/345)
The record is made up of 1 file (171 folios). It was created in 30 May 1932-16 Jul 1934. 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.
f ■ ' v '—'—^ —•
H
ItohaKt On the other hand they point out that an
emergency landing ground at Dohak might he of value
in the event of forced landings or other difficulties
on the civil route.
2.. The Government of India
•K.
accept the Resident’s recommendations as to the quid
pro quo to he given to the Sheikh of Qatar if H.M.G.
are satisfied that this emergency landing ground is
required, as to the necessity for vhich we must, I
think, he guided hy the Air Ministry. Accepting thei:
view that it is necessary from the strategical point
of view and potentially useful from that of the civil
air route, the quid pro quo recommended hy Sir Hugh
Biscoe is set out in paragraph 5 of his despatch of
7th June. The Sheikh is to agree to allow us to
establish an emergency landing ground on the site
selected, to put down the necessary landing marks, and
to provide transport on payment for the carriage of 12 b
requisite material. We in return are to undertake to
support his authority within the town of Dohafr should
these measures bring upon him the hostility of his
relations or people. In the last resort we may agree
to grant him in the same circumstances our support,
"along th e coast 11 and not merely within Dohak itself.
No guarantee of succession is to be given.
3. Sir Hugh Biscoe was of opinion that as a
practical issue a promise of support of this nature
would be unlikely ever to involve us in any action
and that the Sheikh would regard our letter much more
as a safeguard against being murdered than anything
else/
■
p Zi 3S
About this item
- Content
The file contains correspondence, memoranda, and reports relating to two topics. The first topic is an attempt by the British Government to obtain permission for an emergency landing ground in Qatar during 1932. The second topic relates to the air facilities needed by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Qatar, if an offer of British protection is to be made to the Shaikh of Qatar in return for an oil concession for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC). In respect of this second topic, the file also contains material regarding a reconnaissance undertaken by the Royal Air Force over Qatar on the 9 May 1934 to identify suitable sites for such facilities. It includes a copy of a report on the reconnaissance – submitted by Bomber Squadron No 84, Shaibah, Iraq – on folios 27-32, along with a tracing of Qatar (folio 7) and a number of aerial photographs (folios 8-22) referenced in the report.
A draft copy of the Qatar Oil Concession can be found on folios 93-101, and notes of amendments proposed by the British Government can be found on folios 80-89. In addition, a number of 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. memoranda have also been included towards the back of the file: El Qatar, 1908-16 (folio 167), The Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. Chiefs, 1908-28 (folios 168-71), and a Précis of the Treaties and Engagements between the British Government and the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (folios 164-67).
The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Trenchard Craven William Fowle), the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, officials of the Air Ministry, and officials of the 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. .
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 (171 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 commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 173; 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 5/11 ‘Air Route to India: Arab Coast Route – Emergency Landing Ground at Qatar’ [142v] (284/345), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/1956, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100040867673.0x000057> [accessed 13 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/1956
- Title
- Coll 5/11 ‘Air Route to India: Arab Coast Route – Emergency Landing Ground at Qatar’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:6v, 23r:92v, 102r:172v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence