Coll 5/8 ‘Persia: Development of Commercial Aviation — Junkers Air Service’ [‎108v] (216/571)

forthcoming visit of a French military air squadron to Tehran will in reality be
an exercise planned without any such ulterior motive. It is certain that the
Shah has a prejudice against French aviation owing to the failure of the last
French air mission, and Herr Weil, who estimates his own chances of securing
a renewal of the contract at a little over 50 per cent., is of the opinion that if he
should fail, the windfall is more likely to be secured by an Italian firm than by a
French one.
5. I am sending copies of this despatch, with its enclosure, to the Foreign
Secretary to the Government of India and to His Majesty’s Acting High
Commissioner for Iraq.
< I have, &c.
CHARLES DODD.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Extract from the “ Ittild-dt ” of August 2, 1931
(Translation.)
The Junkers Contract.
THE prospective renewal of the contract granted by the Government to the
Junkers Company gives us occasion to set forth our views on this question. We
hope that the authorities will receive them in the same impartial and unbiased
spirit in which they are given : —
Desiring to introduce all the latest improvements into the country, the
Government took steps to create a system of aerial posts in Persia. This gave rise
to a competition between French and German aviation companies, which was won
in Bahman 1304 by the Germans, who offered the best terms.
Those who had the progress of Persia at heart welcomed this event, and the
papers described the inauguration of an aerial post as a useful step in the
advancement of the new Persia. The concession was granted for five years, and
it will therefore come to an end in Bahman of this year (sometime in February
1932). It may be as well, at this stage, briefly to review the history of this
concession, in order to ascertain whether the contracting company has fulfilled
its contractual obligations and to determine whether the renewal of its contract is
genuinely in the advantage of Persia. Before proceeding to answer these
questions we must give the directors of the company their due and testify to
their proficiency and technical and scientific qualifications. They have done
much to gain the public confidence, and their aeroplanes have suffered hardly a
casualty. We do not therefore wish to call in question the safety, comfort, speed
or solidity of their machines. We are also glad to be able to say that notwith
standing the hot climate of our country and its peculiar meteorological conditions,
their aeroplanes have fully proved their worth so that the various types of
accident so frequent, even in Europe, have seldom occurred in this country.
Having said this, we must, however, state that where its own advantage was
not concerned the contracting company has seldom stopped to consider the vital
interests of this country in matters to which we attach the utmost importance, and
this, though the Persian Government have always taken great care to safeguard
the company's interests, and have even gone so far as to exempt the petrol and
lubricating oil used by the company from customs dues.
The company undertook by virtue of section (c) of article 8 of the
concession—
To establish a technical aviation school and import instructional
aeroplanes for the training of Persian pilots and mechanics.
Section (d) of the same article runs : —
The admission by the company into its various institutions of two
Persian students at a time, throughout the period of the contract, for
instruction at the expense of the company in all branches of aviation.
Section (/) of the same article
The formation of a Persian aviation company in accordance with
Persian law.