Coll 28/97(1) ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries.’ [‎44v] (88/807)

7. Communications.
(a) Railways. —The southern section of the Trans-Iranian Railway from
Tehran has reached the station of Pul situated only ten miles from Qum.
(b) Roads. —Reconstruction of the road Maragheh-Balghabad (million
sheet 1 , square 3 C) is in progress. This is part of a larger scheme to join
Maragheh with Mianeh (Mianej) on the main Tehran-Tabriz road.
8 . Quarantine.
Owing to the existence of plague in India, the Iranian Government has
imposed quarantine on all ships arriving at Gulf ports from India, and especially
Karachi.
9. Civil Aviation.
Reference Intelligence Summary No. 19 (current), paragraph 6 (i), the
machine which was lost has arrived in Tehran. It made a forced landing in
Khotan to carry out some quite minor engine repairs, but was delayed there for
five weeks as the local authorities refused to allow the crew to take off again in
the absence of any permit.
10. Tribal.
(i) Dashti. —The Dashti malcontents are still at large, a military force which
had gone in pursuit of them having returned without accomplishing anything.
(ii) Kuhgilu. —Unconfirmed reports from Shiraz and Ahwaz state that the
Boir Ahmadi tribesmen in revolt against the Iranian Government number 15,000,
that heavy casualties (according to one rumour as unbelievably heavy as thirty-
four officers and 2,000 other ranks killed) have been suffered by the Government
troops, and that reinforcements to a total of 1,500 have been sent in commandeered
lorries from Shiraz, Shuster and Dizful, and 3,000 from Ahwaz to Behbehan
where a tribal attack resulted in the death of the governor and casualties to the
garrison.
(iii) Khamseh. —There is also a vague rumour of unrest among the Khamseh
of Lar, where attacks on gendarmerie posts have been made.
11. Iranian Air Force.
(i) Reference Intelligence Summary No. 19 (current), paragraph 5 . For
Pegasus " read “ Mercury VIII.”
(ii) It is understood that the Iranian Government have placed an order with
the Gloster Aircraft Company (Limited) for twenty-five Gloster “Gladiator”
single-seater fighter biplanes (Bristol “Mercury VI” engine). These are in
addition to the thirty-five “ Hind ” machines now on order from Messrs. Hawkers.
(iii) The five Hawker airframes now under construction at the Iranian air
craft factory An East India Company trading post. , Doshanteppeh, are expected to be completed by March 1938. Five
de Havilland airframes have been completed and engines erected, but these
machines have not been air tested up to date.
(iv) Bomb-dropping practice (with dummy bombs) was carried out by the
Iranian Air Force on the 2 nd, 4th and 6 th October about 50 miles north of the
capital. Eighteen “ Furies ” and twelve “ Audax ” took part each day. It is
reported that from an altitude of 2,000 metres some of the bombs dropped within
12 metres of the target.
(v) During September two “ Tiger-Moth ” aeroplanes were badly damaged
(but not irreparably so) on landing at the Mehrabad military aerodrome, the
pilots of both machines escaped serious injury.
12 . Military Publications.
Issue No. 9, Vol. I, of the Piyada Nizam (Infantry Journal) contains nothing
of interest to the General Staff, though there is a highly diverting article on
“ The superiority of the Iranian in markmanship,” with quotations from the
Shahnameh in support of the contention.
G. D. PYBUS, Lieut.-Colonel,
Military Attache.
Tehran, October 9, 1937.