مجموعة ٥/١٣ "أفغانستان: تقرير عن حالة سلاح الجو الأفغاني" [و‎‎٤‎٠] (١٠٦/٧٩)

tlie Ay'an Air Force. Indeed the pilot is now Chief of the Air Force, though aged ^,*>-(7)
only 2o and reported to be of doubtful efficiency. “17
. The Afghan Government-in May 1U24 expressed a desire to send Afghans for
flying training to India. The question Was again mentioned at the interviews
between the King and Wing-Commander Johnston, who brought the two British
Bristol Fighters to Kabul, but postponed for further discussion. It was stated by
the Air Ministry (June 1924) that the flying training of Afghan youths in India was
not possible at present and must be entirely regulated by the decision of the Indian
Government with regard to the flying training of Indians, for which no facilities had
been pr added. In a subsequent letter of 28th June the Air Ministry suggested the
possibility of providing flying training for a small number of Afghans in Egypt. jG
But the estimated cost of £4 a day for pilots compared so unfavourably with the
Russian charge, reported to be 800 francs gold per man for the whole course, that
the suggestion was not pursued.
In April 1925,20 Afghan youths were reported to have been sent to Tashkent, and
ultimately to Moscow, for training. The Afghan Minister at Moscow is reported to
have informed Sir R. Hodgson recently that these cadets have become demoralised
during their stay in Russia, and have not yet learnt to fly. The King was reported in
April 1925 to contemplate the construction of an aerodrome at Jalalabad, where a
training school could be established under Russian supervision. Though there is
now reported to be an aerodrome at Jalalabad, Russian flying personnel are not at
present being employed there. There is no evidence of any immediate prospect of
Afghans being trained to fly in Afghanistan.
Supply of Stores and Spare Parts.
When the purchase of British machines was discussed in 1924 the Afghan
Government did not propose to instal workshops for maintenance at Kabul, but)to
obtain spare parts from India. A list of spare parts required by the Afghan
Government 'was sent to India, but apparently purchase was not carried through.
The Afghan Government later negotiated the purchase from a Karachi syndicate,
together with four derelict aeroplanes, of certain spare engines and parts. These
machines, though ordered in September 1924, were not delivered until August 1920,
having been stored at Peshawar for over a year. In August 1925 information reached
Sir F. Humphrys that, o.ving to the difficulty experienced in Afghanistan in obtaining
a high grade of petrol from Russia, efforts were being made to obtain it privately
from India through the motor mechanic in Peshawar in charge of the four Karachi
aeroplanes. He therefore suggested that it should be considered whether import
from India of aviation spirit and aeroplane spares into Afghanistan should be
permitted through other than official channels. The question was considered
by Mis Majesty’s Government in connection with other measures to check Russian
penetration which are mentioned later in this note. It was considered, generally
speaking, desirable to facilitate supply of such articles from a British source.
Since, however, Russians using them would naturally wish to discredit them,
it was recommended either not to supply from Government stocks or to indicate
to the Afghan Government that British technical supplies could not be expected
to work efficiently in Russian hands. Sir F. Humphrys reported in February 1926
that the Afghan Air Force was immobilised through lack of aviation spirit. He
pressed that supplies of articles required only for military aeroplanes in Afghanistan
should be controlled, as munitions, under the Anglo-Afghan Treaty or the Indian
Aircraft Act. Either alternative appeared to His Majesty’s Government to offer
considerable technical difficulties. Meanwhile a further supply of material was
asked for by the Afghan Foreign Minister in July 1926, and Sir F. Humphrys was
authorised to explain the difficulty ol agreeing to supply such material for a force
manned by Bolsheviks In September 1926 the Government ol India, in order to
prevent uncontrolled private sales of aircraft to Afghans or Russians, prohibited aircraft
and aircraft parts being brought by lap l or flown into the frontier districts, except under
licence. A report was received by Sir F. Humphrys in September 1926, through the
Indian pilot, Mr. Patwardhan, that aviation spirit and aircraft spares were then being
procured from Russia, but that owing to lack of repair shops in Kabul great difficulty
was being experienced in keeping machines in order.
idi ^
Q
Aerodromes and Flying Activity.
In Weekly Reports received since 1921 from the British Military Attache, a certain
amouut of regular practice flying by the D.H. 9a’s and D.H. 9’s received from Russia
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