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Coll 5/20 ‘Air Route to India – Arab Coast Secn: Negotiations with Trucial Sheikhs’ [‎103r] (216/1290)

The record is made up of 1 file (636 folios). It was created in 17 Feb 1932-6 May 1940. It was written in English, Arabic and French. 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. .

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2
y\
y 1
r r. 3«rtrft") rata that when ,
Imperial Alrways hafl always oroasoa tb->' extre-- J88lt
Peninsula. They now propoae to eroee it ?*< ,
Ilhhah. The filetanoe from Raa-el-shalmah to MhhnK 7 iChal !? ah to
20 miles or so, an« there was, therefore he h 1* only about
foroea landing on this oroselAg w!tS f •
If all four engines were stooped, the gliding angle o° the’ f 1 ® 0 ®!*
would enable it to reaoh the ooaet. 8 8 the alr °raft
Mj .^althwalte said that this Information renewed +h.
position so far tS 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. were ooneerned and he thought
that. In the circumstances and on condition that fll.-hte
south were not attempted, 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. could probably a^« te
the oroeoing from Kaa-ol-Khalmah to Blbbah. 7 gr “* t#
hi the question of the flight of foreign aircraft on this
route, Iggtram mentioned that, aooor<Jing to fr®Fg report* the
Per®i«tt GoTerament had granted the Dutch an extension the permit
for operation on the Perataa eide of the Qulf. An extension frow
^onth to ^onth was also being granted to the french. It appeared
therefore, only neoeeeary to think In tar™ of British aircraft so’
far as the Arab route was concerned.
’; f y » tbga_l te said that If foreign aircraft did, later
on, desire to" fly the Arab route, our ro alt ion would he eased if
Imperial Airways were using th© ncafchern route (Bas-el-^haimah -
Plbbate) across the ieninsula.
< 4 ^- Aing; aommander -‘oGlau^hry said that, no far as the
fiwnufw of passengers was oonoerned , even the southern route was.
in his opinion, preferable to the sea route; but Mr. lalthw&ite
emphasised the absence of effective control in areas away froia" the
ooast and said that 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. must press for the risk of
accidents over the Peninsula to be reduced to the absolute minimum.
In answer to an enquiry by & In# Qommandor Modaughr:
whether it was the Shlhus who were feared, %fr. Daithwalte sai«
it was not necessarily the dhihus but any wandering Bedouin.
^ Ing Commander H !cO 1 auKhry also said that we had little
fear of incicents' even 1 ?'a forced landIng did occur, and drew
at taut ion to the recent 3 ur operations, pointing out that we could
deal equally effectively with any similar incidents in future,
perhaps with the co-operation of the Davy, but that there was no
question of troops being required. He mentioned that b.A.}. air
craft, including flying boats, had flown across the Peninsula * or
some years.
aITw Dalthwalte agreed that the question of the ■ *-ight Oa
E.A*F. aircrafFacrosstfee Peninsula oould be left for 1 ho present,
and that if 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. thought it necessary they wouio raise
the question separately.
It was agreed that 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. should QOfu
possibility of assenting to the proposal that imperial ^irways
should fly the Eas-el-Khaimah - Bibbato route, subject to revie ^
later on when the question of using the southern rout ? g
Kalba) oould be again discussed in the light of experience.
It was suggested that th© position might ^ ^
other sheikhs becoming envious when they obsorveF _ . t ion of
advantages accruing to the 3 heikh of Shargah ‘ ro ^. at tltude
the service over his territory. the change in their attitude
would, however, be gradual.
fh© question of an emergency refuelling stntion at Kalb
was then discussed.

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Content

The file is largely made up of correspondence, with occasional internal 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. notes, and records of inter-departmental meetings. The subject matter is the establishment of an aerodrome on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. to facilitate the transfer of Imperial Airways' Europe-India route from Southern Persia to the Arabian Coast. There is some material related to the selection of a suitable site. However, much of the file is concerned with negotiations with Shaikh Sultan bin Saqar, Ruler of Sharjah; Sharjah was selected by British officials as the most promising site for a landing ground. The file therefore contains a number of reports on the political situation at Sharjah, the progress of negotiations, and discussion over terms and conditions. A copy of the final agreement can be found on folios 225-228.

The agreement with the Shaikh of Sharjah provided for the construction of a rest house to be owned by the Shaikh but rented by Imperial Airways. The file therefore includes discussion relating to arrangements for the financing and construction of the rest house. There is also a detailed consideration of the measures needed to ensure its security, and measures to be taken by British forces in the event of an attack on the facility: see folios 18-27 for a copy of the Sharjah Defence Scheme .

The file also contains discussion between British officials over their response to the following two proposals submitted by the Government of the Netherlands: a proposal for Anglo-Dutch-French co-operative partnership in approaching civil aviation matters linking Europe and the Far East, with a particular view to negotiations with Persia; and a request for access to the Arab Coast air route.

In addition to the immediate response to the Netherlands Government, the file includes discussion related to how British policy over the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. should develop in response to developments in civil aviation.

Also contained within the file are a number of papers circulated by the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. These papers relate to a proposal from Imperial Airways to use landplanes along the Arabian Coast route instead of flying boats; the file contains extensive technical comparisons between the ‘Hannibal’ four engine landplane (the Handley Page H.P.42) and three engine ‘Calcutta’ flying boat (the Short S.8).

There is a limited amount of discussion, towards to front of the correspondence, over the state of British negotiations with Persia. However, this is not the focus of the file.

A couple of letters from the Government of the Netherlands are in French (see folios 296-301) and the final agreement with the Shaikh of Sharjah (folios 225-228) is in both English and Arabic. The vast majority of the file is in English.

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. (Hugh Vincent Biscoe, and later Trenchard Craven William Fowle), the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait (Harold Richard Patrick Dickson), and the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . It also includes correspondence with officials of the following governmental departments: the Admiralty, the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, 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. , and the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India.

Most of the material in the file covers the period 1932 to 1935. Only a single letter, dated 31 March 1940, falls outside this range.

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 (636 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 637; 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. An additional foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves.

Written in
English, Arabic and French in Latin and Arabic script
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Coll 5/20 ‘Air Route to India – Arab Coast Secn: Negotiations with Trucial Sheikhs’ [‎103r] (216/1290), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/1966, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100044823449.0x000011> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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