Coll 7/37 'Afghanistan: sale of 25,000 1914 pattern rifles from War Office stocks and 7 million rounds of ammunition from Government of India stocks; negotiations with Afghan Government' [‎117v] (234/1201)

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corroded rifle for exchange, due regard was paid to the possibility of exchanging
the bolt or other parts of the rifle in lieu of the whole rifle. 1 his procedure reduced
the total number of rifles for complete replacement, but increased the number of
bolts, magazine covers, trigger guards, etc. for which the Afghan Government pro
pose to ask for replacements. In no case has the replacement of a corroded rme r
or part of a rifle been recommended unless in my opinion and that of Mr. Rees,
the rifle or its component is so badly damaged as to affect its future serviceability.
6. All the rifles for which replacements are recommended bore one of the
examiner’s marks shown in the list supplied by the War Office, London, forwarded
to this Legation under covering letter No. 5C12 dated 1st September, 1937, from 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. , London.
7. On the completion of the examination of the whole consignment of 25,000
rifles the separate lists of all defects and damages prepared by the Afghan ordnance
authorities, and by me, were checked, and found to agree in every respect. The
Afghan Chief Ordnance Officer then informed me that he would forward an official
request through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to this Legation for the replace
ment of all rifles, split woodwork, and defective or damaged components shown in
the above lists. I suggested to him that he should if possible retain in store all
the rifles and major components for which replacements would be requested so as
to facilitate any necessary future examination, or an eventual exchange should
His Majesty’s Government agree to their request. This he promised to do, but
stated that in the case of split woodwork and other defective minor components
this procedure could not be adopted as they wished to utilize as many of the rifles as
possible.
8. In Appendix “ A ” attached to this report I have given a list of 123 rifles
which are badly corroded and for which complete replacement is likely to be
requested by the Afghan Government. The list includes the 45 rifles already re
ported in Kabul Despatch No. 94 dated 2nd September, 1937. The numbers of
the rifles and examiner’s marFliave also been given in order to facilitate any neces
sary check by the issuing authorities. Appendix “ B ” contains a list of rifle bolts
for which the Afghan Government intend to ask for replacements. The numbers
of the bolts have been given. Appendix “ C ” gives a list of the number of defec
tive or missing components and split woodwork for which the Afghan Government
propose to request replacement. The list includes the defects and deficiencies
given in paragraph 2 and the annexure to Kabul Despatch No. 94, dated 2nd Sep
tember, 1937. The above appendices contain the total number of rifles, and their
components in the whole consignment of 25,000 rifles in respect of which the Afghan
Government intend to ask for replacements.
9. It is suggested that, should His Majesty’s Government be prepared to agree
to the replacement of the defective rifles and components shown in Appendices
‘ A ’, ‘ B ’ and ‘ C ’ below, the earliest possible steps be taken to carry out the
transaction, as the Afghan Ordnance officers have frequently referred to their
desire to re-arm units of the Afghan Army with a more serviceable rifle, and to the
disappointment of the Ministry of Defence when it was found that some 2,000 of
these rifles could not be issued owing to one defect or another. They also stated
that had the rifles been supplied by a country other than Great Britain they would
have suspected a serious breach of faith, and probably have refused to accept a
considerable number of the rifles. As the matter stands they attribute the split
woodwork to faulty packing in England, and the excessive number of corroded
rifles to either a somewhat hasty inspection of rifles which have been in store for
some years or to contact with sea water during shipment from England to Karachi.
A speedy replacement of the damaged and defective rifles and components would in
my opinion go far in dispelling any unfortunate effects the transaction has caused.