![Coll 5/39 ‘Flights of RAF aeroplanes to Gilgit; flights of foreign aircraft over Gilgit and Chitral’ [‎79r] (157/409)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x000213/IOR_L_PS_12_1993_0160.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Coll 5/39 ‘Flights of RAF aeroplanes to Gilgit; flights of foreign aircraft over Gilgit and Chitral’ [‎79r] (157/409)")
Coll 5/39 ‘Flights of RAF aeroplanes to Gilgit; flights of foreign aircraft over Gilgit and Chitral’ [79r] (157/409)
The record is made up of 1 file (204 folios). It was created in 28 Dec 1932-9 Jun 1938. It was written in English. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Secr et.
Copy of letter No. 144-S of 1936, dated Gilgit,
the 30th October 1936, from the Political ngent, Gilgit,
to the Assistant to the Resident in Kashmir, Srinagar.
Foreign axid: aircraft flying over
the Gilgit
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
.
I have the honour to refer to your endorsement No.
D.597-0/36, dated the 30th September 1936, on the above
mentioned subject.
2. It has now been possible to collate the various reports
and in view of the importance of the subject they have been
examined in detail. It will be convenient to refer to the
1/1,000,000 map as well as to the quarter inch sheets. The
first report of foreign aircraft flying in this
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
was
received by the Governor of Ishkoman on July 29th 1936. He
was informed by some Wakhis that early in July one machine
entered Wakhan from the direction of the Baroghil |i Pass,
flew from Sarhad-i-Wakhan towards the Taghdambash Pamirs and
returned the same way.
On August 7th 1936, a report was received from the
Governor of Yasin that about the middle of July one machine
came from the direction of Badakhshan and flew over Wakhan and
the Pamirs and returned the same way. It is reported to have
been seen by ’‘all the people of Wakhan and the Pamirs’*.
On August 11th 1936, a report was received from the
Mir of Hunza to the effect that on August 9th four men who were
sitting on the roof of their house at Kamaresh, one mile west
of Gulmit (Map 42 L square 3/D) saw two machines flying low
from the direction of the Gulmit Nullah. They disappeared in
the direction of Gulkhin, a mile and a half north of Gulmit.
The time was a little before sunset. The following day a man
found a skein of thread and a parcel in his garden at Gulmit.
The third day, August 11th, yet another man saw tv/o aircraft
in the same place and flying in the same direction i.e.
towards Gulkhin. A week before these events two men of Mayunj
(H i- A Oq/j-a-xA 3 /s> ^ to I'aJLcntrf' ^ ML*.
^/Nullah when they saw two aircraft flying at a great height
towards Baltit(Hunza). The Mir states that both these men
have seen aircraft on previous occasions both at Gilgit and
when a flight was made over Baltit in 1932. The Mir states
that
About this item
- Content
The file is concerned with aviation in Gilgit, Hunza, Mir, and the surrounding area. It primarily covers three topics.
The first topic is the matter of annual Royal Air Force (RAF) flights to Gilgit over the Himalayas in 1932, 1934, 1935, and 1936. It includes a report on the 1934 flight (see folios 132-141), a report on the 1935 flight (see folios 114-129), and a memorandum on proposals for the 1936 flight (see folios 106-107). A couple of sketch maps have been included to accompany these reports: see folios 104 and 117. Forty-five aerial photographic prints from the flight in November 1934 have also been included: see folios 159-203. Press excerpts of coverage of the first flight over the Himalayas in November 1932 can be found towards the back of the file: cuttings from The Times, 28 December 1932 (folios 151-154); The Times of India Mail Edition, 1932 (folio 146); The Near East and India, 19 January 1932 (folio 145); and the Birmingham Post, 18 January 1933 (folio 144). It also includes a report of the visit by Air Marshall Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt to Gilgit between 21 and 24 October 1936: see folios 98-99.
The second topic is reports of violations of the northern frontier of British India by foreign – mainly German and Russian – aircraft. Correspondence in the file documents investigations into these reports and subsequent action taken.
The third topic is a reconnaissance of the Hunza Valley in 1937 to identify a site for a landing ground, the selection of Pasu, and the postponement of the project by the Government of India.
The main correspondents are as follows: officials of the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India (External Affairs Department from 1937), 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. at Kashmir, 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 Gilgit, HM Consul General at Kashgar, and HM Minister at Kabul. Only occasional reference is made to 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. in London.
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 (204 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file. An envelope containing photographic prints has been filed at the rear of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 205; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Folio 158 was a conservation box, which was removed when the photographic prints (ff 159-203) were rehoused in polyester sheets. Folio number 158 is therefore no longer used.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 5/39 ‘Flights of RAF aeroplanes to Gilgit; flights of foreign aircraft over Gilgit and Chitral’ [79r] (157/409), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/1993, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036540747.0x0000a0> [accessed 19 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/1993
- Title
- Coll 5/39 ‘Flights of RAF aeroplanes to Gilgit; flights of foreign aircraft over Gilgit and Chitral’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:103v, 105r:116v, 118r:143v, 147r:150v, 155r:157v, 204r:205v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence