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Coll 5/13 ‘Afghanistan: Reports on condition of Afghan Air Force’ [‎40v] (80/106)

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The record is made up of 1 file (51 folios). It was created in 26 Jul 1926-5 Feb 1929. 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. .

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4
has been mentioned. In June 1926 it was reported that the average flying hours
monthly during the past year had been 15, that is to say, a monthly average of only
1 hour 40 minutes per pilot. In July 1925 a display was given near Kabul by the
Russian aviators, at which eight machines were flown, and the King, two ladies of the
Court, the ex-Amir of Bokhara and some Government officers were taken up.
Aeroplanes are regularly employed in carrying mails between Kabul and the King s
camp when His Majesty is on tour to Jalalabad and Kandahar. The timings of the^d^t
journeys are reported to average—
Kabul to Kandahar
Kabul to Jalalabad
Kabul to Tennez -
Jalalabad to Kandahar
3 hours.
50 minutes.
2 hours 40 minutes.
31 hours.
p ^ioO
The Junker monoplane recently carried the Russian Minister from Kabul to
Tashkent via Termez, and other machines have succeeded in crossino- the Hindu
Kush flying at a height of 5,000 metres. It is possible, travelling by This route t u
reach Moscow from Kabul via Tashkent in five days.
The British Military Attache reported in June 1926 that the efficiency of 'the
Russian pilots’ flying was of a high standard, though no flying in formation or
by night was attempted. More recently it has been reported that a valuable
collection of aerial photographs has been made by the Russian pilots and is
maintained at the Kabul Aerodrome.
Proposals have from time to time been under consideration for inaugurating a
regular air service between Tashkent and Kabul, although it appears doubtful if a
service on this route could be maintained on account of the Hindu Kush barrier An
aerodrome is reported to have been laid out near Herat with a view to enabling the
German Junker Company in Persia to send a machine from ’Teheran to Kabul on a
test flight. 1 he aerodrome at Herat might also serve to assist flying via Kushk and
and Kandahar Herat-Kushk, and that it is proposed to initiate regular communications
on the first of these routes with effect from 1st May 1927.
A , er u odro "' es a . re „ n 1 0 "' saK ] ‘yhay® been constructed at Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat,
Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul and .Jalalabad, while one has been laid out at Gardez and
others are projected at Faizabad and Matun.
Ihe potential value of the Afghan Air Service as a fighting force has been
variously judged. W rittng ,n June 1926, the British Military Attache considered it
to have httle value either U) as an advance squadron of a force based on Tennez
or (_) as an Afghan unit; in the latter case because the pilots would have no incentive
to take risks when employed to bomb hostile formations. He considered the force
could only be used by the Afghans against India if in open alliance with the Soviet
in which case, based on Jalalabad and Kandahar, it might in the early stages afve
trouble. It would, however, probably have to be reinforced and would then become
merged in the Russian horces. Asked by the Indian General Staff to expand these
conclusions, Major Dodd pointed out m a note of July 1926, that ( 1 ) the aerodromes
hangars &c, set up for the use of the Afghan Air Service in Afghanistan would Tn
the event of our havtng to fight Soviet Russia with Afghanistan on our side become
very useful to our own Atr force ; (2 )the absence of military training and mili arv
equipment in the Afghan horce and the presence on board of Afghan observers wo d
hamper its ethcency if it were being used against us in the event of war between s
imd the Russians with Aigliani.^tan on their side. G &
The Indian General Staff with whom the Royal Air Force in India concur dispute
Major Dodd s conclusions. 1 hey think he underrates the potential value of the Air
S'emce to Soviet Russia m the event of war against us. The machines, they J,, •
could easily be equipped lor bombing, and might, if used in that capacity, exhcise
considerable moral effect by their mere appearance over, e.g. Peshawar ' T , v
consider that the Afghan aeroplanes must be regarded as a potential menace cam U-
of being converted with reinforcements into a “ menace of national importance’’

About this item

Content

The file contains a number of reports submitted by Francis Henry Humphrys, HM Minister at Kabul, regarding the Afghan Air Force and the development of aviation in Afghanistan. These reports generally provide information on the following: the aircraft in use, the personnel employed, the armament available, the equipment and fuel stores, details on flight operations, and ground facilities.

Two particularly substantial reports included are as follows:

  • A report on a conversation held by HM Minister with Mr Patwardhan of the Afghan Air Force in September 1926 (see folio 46).
  • A report dated 7 January 1929 by C W L Trusk of the Royal Air Force on observations made between 18 December 1928 and 7 January 1929 (see folios 9-26 typed copy, and folios 27-32 for printed copy).

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 (51 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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 53; 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 is present in parallel between ff 9-26; these numbers are also written in pencil or printed, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 5/13 ‘Afghanistan: Reports on condition of Afghan Air Force’ [‎40v] (80/106), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/1958, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100037998107.0x000051> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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