Coll 5/85 ‘Airfield at Dharan for U.S.A.A.F.: Proposal to construct new airport at Bahrain (Hamala)’ [‎48v] (97/522)

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DC 88050/1
APPENDIX A
Abadan
Engineering Appre elation
1. Genera l
The original runways 'were constructed by the A n gl o-I rani an Oil Compan}" ,o
serve their own light aircraft; these were three in number, each about
850 yards long of A' 1 broken brick topped with 3" sand bitumen mix. These have
since had several seal coats, each blinded with small gravel v/ell rolled in;
the resulting runways are adequate for the Company’s needs.
During the war American forces extended the runway bearing approx. NW/SE
to 7)200 feet by adding extensions at both ends of the original strip; these
extensions were of 3” consolidated depth sand-bitumen mix laid direct on the
soil. x They also constructed an additional runway in 3" sand-bitumen ijiix
parallel to this extended runway and about 75 yards south west of it; this
runway is approx. 6,000 feet long and is fitted with the American type of HILV
lighting; which appeared to be completely unscrvicable.
2. Soil
The soil is silt of the type found throughout the Tigris-Euphrates valley
with a water table at a depth of 2 feet in winter and only slightly lower in
summer. During rainstorms water has been known to lie on the airfield to a
depth of 6” and last winter it was necessary to '’.bund” the runway to enable the
Oil Company’s aircraft to use it.
3. Runways and Sta ndings
The original length of the extended runway is in good condition and will
take a 26,000 pound aircraft but the extensions are in poor condition due to
disintegration of the sand-bitumen mix, being virtually held together by the
heavy seal coat; they cannot be relied upon to carry traffic in the wet season
although they would stand up to occassional use in the dry season-in fact they
cannot be considered as more than a dust palliative.
The parallel runway is virtually a write-off.
The shorter runways are suitable only for light aircraft of the Rapide class
both from the point of view of length and load carrying capacity as they have not
been maintained to the same standard as the longer runway.
The standing at the northern perimeter of the field is of similar construction
to the original portion of the long runway and has been well maintained and will
take a 26,000 pound aircraft.
The only extension possible to runways, without introducing major river
diversion works and upsetting Abadan town planning, is a northern extension of
the main runway to virtually any reasonable length although resiting of a wire
less station would be necessary if the total length exceeded about 10,000 feet.
A. Conclu sions
This airfield is safe only for emergency diversions in dry v/eather for
aircraft of AA,000 pounds and above, up to a top limit of say 80,000 pounds.
In view of the political difficulties attached to this site and the fact that
equivalent facilities can be made available elsewhere at considerably less
cost, estimates for development to Class C and Class B standards were not worked
out.
28.1 • A7 •
x runway width is AO yds.