Ext 609/48 'Monthly newsletters of Middle East civil air attaché (December 1947, January 1948)' [‎13v] (26/78)

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CONFIDSM'LA.L.
IRAQ.
“■* ■ - " • jcvorloy G^yr Bernard has "boon appointed as civil Air
Attache to His Majesty* s Ernbassios in Baghdad and Teheran and to
the politic'.! pesidont in the Persian gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . }j[r, Bernard is at
present in transit between the united Kingdom and Iraq, and will be
tracing up his new post at the end of February.
in view oi the above Mr. Lenin, the civil Air Attache in the
Hndd_Lvj East, will no longer cover the above territories. Mr. Low in
and Mr. Barnard will be working in close consultation on Middle East
questions affecting their respective areas. This newsletter will,
for the time being, continue to cover the whole of the Middle East as
heretofore.
Mr. Barnard nas served with vfestland Aircraft Limited, and the
Hawker Siddeley group and in the Royal Aircraft Establishment, ho
h_..o he .a flying expcmenco botn as a pilot and an observer. Further
details will follow.
adderso^.nd t.hau Mr. Ahrrjn Mashtaq, formerly Director of
Civil Aviation Iraq, has now been appointed Director general of civil
Aviation, and is now actively in office.
d. _ The Directorate of civil Aviation in the Iraqi Ministry of
Communications end works has recently published Notice to Airmen
No. IA/1%7 under the heading "Aircraft callsigns".
A. TIE wG-iPTLt Si dL/jETTE on 13th January published the following •-
"The Iraqi health autxiorities today reopened the frontiers of Iraq
byria, Turkey and Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan because the cholera epidemic has now >
^nd^d. Air ■ nd li_nd communications have been resumed".
3 . Serious rioting has been taking place in Baghdad. The rioting
_ls thought oo do politically inspired, but is-ostensibly as a result
of the united Kingdm/iraq treaty of alliance recently signed in London
to replace .hat signed m 1930. under the new alliance the ear bases
of H^-IIoniya and Shaiba are r eturned to tho Iraqis except for R.A.F.
technical care rnd ma.intenance parties, who will train Iraqis to take
over. _ The 1930 treaty, which was to have run until 1935 provided for
the withdrawal of all British troops fran Iraq except from"the two air
bases.
staff who was
it is understood from a member of U.K.C.A.T.R. f
recently in Baghdad, that './hen the prime Minister Saleh jabr (now no
longer in office) was returning to Iraq from the U.K. the Iraqi Q-overnm
arranged to temporarily lift the 18 ton limit on Baghdad Airport until
after the Minister’s arrivr,!. The rioters, however, were prepared to
gather at the airport with evil intent on the person of the prime Minister,
whose <~ircraf u ^as, as a result, diverted to Habbaniya. The 18 ton limit
on Baghdad effectually prohibits all external trunk route aircraft from
landing there, and the Iraqi Air..ays vikings (1? tons) end other internal
service aircraft have complete use of the Airport.
6 * - understand miat the Iraqi Government’s proposal to spend ID 50 000
on temporary repairs to the ruiw/ay at Baghdad Airport has now been shelved,
due it is said to financial difficulties.
L.j.i. ii -.: clomin^tod ito intermediate landing o.t Baghdad for the
time being. "
k 0/1-7 T k fjy sont y co of paragraph 2 (e) under "Iraq" of Newsletter
NO. 2/47 should be emended to the following •-
IRA Q/P/HAG’RAPH 8 /