‘File 7/11 Flights of unidentified aircraft’

Date:

1940/1944

Description:

The file contains letters, telegrams and other papers relating to unidentified aircraft either seen or heard over the Arab coast during the Second World War, and the emergency landing of a B-17 Flying Fortress at Abu Dhabi in May 1944. Correspondence is sent and received by a host of British officials including political and consular agents and RAF officers.A telex sent by the Political Resident to the Government of India on 25 November 1940 reported that Italian radio broadcasts had claimed success in a bombing raid over Bahrain, accounting for recent reports of unidentified aircraft in the area (folio 6). A large part of the correspondence in the file concerns payments made by the crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress to local Arabs, who offered them water and assistance. The crew members gave an array of banknotes to one man, which staff at the Political Agency in Bahrain attempted to convert into rupees at the Eastern Bank (folio 38). Further correspondence relates to a complaint made by the clerk at the Agency in Sharjah, over abuse directed at him by staff from the RAF base in the town (folios 46-47).

1 file (52 folios)

The file is arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest items at the front of the file to the latest at the end. The office notes at the end of the file (folios 51-53) mirror the chronological arrangement. Circled index numbers, written in red crayon and ink, can be found throughout the volume, and refer to the office notes.

Foliation: The main foliation sequence starts on the front cover and ends on the inside back cover, and uses circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto. A second foliation sequence is also present between ff. 2-49; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.

Language:

English
Arabic

Extent:

1 file (52 folios)

Rights:

Unknown
Public Domain
Creative Commons Non-Commercial Licence
Open Government Licence

Identifier:

81055/vdc_100000000241.0x000093_ar
81055/vdc_100000000241.0x000093_en
IOR/R/15/2/276

Is part of:

British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers

Item contributor:

British Library. India Office Records and Private Papers

Data contributor:

Qatar National Library