Imperial Airdays are here again

As mentioned, the Iran route (also used by KLM to reach the Dutch overseas empire in Indonesia) went via Bushire, then to Lingeh (which I can't even find on the modern map) and Jask, before crossing over to Gwadar, first stop in the British Raj. Apparently the Iranians wanted to make Imperial change this and fly much further inland - including crossing mountains - in Iran, so the British aircraft switched to the opposite Arabian coast and went through Kuwait, Bahrain and Sharjah instead.

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We'll go straight on with the Ensign to Sharjah which is in the modern United Arab Emirates, though it was simply known as the Trucial Coast in the 1930s. Had to wait for that Anglo-Iranian Oil Company Electra taking off in front of us...

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Shows the comparative size of the Ensign which, in its later versions, could seat as many as 40 passengers. Off we go:

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You soon come to the western side of Qatar:

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Flew over the Qatar peninsular with its capital, Doha, on the right, though I couldn't spot the airport (which may be realistic as it probably didn't then exist).

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Then it's out over the sea heading for that Trucial Coast. The Ensign can easily manage this, but the HP-42s had to stay 'within gliding distance' of land - !

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Imperial Airways now seems frightfully romantic, but one of my books points out that the British had very few airliners in this period compared with other nations (only about 30 in the early 1930s when the French already possessed over 200). This may have been because they were perfectly happy with ships, especially for the Atlantic route, and due to a lack of government investment. When the state did invest a lot in aircraft in the late '20s, unfortunately it was the R101.

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There are quite a lot of small islands in the Gulf. This one, with an airstrip, was identified as Das:


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Then overflew this island, Siir Abu Nu'ayr, which shows we're approaching the mainland again:

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Another airplane way below:

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And we see the coast with Dubai directly ahead:

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Plenty of tankers here of course...

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...and aircraft.

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Of course today you would see Dubai's fantastic architectural conceits, the Burj Dubai, Burj al'Arab towers and the 'Palm' and 'World' man-made islands. One way to spend excess petrodollars I suppose.
 
Easy enough to land the Ensign at Sharjah, a remote and unpleasant spot in the 1930s:

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There is a modern airport (OMSJ Sharjah International), but Alexander Frater didn't fly in there in his 1985 reconstruction of the Imperial route.

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He went from Bahrain to Dubai and then by car up to the site of Imperial's old airfield at Sharjah, which he found to be a sh1tty spot (literally in the case of one dog he noticed there).

He drove back to Dubai International (OMDB), then flew to OOMS, Seeb International at Muscat in neighbouring Oman. This is the only way to fly into Gwadar, last of the old Imperial stops before Karachi. At Seeb he noticed this aircraft:

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...a gleaming Vickers VC10 with the Omani flag painted on its tail. 'Is that the Ruler's private plane?' I asked a stewardess.
'Sir, that is one of the Ruler's private planes,' she said.

But they were travelling across the mouth of the Gulf in something rather less snazzy:

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A PIA Fokker Friendship.

Since that trip, nearly 20 years ago, has now become a classic in itself, thought it might be fun to reconstruct a flightsim version of OOMS - OPGD...
 
Quite apart from being the smallest International airport in the world, Gwadar is a very interesting place...

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(The town of Muscat visible beyond its airport as we wait for clearance above.)

In the 17th Century an Omani prince was forced into exile and crossed the Gulf to what was then Baluchistan. The generous Baluchi ruler gave him Gwadar, a small fortress on the coast, in perpetuity. Later the Omani reconquered his own country and became ruler there, but Gwadar remained part of Oman.

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When Alexander Frater went there in 1985, the men of Gwadar that he met on the F-27 still declared themselves to be Omanis, though Pakistan had bought Gwadar (including the airport) back from Oman in the 1960s. So although the British conquered the northwest of the Indian subcontinent in the 1840s, Gwadar remained politically part of Oman throughout the hundred years of British rule.

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The Fokker climbs and circles round, giving us a good view of Muscat and OOMS below as we start to head out across what is now the Gulf of Oman (the Persian, Arabian or whatever Gulf being to the west of that country and the UAE).


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Frater writes: I looked down at the smooth, troubled waters. A naval patrol boat rushed past a plodding, black-funnelled tanker, going like a train. The Fokker droned on at its statutory cruising speed of 259 knots, and then, almost imperceptibly, a ghostly white land began stealing towards us out of a milky sea...


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Leaving Arabia behind us.

You actually spot the opposite coastline to your left before it becomes visible in front. (The flightsim Fokker only managed just under 200 kias, but then we stayed at 11,000 feet and I suspect it would have cruised a lot better around 20,000. Anyway, it only takes about an hour to cross, if that.)

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The dry watercourse of the Dasht River slid through grey mudflats behind the village, with groves of grey date palms visible along its banks. 'The British Air Force once had a flying boat base down there,' said the (PIA) security girl. 'One of our Fokker captains has seen it. He says it looks as if the men only left yesterday. In the mess there is a blackboard with English names written on it - the flying roster. You could still read them.'


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Of course he described the Gulf as 'troubled waters' because the crazy Saddam/Khomeini War was still going on between Iran and Iraq. We all know a great deal more about Iraq now than even the Chief Travel Correspondent of the Observer knew in 1985; but it seems incredible that he had felt able, when in Baghdad, to ask his minders if they could go and visit Rutbah Wells! Just knowing that the RAF flying boat base, complete with blackboard, is still down there (near Jiwani, Pakistan/Iran border) was enough now, he didn't try to go there.
 
Nowadays PIA use these ATR-42s, rather than the F-27:


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They have gone in bigtime for nice ethnic tail art and friendly, smiley names for their aircraft:


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Alexander Frater was very interested in Gilgit, right up in the bandit territory still marked NORTH WEST FRONTIER on the map, though it has nothing to do with Imperial Airways. It probably wouldn't be tactful to suggest that PIA paint up an airplane as Abbotabad: City of Murderous Guests...


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ATRs have those outlandish propellors.

In the days of the Raj the British generally felt it was better to stay out of neighbouring Afghanistan. They had exactly the same situation as today with a double-dealing 'government' (complete with 'Western style' army) in the towns and wild tribesmen in the mountains. The very earliest campaign of Queen Victoria's reign was the First Afghan War (1837-42), in which an entire expeditionary force which had tried to hold Kabul, mainly Indian sepoy troops, but including a few hundred British, was destroyed. It was best simply to leave Afghanistan as a buffer zone in the dangerous spot 'where three Empires meet' - the British, the Russian and the Chinese ones. The Russians didn't actually go in till 1979 (just after Khomeini came to power in Iran) - and look what happened to them. The problem that often arose in the 19th Century was when fanatical Islam infected Afghan tribesmen who knew how to handle weapons from childhood and love fighting... In those days they were known as Ghazis, today they call themselves Talibs (which, ironically, means 'students' - and they're all illiterate!).
 
I dirgress from our main interest, aviation; but it's worth looking at Rudyard Kipling's poems, and especially the excellent novel Kim, to understand a bit about British policy in Afghanistan during the days of the Raj. 19th Century equivalent of today's AK-47 and IED was the traditional jezail, a long-barrelled musket of surprising accuracy. One memorable line of Kipling's, horribly relevant today, is:

Ten thousand pound's-worth of education drops to a ten Rupee jezail...

Some interesting AI encountered in the modern flight:

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These Omani F-16s at Muscat were no doubt going to provide an escort for the ruler's VC-10. I doubt if they had those yet in 1985, though this Hunter, frighteningly heavily-armed, arrived at OOMS shortly after our F-27 left:

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That type was used to some effect by the RAF (helping) in Oman as recently as the 1970s...

This would be later than than '85 too, but I like having shabby old ex-Soviet transports flying round certain parts of the fs9 world to spice up the AI:

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Such Antonovs would have been flying in the '80s, but probably somewhere deep inside the Russian Empire.

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In the early '60s you might have encountered this beautiful Air India 707 over the Gulf:

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An old friend from Cal Classics, the KLM Lockheed Electra...

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...but most exotic of all:


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A CSA Tupolev flying from Paya Leba, Singapore to Rangoon in Burma! Empty seats, or what?
 
Ralf, from memory Sharjah was not a bright place end of 1966 beginning of 1967 still a bit remote but infinitely better than up country Aden. No airport then only RAF Sharjah I believe.

Rich
 
Interesting if there was still an RAF base there that late. Presumably it was abandoned about the same time as Aden/Khormaksar? So far as the RAF Hunters in Oman in the '70s are concerned, recently-released Storm Front by Rowland White, has the story - there was also an article in the August 2011 Aeroplane.

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You can just make out 'the smallest International airport in the World' at the landward end of that peninsular. The huge, empty natural harbour is sheltered on the other side.

Alexander Frater got into that situation where they thought the foreigner must be on the wrong aeroplane because non-locals never go there (this also happened to a friend of mine who flew to Ankara, capital of Turkey, on an internal Turkish flight - Turks kept saying 'Wrong plane, wrong plane.'). Although it may not be quite as tough as the North West Frontier province, Baluchistan is still fairly dangerous.


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He describes the fear that existed in the 1980s that the Russians might somehow get to Gwadar, build a huge port there and stick a Soviet fleet in to block the Gulf!

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In your dreams, Putin, in your dreams. But the Pakistanis are now supposed to be developing a commercial port and naval base - even this fs9 airport scenery is a big improvement on the shacks that were there in the '80s. I can't help thinking that if the British didn't make Gwadar a major harbour in the 19th Century, then there might be a very good reason and it may not really be worth doing...

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As we'll soon see, even in the 1930s, Karachi, near the mouths of the great River Indus, was the port (and airport) that mattered.


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While Frater was briefly at Gwadar another F-27, an Omani trooping flight, passed through (the Oman army still trained there). He went to speak to the New Zealand first officer - they and the British Captain must have been the only non-Pakistani/non-Omani people within hundreds of miles). In a few minutes' chat it turned out that he and the Kiwi knew somebody on the other side of the planet (a girl from Fiji) in common - !

This sort of story is another good reason for reading Beyond the Blue Horizon.
 
Ralf, RAF Sharjah actually remained a RAF Station until 1971

RAF Sharjah
Opened - 1932 (landing ground)
​
Closed - 14 Dec 1971​
Notes​
Raised to RAF Station status on 1 Aug 1945​
It was Sharjah International Airport until 1977.

I was there for Christmas 1966 New Year 1967

Rich
​
 
Don't suppose RAF Sharjah was ever a very pleasant posting, but interesting that it remained a British outpost right up until the 1970s.

Sorry about the delay, anybody who's been following this - we can't leave the imaginary '30s passengers & crew stuck in that desolate GW3 Sharjah (or Gwadar for that matter).

This old Imperial ad seems rather inspiring:

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Must remember to look out for elephants when coming in to land in India...

I did start the flight with the old Handley Page:

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A nice dawn takeoff:

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Then I'm afraid I bottled out of four hours of having to concentrate on controlling and navigating the wretched thing...

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...and unrealistically went back to the far more comfortable, half-the-time, Ensign - sorry!

Just had to wait for some oilmen to leave in this private aircraft:

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A Staggerwing, I think. (Anyone else who would like to volunteer to do the whole journey, Croydon - Karachi, by HP is welcome to have a go.)

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And there was time to admire that beautiful mountain range in the distance:

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While a fine tanker showed up in the last Tower shot from Sharjah:

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Plenty of other Gulf shipping to spot as we cleared the airport and turned to head almost due East...
 
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That may be a place called Umm al Qaiwain on the west (United Arab Emirates/Trucial coast).

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We turned eastwards, crossed the desert...

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...and passed Oman on the far coast:

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Of course strictly speaking we are actually flying to Oman, or at least Omani territory, when we get to Gwadar.

The Ensign can now head out to sea with confidence, though the 1930 book suggests passing high above mountains, which take the queerest shapes, and vast stretches of sand-dunes.

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They may have preferred to take their chances with the queer-shaped mountains and vast desert sands, rather than risk losing an HP in the water.
 
Ralph, enjoying this trip, fortunately had slightly more modern transport, I was in the army so not in Butlins RAF Sharjah but in the same perimeter.
 
Hi Ralf,

Been following your thread, it's a real blast! :) At least you're getting places, I had to ditch enroute a while ago.

Oh, and Andy? Tell your guys to be on the lookout. I've got my kite up and am doing 80 turns a minute on the ol' Gibson Girl. They should be getting a signal on the 8364 kHz band...



Nikko
 
An interesting desert RAF airfield, that is to the southwest accross the Arabian Peninsula from RAF Sharjah, is RAF Khormasksar (now Aden International). We have a great version of it made by Ian Elliot for FS 9. It had about the same useful life as RAF Sharjah and was reportedly a very busy place till its closure in 1967.

Look for RAF_Kormaksar.zip in the archives.
 
Hello Chaps, glad you're still enjoying the '38 flight. Yes, I know Ian's superb Khormaksar well - it will be the setting for future RR adventures with Aden Airways, watch this space. I have corresponded with him; unfortunately he hasn't managed to get much RAF AI in there, just the two transports doing circuits. You can persuade the Cal Classic civil traffic to pass through, however. Hope the retro RAF Project will be able to cover it (and maybe Sharjah too?).

Also hope your Walrus will rescue Nikko's three, Andy. Looks like they've already sent Flt Lt Pigeon off for help.

To get back to just before the Second World War...

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Leaving Arabia behind us we head into the Gulf of Oman at the top of the Arabian Sea.

Incidentally there's an interesting, though slightly depressing, article in the October Aeroplane about the fate of civilian aircraft that were impounded by the RAF in 1939. Author Richard Hooks only covers the ones that were written off, including the poor old Ensigns of course.

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Even without WW2 the British knew that they would not retain India into the second half of the 20th Century. By the 1930s most of the Indian Civil Service was being run by Indians, so a transfer of power had already begun. When the war started a British Government Commission led by Sir Stafford Cripps effectively guaranteed Indian independence as long as all political parties - Hindu and Muslim - helped to defeat the Japanese (who conquered Burma and actually managed to cross the border into far NE India). Most Indians realised that defeating the Axis, then saying goodbye to the British, was the wisest course.


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It is arguable that after the War the British left too quickly - the last Viceroy, Mountbatten, speeded up the process. But as with the whole of history, it's easy to sit in your armchair afterwards, armed with hindsight, and know what they should have done.

We overtake Willy's AI HP!


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I had to do a go-around here because we were still too high (at 2800) and too fast (over 100 knots) when contact was made with Gwadar. You do have to bring these Ensigns in at a very gentle angle and they take a bit of slowing down.

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Injah in sight...

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You can see the bay of Gwadar, where the new port is now being developed, in the distance there.

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Full flaps or what? Just enough nice concrete runway too. I think the real Ensigns would have needed it. In fact they would no doubt have gone straight to Karachi, easily having the range.

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Jagdflieger said:
An interesting desert RAF airfield, that is to the southwest accross the Arabian Peninsula from RAF Sharjah, is RAF Khormasksar (now Aden International). We have a great version of it made by Ian Elliot for FS 9. It had about the same useful life as RAF Sharjah and was reportedly a very busy place till its closure in 1967.

Look for RAF_Kormaksar.zip in the archives.
Click to expand...

I've got the scenery of Khormaskar, but do you know if anybody ever tackled RAF Sharjah?
 
I was doing some hunting for it earlier today, couldn't find it either, just wondered if anybody else had better info than me. The current Sharjah International Airport is in a different location to the old RAF Sharjah, so not fit for (my) purpose really. Ah well, looks like I may have to be doing a chunk more research.
 
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