IOR/R/15/2/275

The letters, telegrams and other papers in the file relate to various forced landings or crashes of Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft, as well as other incidents involving the RAF, in and around the Gulf, during and immediately after the Second World War. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Agent in Bahrain, the Political Officer on the Trucial coast (both posts being occupied by numerous incumbents), and a number of RAF officials.

The key events and topics discussed in the file are: reports of a crashed Blenheim aircraft near Dohah [Doha] in December 1941; reports of a missing Boston aircraft in May 1942, and the subsequent discovery of it having made a forced landing on the Persian coast while skirting prohibited airspace above Bahrain; reports of a crashed Bisley aircraft near Sharjah in March 1943; the recovery of aircrews and salvage of aeroplanes; the treatment of aircrews by local inhabitants, including payments to guards requested to protect crash sites; and an incident in February 1942 in which a man was accidentally killed at the bombing range at Sharjah.