IOR/L/PS/12/3928

The file contains papers, mostly correspondence, relating to defence facilities in the Persian Gulf and on, or near, the Southern Arabian Coast. It includes papers relating to the following:

• The construction of a naval ammunition store on Jiddah Island (also spelled Jidda Island in the file), near Bahrain
• The use of Masirah Bay by the Royal Navy as a port of assembly
• The proposed provision of additional facilities for aircraft at Socotra (also spelled Sokotra in the file) and Salalah in Muscat territory, for action against enemy warships (including the question of whether Britain was bound under Article 6 of the 1938 Anglo-Italian Agreement regarding certain areas in the Middle East to notify the Italian Government of the measures to be taken at Sokotra and Salalah)
• The proposed acquisition of permanent facilities for the Royal Air Force on Masirah Island, and the question of whether this should take place through the purchase or lease of Masirah Island from the Sultan of Muscat, or the exchange of Masirah Island for the Kuria Muria Islands, accompanied by cash compensation for the Sultan of Muscat.

The main correspondents are as follows: the India Office; the Admiralty; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Commander in Chief, East Indies; the Political Agent and HM Consul, Muscat; Saiyid Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd], Sultan of Muscat and Oman; the Government of India External Affairs Department; the Foreign Office; the Air Ministry; the Royal Air Force Middle East Headquarters; the Colonial Office; and the Treasury.

The file also includes:

• A copy of a Foreign Office Eastern Department paper, dated 25 April 1938, regarding the Anglo-Italian Agreement regarding certain areas of the Middle East
• Draft minutes of meetings between representatives of the India Office, the Foreign Office, the Air Ministry, the Treasury, and the Colonial Office, held on 13 April and 8 September 1944, to discuss the proposed purchase or lease of Masirah Island
• A Cabinet joint memorandum by the Air Ministry and the India Office on the proposed acquisition of Masirah Island as a permanent RAF base, dated 29 May 1945, which includes a map showing the location of Masirah Island [IOR/L/PS/12/3928, f 61], and draft versions of the memorandum.

In addition, the file includes a copy of an aide memoire in Italian from the Italian Air Ministry to the Air Attaché of the British Embassy, Rome, dated 13 March 1940, of which there is a copy of an English translation.

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.