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The First 30 Years of Aviation in Afghanistan Part 2 © Lennart Andersson
The Hawker Hind became the standard aircraft type of the Afghan Air Force after 1938. A total of 28 was acquired.
In December 1937 and January 1938, parties of British and Italian pilot instructors, engineers and mechanics arrived to erect the new aircraft and train the Afghans to fly them. The British and Italian aircraft were assembled and tested on one side of the aerodrome, while the Germans were working on the Junkers aircraft on the other side. The Hinds had been shipped with their armament in October on the SS "Durenda" and arrived in Kabul in December with Hawker pilot instructor Russell-Stacey and three technical instructors (mechanics and fitters). The last example was accepted by the Afghan Air Force in April. The Italian aircraft and the bombs arrived in Karachi on board the SS "Caboto" on November 8. Eleven reached Kabul in December and in January 1938 one Italian pilot, two mechanics, a fitter and an engineer (Mario Paoletti, Arzillo, Buonamoneta, Boccia and Paglia) were engaged as instructors for two years. Assembly of the new aircraft was completed in June 1938. The Air Force was administrated by the War Office, but the Commandant experienced difficulty in obtaining adequate funds for the training and up-keep of the force. In the summer of 1938 frequent reconnaissance missions were flown over disturbed areas in Katawaz and over the Eastern and Southern Provinces. On at least four occasions Hinds bombed and strafed insurgents in Katawaz. Early in 1939 a few aircraft were employed against "a hostile gathering" near Girishk in Kandahar Province. The Ro 37s could not take off with a full bomb load, especially not from the Ghazni landing ground, owing to their poor high altitude performance. By December 1938 the inventory of the Air Force included eight Hinds, 16 Ro 37s, of which two were damaged beyond repair, seven Breda trainers (plus one written off), and four R-1s. A replacement Ro 37 was acquired and arrived in February 1939 via New Delhi. In May 1938 Afghanistan"s first air link with Western Europe was established when DLH opened an extension to their service between Berlin and Baghdad, running over Herat to Kabul. It was open only during the summer months, however. In July-August 1936 DLH Ju 52/3ms D-ANOY and D-AMIP had passed Kabul in connection with a German proving flight to China over the Pamir Mountains and through Sinkiang. They flew through Afghanistan again on their way back to Germany in September. The weekly DLH service between Berlin and Kabul was operated until September 1939 The Afghans wished to purchase more Hinds and late in 1938 the RAF offered to supply 20 Hinds that had served in No 113 and 211 Squadrons in the Middle East previously and were to be replaced by Bristol Blenheims. The Hinds were mostly taken from reserves and had flown only for a limited number of hours. Negotiations were finished in April 1939 and a contract was signed in May. Ten Hinds were to be delivered on May 14 and ten in July. The first batch was shipped from Egypt and then flown from India to Kabul exactly on date. One, s/n 7, remained at Peshawar with a damaged engine, however, and only nine were accepted by the Afghans on May 24. Four days later, a military review was held in Kabul and on this occasion four Bredas, nine Ro 37s and 12 Hinds were in the air at the same time. On June 19, one of the Hinds crashed and the Afghan pilot was killed. A second batch of eight Hinds arrived on August 30 and was handed over by Flight Lieutenant A J Young. The last three machines reached Kabul on October 18 and completed the order for twenty. These aircraft were destined to get a very long service life in Afghanistan. One was donated to the RAF Museum in 1967, the Shuttleworth Trust acquired another in 1970 and in 1975 K6618 and L7180 were sent to Canada. In May 1939 an RAF officer was seconded to the Afghan Air Force for three years as a flying instructor and two technical advisers were sent by the Hawker and Rolls-Royce companies. Hinds were used to help the army quell "tribal disturbances" in the Katawaz area and during operations in the Zamindar area. After the outbreak of the Second World War in September, neutrality was proclaimed by Afghanistan and three Hinds were stripped of all unnecessary equipment and employed as a fighter flight in case of enemy air attack against Kabul. One of the F 13s was damaged at Sherpur on July 11, 1939, but the other Junkers aircraft were used until the end of that year. The fuselage of an F 13 and a Junkers L 5 engine were discovered in a scrap yard outside Kabul in 1968 with the "JUNKERS" inscription on the engine cowling still clearly visible! It was brought back to Germany in the spring of 1969 and was presented as a gift to the Deutsches Museum at Munich, where it is now on display after restoration. In December 1939 the Afghan Air Force had 28 Hinds (including one unserviceable), 16 Ro 37s (three unserviceable), eight Breda trainers (one unserviceable), and three R-1s. During 1939-40 the aerodrome at Khwaja Rawash, a few miles north-east of Kabul, was extended and new workshops and hangars were built. By April 1940 the organisation of the Air Force consisted of three squadrons, all based at Kabul: No 1 Squadron with 12 Hinds No 2 Squadron with 9-10 Ro 37s No 3 Squadron with 10 Hind (one dual control) Flying Training School with 5 Breda trainers The Afghan national markings underwent some changes during the period 1939-41. A tricolour marking halfway down the fuselage of all aircraft that had been introduced on the declaration of neutrality in September 1939 was removed and replaced by squadron crests in the spring of 1940. At the end of 1941 a new national marking was introduced in addition to the roundel, in the form of three parallel black, red and green stripes (black nearest fuselage) on the wings. The Afghan Air Force was a separate service under the administration of the Ministry of War. The Headquarters and all three squadrons were based at Sherpur, Kabul. In the winter, when snow made flying at Sherpur Aerodrome difficult, one flight of Hinds usually went to Jalalabad and one flight of Ro 37s to Kandahar. Skis originally purchased for the Ro 37s were tested on the Hinds. Spares for the Italian types could not be obtained during the war, which soon reduced the number of serviceable aircraft and a Ro 37 crashed and burnt on June 28, 1942. By May 1943 only three of the Breda trainers were airworthy. The Flying Training School usually moved from Kabul to Jalalabad for the winter. By 1943 it operated three Hinds, of which two had dual-controls, and a single Breda.
Afghan Air Force students in India, 1938.
British aviation instructors in Afghanistan Bradley, H, Hawker instructor, December 1938-April 1945 Brierley, R, instructor, November 1940-November 1941 Gillett, R, Flight Sergeant, instructor, November 1940-November 1942 King, B M, Squadron Leader, pilot instructor, September 1943-1945- Lewis, J M, mechanic, December 1938-November 1939 Murray, A, instructor, November 1940-November 1941 Newman, (C W Mc N), Squadron Leader, instructor, November 1940-June 1942 Robinson, D W R, Rolls-Royce engine mechanic instructor, November 1940-February 1943 Russell-Stacey, Hawker pilot/instructor, December 1938-1939 Only one new aircraft was added to the Air Force during World War Two. The US Military Attaché to Kabul, Major Gordon B Enders, suggested that a trainer be presented to the Afghan Government and this was sanctioned by the War Department. A Stearman PT-17 Kaydet was picked from a batch of twelve lying in Karachi and a spare engine was delivered as well. Abdul Razaq Khan and a mechanic went to Peshawar on April 16, 1943, to take delivery of the aircraft and they flew it to Kabul on the 28th. It was formally handed over by US Minister Engert at Sherpur airfield on May 22. New trainers were needed and already in the autumn of 1941 the Afghans negotiated for de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moths. Lack of funds prevented them from placing an order, however. In August 1943 the Government invited Great Britain to supply a single example for evaluation and in May 1944 it was decided to send a Tiger Moth to Kabul for demonstrations. On May 27, Squadron Leader B E King flew Tiger Moth NL758 from Peshawar to Kabul. It returned to India on December 13. Nine second-hand Audaxes were offered as replacements for the Ro 37s early in 1944, but the Afghans instead requested a similar number of Hinds. An offer from the Government of India in May 1944 for nine Hawker Hurricanes Mk IIC fighters was turned down as well. The Air Force was more interested in two-seat aircraft. Another offer dated November 1944 was for Fairey Swordfish aircraft, but for the time being no funds became available. A flypast was staged by the Air Force on July 24, 1944, with 21 Hinds and six Ro 37s.
Pro-British Commander-in-ChiefThe last Ba 28 crashed on June 3, 1945, and as none of the other Bredas remained airworthy, the Stearman was the only trainer available to the single RAF instructor pilot. In addition to the Flying Training School there was an Engineering School at Kabul and theoretically these two training establishments had a capacity for nine student pilots and nine mechanics respectively. Three serviceable Ro 37s and 14-16 Hinds were available for the squadrons. When Commandant Muhammad Ihsan Khan, who had been a staunch supporter of Italy, died on August 28, 1945, the pro-Axis party in the Air Force lost ground and from then on the force was definitely pro-British. Former Chief of General Staff Asadullah Khan replaced Ihsan Khan. Asadullah Khan was determined to reorganise the Air Force on RAF lines as far as possible. As a result of the demonstration in 1944, eight Tiger Moths (DE572, EM780, EM986, NL727, NL944 and NL962-964, c/ns 85539, 85997, 86169, 86210, 86387 and 86394-86396) were purchased in India for the Flying Training School on April 25, 1946. By that time there were two operational squadrons, both stationed at Kabul: No 1 with Hinds and No 2 with Ro 37s. Shah Mahmud, Prime Minister from 1946 to 1953, sanctioned free elections and a relatively free press, and the so-called Liberal Parliament functioned in Afghanistan from 1949 to 1953. The Air Force was maintained purely for internal policing of tribal territories. Air Headquarters Staff and all units were based at Sherpur Airfield. In the summer of 1947 three operational squadrons were again organised and the school also became a squadron: No 1 Squadron: 12 Hinds (one with dual controls) No 2 Squadron: 8 Ro 37s No 3 Squadron: 12 Hinds (one with dual controls) No 4 Squadron: 8 Tiger Moths and the Stearman (for personal use by the Chief of Air Staff) Royal Afghan Air Force aircraft markings, 1947 On wings, close to fuselage, adjoining stripes of green, red and black with black nearest to fuselage on both sides. Black-red-green roundels on wings. On fuselage sides behind the cockpit a circle containing the squadron crest in colour (not on all aircraft). On all training aircraft an orange or light red band around the fuselage in front of the tail unit. Serial numbers in Arabic numerals on the fin.
In September 1945 the Afghan Government had shown some interest in acquiring a transport aircraft and the Air Ministry recommended the twin-engined Avro Anson Mk 18. One example was sent to Kabul for a demonstration in February 1947. During the same month Air Headquarters India sent a Spitfire Mk 8 for demonstrations and plans were made for the acquisition of 12 or 24 such aircraft. An offer for 12 Spitfires in May 1947 was not accepted, however. The Royal Afghan Air Force, as it was now known, remained primarily an internal policing force of limited capability against tribal uprisings and other disorders and had little use for such high-performance fighter aircraft. Serviceability was low and there was always a shortage of trained ground crew. An order was finally placed for twelve Anson Mk 18s in January 1948, of which two were to be fitted with dual controls. These aircraft were to be used in an operational role, for bombing, reconnaissance and other duties. The first one crashed in Persia in June 1948 before delivery and was written off, but two more machines arrived later the same month. The first training flights were made on July 18, 1948, with an instructor from the RAF. The remaining nine aircraft arrived between June and October 1948, and in November 1949 a replacement for the lost aircraft was delivered. By the end of the year the Royal Afghan Air Force inventory included 12 Ansons and 19 Hinds in No 1 and No 3 Squadrons, ten Ro 37s in No 2 Squadron, and seven Tiger Moths and the Stearman in No 4 Squadron. All aircraft were based at Kabul. There were 150 officers, including about 39 pilots, and 285 enlisted men. The number of Hinds and Ro 37s gradually diminished, but these old aircraft still had several years to serve in the Royal Afghan Air Force! One of the twelve Avro Anson 18s thet were acqured by the Afghan Air Force in 1948. Aircraft used by the Afghan Air Force 1921-1950
1) Including c/ns 3233, 3238, 3250, 3251, 3362 and 3363. 2) K5409, K5457, K5554, K6668, K6675, K6804, K6832, K6842, K6853, K6855, L7180, L7181, L7191, and (probably) K5462, K5477, K5483, K6618, K6696, K6833 and L7178. 3) DE572, EM780, EM986, NL727, NL944 and NL962-NL964 (c/ns 85539, 85997, 86169, 86210, 86387, 86394 and 86396). 4) YA-A.251 lost, and YA-B.252 to YA-L.262 (c/ns 1465 lost, and 1466-1476). Replacement: YA-A.251 (c/n 1509)
Close up of an Afghan Air Force R-1. |
