ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 48 2 The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the contributors concerned and are not necessarily those held by the Royal Air Force Historical Society. First published in the UK in 2010 by the Royal Air Force Historical Society All ri hts reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information stora e and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing. ISSN 1361 4231 Printed by Windrush Group ,indrush House Avenue Two Station Lane ,itney O028 40, 3 ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY President 2arshal of the Royal Air Force Sir 2ichael 3eetham GC3 C3E DFC AFC 7ice8President Air 2arshal Sir Frederick Sowrey KC3 C3E AFC Committee Chairman Air 7ice82arshal N 3 3aldwin C3 C3E FRAeS 7ice8Chairman -roup Captain 9 D Heron O3E Secretary -roup Captain K 9 Dearman FRAeS 2embership Secretary Dr 9ack Dunham PhD CPsychol A2RAeS Treasurer 9 Boyes TD CA 2embers Air Commodore - R Pitchfork 23E 3A FRAes :9 S Cox Esq BA 2A :6r M A Fopp MA F2A FI2 t :-roup Captain A 9 Byford MA MA RAF :,ing Commander P K Kendall BSc ARCS MA RAF ,ing Commander C Cummings Editor & Publications ,ing Commander C G Jefford M3E BA 2ana er :Ex Officio 4 CONTENTS OPENIN- ADDRESS œ Air 2shl Ian Macfadyen 7 ON.Y A SIDESHO,? THE RFC AND RAF IN A 2ESOPOTA2IA 1914-1918 by Guy Warner THE RAF AR2OURED CAR CO2PANIES IN IRAB 20 C2OST.YD 1921-1947 by Dr Christopher Morris No 4 SFTS AND RASCHID A.IES WAR œ IRAB 1941 by )A , Cdr Mike Dudgeon 2ORNIN- Q&A F1 SU3STITUTION OR SU3ORDINATION? THE E2P.OY8 63 2ENT OF AIR PO,ER O7ER AF-HANISTAN AND THE NORTH8,EST FRONTIER, 1910-1939 by Clive Richards THE 9E3E. AKHDAR WAR (THE ROYA. AIR FORCE IN 11 O2AN 1952-1959) by A72 Peter Dye THE RAF AND ADEN, 1928-1967 by Dr Sebastian Ritchie 110 UTI.ISIN- JOINT FORCE HARRIER IN AF-HANISTANES 135 COUNTER INSUR-ENCY CA2PAI-N by , Cdr Harvey Smyth AFTERNOON Q&A 146 C.OSIN- RE2ARKS œ Air 2shl Ian Macfadyen 153 SHAI3AH THEN AND NO, œ a photographic essay by 154 -p Capt Clive Montellier 3OOK RE7IE,S 160 5 SELECTED ABBREVIATIONS AHB Air Headquarters A2,D Air Ministry Works Department AP Anti8Personnel AP. Aden Protectorate Levies ASF Air Striking Force C2 Command and Control CAS Close Air Support CFI Chief Flying Instructor COIN Counter Insur ency H2AC His MaGestyEs Armoured Car IED Improvised Explosive Device IR Infrared ISAF International Security Assistance Force ISR Intelli ence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance 9FH 9oint Force Harrier NTISR Non-Traditional Intelli ence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance NAS Naval Air Squadron OR3 Operations Record Book (the RAF Forms 540 & 541D ROE Rules of Enga ement SAC CUSAFD Strate ic Air Command SAS Special Air Service TIC Troops In Contact TNA The National Archives 7DU 7isual Display Unit 6 FROM PALESTINE TO PESHAWAR 1915 TO DATE RAF MUSEUM, HENDON, 21 OCTOBER 2009 WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE SOCIETY$S CHAIRMAN Air Vice-Marshal Nigel Bald.in CB CBE FRAeS .adies and entlemen, welcome and ood morning. It is a very encoura ing turnout œ about 135 of us. I be in, as always, with my usual thank you to Dr 2ichael Fopp and his hardworking and very helpful staff here at the 2useum. As a Society, we simply could not mount this sort of day without their considerable assistance. He did not realise it until we were discussing it last week but I ot the idea for todayEs subGect from our Chairman today, Air 2shl Ian Macfadyen, when, on his computer screen in his house several years a o, he showed me some pictures of his father in the cockpit of a Siskin at Heliopolis in 1A25, so Ian has a personal interest in the RAFEs involvement in the eographical area that we are oing to look at today. Even more relevant perhaps, as an air commodore, Ian served as Sir Peter de la 3illiHreEs Chief of Staff during the first -ulf ,ar, and then, from 2arch 1991, as an air vice8marshal he succeeded him as Commander British Forces 2iddle East. 3efore that, in 1982, as OC 29 Sqn, Ian flew the first Phantom into the Falkland IslandsI he later commanded RAF .euchars. For his last tour he was Director -eneral of the Al Yamamah ProGect for the Saudi Armed Forces, so he has a well worn pair of desert boots. Since retiring from the RAF, he has been the .ieutenant -overnor of the Isle of 2an, been President of the Royal 3ritish .e ion, and Honorary Inspector -eneral of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. A couple of months a o, he became Constable and -overnor of ,indsor Castle. ,hether that last responsibility will help him keep todayEs seminar in order, we shall see. Ian, you have control. 7 OPENIN0 ADDRESS Air Mshl Ian Macfadyen CB OBE FRAeS Ni el œ thank you for that welcome and, ladies and entlemen, welcome to you all. I was intri ued to note that the Society had mana ed to arrange a seminar on Trafal ar DayJ 3ut that does ive me the opportunity to congratulate naval collea ues who are with us today on that singular anniversary. Today, in our continuing study of the Royal Air Force we shall be examining a very broad canvas. It is a re ion that roughly approximates the boundaries of todayEs US Central Command = CENTCO2, as it is known œ ar uably the key military player in that area, something of which we may hear more later. It is a re ion in which the RAF has also had a maGor part to play œ historically. 3ritain has traditionally re arded the 2iddle East as an area of considerable importance, bridging, as it does, our links to India and the Far East. It is a part of the world in which, I think it fair to say, we have enerally been respected for our fairness and diplomatic expertise. It was, and is, of course the pursuit of our forei n policy aims that has brought 3ritish forces to this area from time to time over the past several hundred years. Since the dawn of the a e of air power the RAF has been an active participant in the affairs of the re ion; indeed, during the 1920s, it proved to be a crucial factor in sustaining the independence of our air force. ,e shall be in today by looking at some early operations during the First ,orld ,ar and then move on to consider the famous Armoured Car Companies, about which far too little has, I think, been written. I am particularly looking forward to learning about them, not least because my father was very proud of the fact that he learned to drive on one of those bi Rolls8Royces when he was serving in Iraq and Palestine between 1923 and 1927 on Nos 6 and 14 Sqns. I have another family connection with the Raschid Ali affair of 1941 of which we shall also hear more later. After lunch we will move east to examine early air operations over Af hanistan and the North ,est Frontier of India, an area of particular si nificance today, of course, and then south via Oman, to Aden = another outpost that my father got to know very well during the 1A)0s and the 1950s. As we progress through the programme it may not become 1 In his introduction, AVM Baldwin referred to this photograph of the father of the Chairman for the day, g Off (later Air Mshl Sir Douglas) Macfadyen in the cockpit of a Siskin III at Heliopolis. It is a particularly interesting picture as this was probably the only Siskin to reach Egypt and it was there only briefly, for tropical trials between )une and September 1925. apparent, so I raise it now, that this re ion is subGect to considerable climatic contrasts. It is, of course, very hot, but at ni ht it can also be surprisingly cold. It is, therefore, harsh on oneEs body and sapping of oneEs ener y but I have found that being obli ed to cope with such conditions tends to bring out the best in our national character. Explorers and diplomats, like Sir ,ilfred Thesi er and 2iddle East buffs like Colonel Sir Hugh 3oustead thrived in this demanding environment and those of us who have been fortunate enough to have served there will also know something of the excitement of the desert and the mountains, which can, at times, be truly beautiful and awe8 inspiring. 3ut enough preamble so I will move on to introduce our first speaker, -uy ,arner, who has come all the way from 3elfast to be with us today. A ONLY A SIDESHOW? THE RFC AND RAF IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918 0uy Warner .uy /arner, a teacher by profession, is a long- term member of the 1lster A2iation Society and has written extensi2ely on 2arious aspects of aviation, many of them focusing on regional acti2ities, both military and ci2il. Of particular significance to the 3A Historical Society, he has published articles and books related to the histories of Nos 72 and 230 Sqns, the /essex helicopter and 3A Aldergrove. Hostilities commenced between 3ritain and Turkey in October 1914. One re ion of the sprawling and declining Ottoman Empire was formed by 2esopotamia, the land between the Rivers Ti ris and Euphrates, which is now part of the modern state of Iraq.