Page 117 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

Establishment of the Air-Route 93

over its coastline and no permission to fly there was necessary.
But conditions in the country changed radically after Riza Shah
assumed power, and the RAF had to consider an alternative route.
The Arab coast had two distinct advantages over the Persian.
First, it was topographically superior, since it possessed many inlets
and large stretches of water sheltered by reefs and shoals and
these could provide good bases and refuges for flying-boats.1 The
second and more important advantage was political; for on the
Arab coast there was no danger of sudden expulsion orders from
the ruler, and there were no problems of neutrality (which would
exclude a strategic air-route). In order to set up the route, the
RAF needed refuelling grounds at intervals of about 200 miles
and emergency landing grounds at intervals of about forty miles.
The RAF chose Bahrain as the main centre for the Arab route:
its location, Shaykh Hamad’s willingness to accord facilities, and
its topography all combined to give it a key position. Accordingly,
the RAF secretly purchased the old quarantine station from Shaykh
Hamad for use as a rest-house, and later a suitable landing ground
was acquired in the same way. The next step was to find a landing
ground near Muscat, to acquire a house in Muscat town to serve
as an RAF wireless and telegraph station, and to arrange for
refuelling and mooring facilities in Muscat Cove. All this was achieved
with little difficulty, and by 1930 the RAF was making regular
visits to Bahrain and Muscat.
But on the Trucial Coast, where the acquisition of facilities did
not progress so smoothly, a more forward policy, albeit one nominally
!
within the bounds set by the rule of maintaining the status quo,
was implemented. The first step was to find a suitable place for
the storage of oil and petrol. The RAF chose Ras al-Khaimah
town, which possessed a fine creek with flat land immediately behind
that made it eminently suitable for the landing of aircraft. Previous
consultation with the ruler having been overlooked or considered
unnecessary, the Anglo-Pcrsian Oil Company was directed to send
oil and petrol stores to Ras al-Khaimah. When Barrett, the Political
Resident, realised that no warning had been given, and that even
the Residency Agent had not been advised, he made arrangements
in May 1929 for the stores to be temporarily based at Sharjah.
He then sent word to Sultan bin Salim of Ras al-Khaimah that
he would be going to visit him. He arrived at Ras al-Khaimah
on 15 May 1929, and, together with the Air Commodore in Iraq
and officers of the RAF, waited for one and a half hours for
Sultan to appear. The ruler was polite, but wanted to know why
Ras al-Khaimah, and not Sharjah or Dubai, had been chosen
for storing the petrol. Although he did not actually object, he
emphasised that he would not be responsible for the safety of