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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0052.PDF
FLIGHT, JANUARY 18, 1934 DESOLATION OF DESOLATION : The Dead Sea, with the mountains of Moab in the background. The whitestreaks are signs of salt deposits. fleshpots of Cairo are a great attraction after months ofAmman's austerity, and keen is the competition to carry mail thither, the lucky pilot's brain being filled with mes-sages, commissions, warnings and advice. Occasionally, very- occasionally, Imperial Airways desire assistance forforced-landed machines ; more frequently cars coming across the desert track get lost or run out of petrol, and No. 14Squadron proceed to the rescue. More work of a humani- tarian nature is done by the Royal Air Force abroad thanby either of the other two Services. One does hear occa- sionally of a warship chasing a minute Chinese pirate vessel,but not often. The Royal Air Force may be the junior Service in age, but it is certainly senior in utility. It isdoubtful whether there exists another squadron which does more of this work than No. 14. In addition to all thesevaried duties mentioned above, the Squadron also has to go through the normal training routine, which includessuch subjects as bombing, front and rear gun, photography, etc. So the pilots are not often idle, and No. 14 has earnedfor itself the reputation of being one of the hardest flying squadrons in the Service. Apart from aerial transport, the only other modernmethods of communication in Transjordan are cars, for the most part old and of American construction, which run about the desert with delightful disregard for springsand a cheerful belief in the infallible reliability of modern mechanism, and a railway line which runs from Damascusin Syria through Transjordan to Ma'an. In the days of Turkisli domination it proceeded farther south even to theholy city of Medina. During the war Col. Lawrence amused himself and annoyed the Turks by blowing it up at oddtimes and in various places, since when it has not been repaired south of Ma'an, though most of the track stillremains. The Squadron is ably assisted in its work by No. 2Armoured Car Company, stationed at Ramleh, with detach- ments at Ma'an and Azrak, Both the Squadron and thearmoured cars are jealously proud of their different spheres of duty, yet they work together with loyal co-operation. Ifarmoured cars in the desert are ever unable to locate their vicinity, out go the machines, and seldom return withoutaccomplishing their aim, and if machines forced-land, out go the cars at a moment's notice, and in any weather, torender assistance. On one occasion when the Wahabis were known to be on the border, intent on raiding, a machinewent down not 20 miles from the border and needed a new engine. Within one hour of the news reaching Amman—yes, one hour—a Leyland lorry, with a spare engine on board, escorted by an armouredcar, had left, and, journeying through the night, accomplishedthe odd 200 miles in under 12 hours, which, considering thenature of the country and the fact that most of the trip was doneduring the hours of darkness, was a truly marvellous performance.' The country of Transjordan is a Mandate of Great Britain, ruled over by the Emir Abdullah, son ofKing Hussein, and brother of the late King Feisul of Iraq. Anastute man with a confirmed twinkle in his eyes, a charmingmanner, and a quiet air of dignity which is a legacy from his greatancestors, he takes great interest in the Squadron, realising, prob-ably better than others, the value Visit of the Under-Secretary ofState, Sir Philip Sassoon (in white overalls), at Amman. On his left(in field boots) is Group Capt. Rees, V.C.
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