Muscat - Masira (North F40) GSGS NG40. [together with:] S. E. Arabia 4802 - Series GSGS K461.

ARABIAN GULF CARTOGRAPHY; OMAN.

Edité par London: Geographical Section, General Staff, 1956 & 1957

A propos de cet article

A pair of decidedly uncommon and impressively sized regional maps, both second editions, Muscat-Musira following the first of 1945, S. E. Arabia first published in 1956. The Muscat-Masira map, drawn up by D Survey of the Ministry of Defence, reaches as far north as Khaburah, Oman, on the coast, south beyond Masirah Island and westward reaching beyond Lahus and Hadhi. It is based on several mappings, including Bertram Thomas's map of Rub' al Khali, the "Empty Quarter" (1931), the sand desert covering most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula, Samuel Barrett Miles 1910 map of Oman, and Captain F. F. Hunter's map of Arabia (1935 revision). The aeronautical chart goes into greater detail, reaching beyond Sur in the North, South to Masirah Island and Manadhif and West to Uruq ash Shaybah (UAE); this was drawn up by No. 1 SPC.RE (i.e., Survey Production Centre, Royal Engineers) and is based largely on the USAF Aeronautical Approach Charts (1956) and World Aeronautical Chart 563 (1951). During the mid to late-1950s Britain was involved in a number of disputes in Oman, perhaps the most serious involving the Imam Ghalib al-Hinai and his brother Talib bin Ali, who led the Imamate's revolt against Sultan Said bin Taimur, which resulted in the Jebel Akhdar or Oman War (1954-1959). In this, the RAF played a leading role, not least because aircraft could at the same time expedite oil exploration operations in the interior of Oman. Pembrokes, light transport aircraft, and heavier Avro Ansons from 1417 (Communication) Flight RAF, carried out reconnaissance "and other tasks during this operation [against the Imamate] and were the first aircraft ever to land at Nizwa [marked "Nazwa" on the chart] on a roughly cleared strip which proved extremely hazardous for the pilots, but which was later transformed into a passable airfield" (Lee, p. 22). The present chart has two pencilled lines radiating from Masira airfield, one of which passes through Nizwa, near which is marked the "approx. position" of an airstrip. The chart bear the proviso that they should "not be taken as an authority on names" and that "the alignment of all tracks is approximate". Users were also directed to update information and highlight errors which were to be directly sent to the Director of the Military Survey in the War Office. There are noticeable graphical variations between the chart and map, as fitting their usage. Before the Second World War, pilots flew using landmarks - such as train tracks or roads - as pointers, which meant that they relied on perfect weather conditions. However, technological advances in aviation alongside the use of radio for more accurate navigation, meant that, to a degree, pilots could work in more challenging conditions. This meant that maps, with their focus on terrain and details relevant from the perspective of ground troops, would become irrelevant when observed from a plane's altitude. Therefore, a number of countries started to produce charts highlighting key information by reducing the contour structure and focusing on key landmarks necessary for aviators. The Muscat-Masira map uses a five-colour tint scale to distinguish altitude, includes a glossary and key, the latter identifying towns (given four categories of importance), significant ruins, geographical features such as mountains, hills, marshes, saddles and passes, rivers, water holes, and man-made features such as railways, roads, tracks, telegraph lines, pipelines and pumping stations, mosques and temples; tribal and regional names are also given. However, reflecting the simplification required by pilots, the S. E. Arabia chart only uses fives tones to highlight land, mountains, paths, and the sea. These maps, intended for use in the field, would have had a high rate of attrition; WorldCat locates just a handful of copies of the Muscat-Masira map, whilst S.E. Arabia 4802 is well represented institutionally but decidedly uncommon on the market. Sir David Lee, The RAF in.

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Muscat - Masira (North F40) GSGS NG40. [together with:] S. E. Arabia 4802 - Series GSGS K461.
• Éditeur: London: Geographical Section, General Staff, 1956 & 1957