Military operations in Oman

This file relates to Oman and the Dhofar conflict. It contains correspondence on:

• Operational details, incoming artillery logs, and reports of military actions and movements, relating to UK and Omani forces;
• Maps of Dhofar; including one in colour showing the 'Damavand Line', and the code-names of various locations, including airstrips; another with the ‘Sarfayt obstacle’ marked
• SA7B and SAM6 missiles
• Attempts to capture ammunition from the enemy to test against the Cervantes radar system
• The accounts of defence contractor Pauling (Middle East) Limited
• An extract from the record of a meeting of Anglo-US talks on the Indian Ocean held on 7 November 1975 at the State Department in Washington DC
• Restrictions on the involvement of British troops in cross-border operations
• A copy of a letter, dated 1971, from the Sultan to the then ambassador D F Hawley concerning the jurisdiction of unruly British service personnel; with a directive
• The training of the firqat irregulars by the British Army Training Team (BATT)
• Patrols of ‘Operation Hadaf’ reach Shirshitti caves, with Iranians nearby on Janook-Furious road
• ‘Operation Halwa’
• The willingness of the commander of the Frontier Force (FF) Brigadier Akehurst for the Iranians now to withdraw
• The discovery of a body believed to be that of Captain N C T Loring
• Funeral arrangements for Flight Lieutenant J O Heathcote
• Omani claims that their air attacks on the Jadhid [Jadib] and Hauf [Hawf] areas of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) are aimed at eliminating Yemeni support for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman (PFLO), and will cease when retaliation ceases
• The photo-reconnaissance of Al Gheida [Al Ghaydah], Hawf, and Jadib
• The loss of an Omani Hunter aircraft on a reconnaissance operation to photograph Al Ghaydah Airport on 31 October 1975; the apology of Air Commodore E Bennett for a contravention of standing orders in that the pilot was British
• The possibility of PDRY establishing an ‘air defence umbrella’ at Al Ghaydah
• The declining intensity of the war; the suspension of strikes by the Sultan of Oman's Air Force (SOAF) on the PDRY; and calls by HMG for restraint
• An HMG assessment that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are applying pressure on the Sultan to continue attacks on PDRY
• A tour of the Gulf by the Foreign Secretary James Callaghan
• Discussion in London between CSAF, the Minister of State David Ennals and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office official Sir A A Duff concerning a possible settlement; instructions issued afterwards to the Ambassador in Muscat
• A declaration of ‘Victory Eid’ in a speech by the Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed Al Said; and the PFLO’s reaction
• The Sultan's account to the British Ambassador of contacts between Oman and PDRY involving Saudi Arabia, his outline of the PDRY’s terms, and his assessment that the PFLO is continuing its operations with the aim of involving themselves in any settlement deal
• The text of a message from the Sultan to the Arab heads of mission
• A statement by the PFLO claiming that the war is continuing
• An attack launched by a small armed group through Damavand Line, with casualties inflicted
• A new bombardment of Sarfayt; the despatch of sound ranging detachment to help counter the threat
• An operation due in early January to clear remaining rebels in eastern area
• The monitored texts of broadcast by the Aden Voice of Oman Revolution
• Press articles