Original secret telegram Royal Pakistan Air Force 1951
"Ops Imm" from the RPAF Staging Post in Mauripur
Author
Publisher
Printing Details
This is a rare original message form sent within the Royal Pakistan Air Force from the staging post at Mauripur in July 1951, with original envelope.
The envelope: This has been opened hastily, with paper label covering to the front, on which is written "Secret" and "Ops Imm" (believed to be Operations Immediate, meaning it required immediate action), and sent to HQ of the RPAF at Mauripur, with a handwritten note of who it was opened by on 5th July 1951.
The message: This has been written down on an old Air Force (India) form dated 1944, but the message is from 1951. It was sent from Air HQ Comm Sqdn Mauripur to Air HQ Stats Karachi and repeated to C.T.O. + S.H.Q. Mauripur (Chief Technical Officer and Station Head Quarters). The message appears coded, or at least in military parlance and not meant to read by anyone else. The message text reads: "[b][i]AS/85 /5 JULY /SECRET / O / COMM SQDN / (B) VIK / (B1) ONE / (C) ONE / O / (B) DAK / (B1) THREE / (C) THREE / (N) 2/0540 /(Q) 5/0245 / O / (B) DOVE / (B1) TWO / (C) TWO / (N) 3/0725 /(NI) 1/0100 / (Q) 3/0040/ O /PART II / O / (B) P / (B) FOUR / (A) N / (B) FIVE /(A) S / B (FIVE)[/i][/b]"
Quite what it means is unknown, but there is reference to aircraft ("VIK" / "DOVE" / "DAK": Vickers Viking, de Havilland Dove, and Dakota) and was written at a time of tension between Pakistan and India with troops of both armies massing on the border, and Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan making his "clenched fist" speech in the same month, a gesture, symbolizing a resolute defiance against threats to Pakistan's sovereignty, specifically regarding tensions with India and the Kashmir dispute. , with Air H.Q. Comm Sqdn". This suggests it came from the elite unit responsible for the Prime Minister's personal safety and transport and reporting what planes were ready to evacuate or transport VIPs if need be.
Condition
The message itself is in good condition for age, with slight loss along the top edge. The envelope is tatty as to be expected with loss to the rear and creasing / tearing to all edges. However, this remains an unsual item, something that normally would have been filed or destroyed.
Books are currently zero-rated for duty (as of January 2026), so the price shown is the price you pay.
