Sharjah museum receives Gulf's first mail plane

The first aircraft used to transport mail in the region has been handed over to Al Mahata Museum as a gift from His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah.

The museum, which belongs to the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information, was built on the same site that housed Sharjah's first airport.

The site was turned into a museum under the directives of the Ruler. Now it houses rare models of the first and oldest passenger and cargo planes that flew in the Gulf states.

A Department of Culture spokesman said yesterday that the latest plane is an Avro Anson of which only a few still exist.

It was built in the UK in October 1937 for the Royal Air Force. It was then transferred to the U.S. Air Force, after which it returned to RAF service in 1947. It was sold to a British airline in August 1950. It was registered with the Gulf United Co For Air Navigation in Bahrain, where it was used for commercial purposes until January 1953.

With this aircraft the museum can recreate an accurate image of the early Sharjah airport, the department spokesman said.

The museum also has the first plane owned by Gulf Air, which flew from Sharjah to Bahrain, and another DC3 used to transport passengers and cargo, in addition to a model of the first British Airways plane which landed at Sharjah on June 6, 1932.

The museum houses sections that display some of the oldest equipment and tools used in the region, in addition to rare photographs and a documentary film.