Catalogue description Ministry of Civil Aviation and successors: Telecommunications Directorate: Registered Files (TN and Tels Series)

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Details of BT 252
Reference: BT 252
Title: Ministry of Civil Aviation and successors: Telecommunications Directorate: Registered Files (TN and Tels Series)
Description:

This series contains files of the Telecommunications Directorate of the Civil Aviation Departments relating to the development, siting, organisation and maintenance of telecommunications systems and equipment.

The subject matter of the files includes:

  • international convention on aeronautical telecommunications
  • British participation in international telecommunications developments through organisations such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Telecommunications Union
  • the selection of radio frequencies to be used for aeronautical telecommunications
  • the investigation, development and elevation of radar surveillance systems and equipment, navigational aids and landing aids, including the Instrument Landing System, 'Decca', and Distance Measuring Equipment
  • the provision of air traffic control facilities and centres, including some files which relate to specific airports and air traffic control centres

The series also contains minutes and papers of the Civil Aviation Radio Advisory Committee, and a small number of files relating to air accidents and air misses.

The papers in this series are of the TN and Tels registered file series, which ran roughly from 1947 to 1956 and 1953 to 1970 respectively. The Tels series includes some re-registered TN files. A series of TE files opened in 1970 passed to the Civil Aviation Authority upon their formation in 1972.
Date: 1926-1971
Related material:

For registered files of the National Air Traffic Services Directorate of Air Navigation Services see DR 37

Further TELS series files are in DR 39
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department: TN and Tels file series
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

Board of Trade, Telecommunications Directorate, 1966-1970

Board of Trade, Telecommunications Directorate (Air Traffic Services), 1969-1970

Department of Trade and Industry, Telecommunications Directorate (Air Traffic Services), 1970-1972

Ministry of Aviation, Navigational Services, 1959-1966

Ministry of Civil Aviation, Directorate of Navigational Services (Telecommunications), 1948-1953

Ministry of Civil Aviation, Telecommunications Directorate, 1945-1948

Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, Civil Aviation Department, Telecommunications Directorate, 1953-1959
Physical description: 494 file(s)
Access conditions: Subject to 30 year closure
Administrative / biographical background:

The Telecommunications Directorate consisted of a number of sections (Tels 1, Tels 2 etc.) and its Director reported to the Director General of Navigational Services. In November 1948 it became the Directorate of Navigational Services (Telecommunications) which it remained until 1953, when on the formation of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation its title reverted back to the Telecommunications Directorate (or Civil Aviation Telecommunications Directorate).

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