793.94/10414
The Consul General at Shanghai (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 4.]
Sir: With reference to my telegram No. 548 of August 24th, 5 P.M., in which I stated that after discussion with the Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Asiatic Fleet, we were agreed that the weight of available information suggests that the Chinese Air Force was responsible for the bombing of the Sincere and Wing On department store area and for the dud-bombing of the U. S. Navy warehouse, within 100 yards of this Consulate General, I have the honor to enclose for the confidential information of the Department copies of the reports86 of the U. S. Marine and U. S. Navy intelligence officers with supporting reports from Marine and Navy observers who saw the bombing plane and saw it drop one or more bombs.
It was our feeling that, while we could not positively identify the bomber as Chinese, the weight of the evidence points in that direction, and the attention of the Chinese Government authorities at Nanking should be drawn to that fact.
It is a matter of comment that the serious bombing of the foreign area on what is known here as “Bloody Saturday”—August 14th—was by Chinese planes. One can accept the explanation of the Chinese [Page 295] Government authorities that the plane which released its bombs over the area at Avenue Edward VII and Yu Ya Ching (formerly Thibet) Road had been hit by antiaircraft fire which had damaged the bomb-racks, and while the explanation has not been advanced, I would be willing to accept the statement that the pilot found it necessary to drop his bombs and sought to put them into the open area of the Race Course about a block away. His operations cost the lives of hundreds of Chinese (a late estimate is 1000 Chinese killed and wounded) and the death of the American citizens Rawlinson and Honigsberg (and Honigsberg’s alien wife).
But it is difficult to accept any satisfactory explanation of the bombing of the Cathay and Palace Hotels. There the planes were flying in formation headed toward the Japanese Consulate General and the Japanese flagship Idzumo. The bombs of all planes were released on signal from the leading plane; the bombs from the outer planes dropped into the river, while a bomb or bombs from the inner planes of the formation dropped in the Cathay–Palace hotel areas causing death, injury and panic to the hundreds of Chinese refugees who were then roaming the streets of the Settlement.
It is of interest to note that a foreign pilot of the China National Aviation Company has stated that he was at the Nanking field when this expedition took off for Shanghai and that the pilots were well fortified with liquor for their exploit.
It should be recorded, in connection with the enclosures submitted by this report, that (1) the Douglas DC–2 twin motor monoplanes of the China National Aviation Corporation—and also one formerly used by General Chen Chi-tang at Canton which is believed to have been taken over by the National Government, are silver colored; also (2) that the Chinese Air Force insignia is a white many-pointed star on a circular blue field.
Respectfully yours,
- None printed.↩