740.0011 European War 1939/32055
The American Embassy in Spain to the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs 44
Note Verbale
The Embassy of the United States of America presents its compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has the honor to inform [Page 628] the latter that, according to information received from the competent American authorities, on October 27, 1943 an aircraft resembling a Fiat attacked United States patrol planes approximately six miles east of Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands, as a result of which damage was suffered by one of the planes and injuries sustained by a member of its crew.
It is further reported that on the following day, October 28, a biplane believed to be a Fiat made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to attack two American patrol planes operating four miles off the coast of the island of Gran Canaria at a point ten miles south of Las Palmas, and that on October 30 a similar aircraft pursued an American patrol plane for fifteen minutes off Las Palmas, during which period the American plane was at no time closer to the shore than a distance of six miles.
On November 1 it is reported that a United States aircraft on patrol duty was attacked three times at a point seven miles east of Melenara, Gran Canaria, by a plane resembling a Fiat, during the course of which attacks the American aircraft received approximately forty 50-caliber hits resulting in considerable damage to the plane itself and injuries to three of the members of its crew.
The Embassy has been instructed by its Government to protest strongly to the Spanish Government against the unneutral conduct of these Spanish aircraft in the Canary Islands in making repeated attacks against United States aircraft outside of the limits of Spanish territorial waters, and to request from the Spanish Government appropriate assurances that such unneutral acts will not occur in the future.
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in Spain in his despatch No. 1580, November 9; received November 26.↩