761.56/5–2550
Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, by the Acting Officer in Charge of Economic Affairs in the Office, of Eastern European Affairs ( Truesdell )
Commander Davis1 called this morning to inquire whether or not the Department had received a reply from the Soviet Government to this Government’s note of May 8, 1950 in which we requested the return of the icebreakers North Wind and West Wind at Bremerhaven, Germany by June 30, 1950 or this being impossible at Yokosuka, Japan by that date. I advised Commander Davis that the reply had not yet been received but that it was expected that the Soviet Chargé would be called in early next week if a reply has not been received by that date.
I brought to Commander Davis’s attention the letter from the Secretary of the Navy2 of October 10, 1949 in which he stated the “desire [Page 1291] of the Department of the Navy, which is concurred in by the Secretary of Defense,3 that the presently anticipated resumption of negotiations on US–USSR lend-lease problems be entered into with the intent of dispossessing the Soviet Government of all operable U.S. Naval vessels in their custody”. I advised Commander Davis that it is the present intention of the Department to proceed, first by pressing for the return of the 186 Naval craft demanded with the icebreakers and frigates in our note of October 12, 1948 at the same time pressing as rapidly as possible for an over-all lend-lease settlement carrying the matter to the highest level if necessary. I said that to demand all of the craft at the present time, in the face of our offer to sell, would undoubtedly not only jeopardize the return of any further lend-lease naval craft but would also jeopardize the U.S. position in the over-all settlement. After some discussion, Commander Davis expressed his agreement to the course of action outlined above and stated that he had recently submitted a comprehensive memorandum to Admiral Sherman4 on the present status of the Soviet lend-lease matter in which he had advised that it was the Navy’s expectations that the Department would attempt to obtain the return of the 186 vessels prior to disclosing our intentions with respect to the remaining 242. In this memorandum to Admiral Sherman, Commander Davis pointed out that a request by the Department for the return of all of these vessels at this time would undoubtedly jeopardize the negotiations.
I advised Commander Davis that as result of the conversation and clarification of the Navy views in the matter that unless he heard from me to the contrary, the Department would proceed along the lines indicated above.
- Commander Jack C. Davis was a representative of the Navy Department, as an expert participating in discussions about lend-lease naval vessels and arrangements for their return by the Soviet Union.↩
- Secretary of the Navy Francis P. Matthews.↩
- Louis A. Johnson.↩
- Admiral Forrest P. Sherman, Chief of Naval Operations.↩