Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1941, The Far East, Volume V

Mr. Lauchlin Currie to President Roosevelt ²⁵

Washington, July 19, 1941.

Re: Chinese Aircraft Program.

Attachéd is a Report of the Joint Planning Committee, concurred in by the Secretaries of War and Navy, and the Joint Board, on the Chinese Short-Term Aircraft Program. It was prepared in response to my request for recommendations to you.

The recommendations are as follows:

a. With regard to Policy:

1. That the United States and Great Britain, subject to United States and British requirements, furnish material aid to China by providing aircraft of pursuit, bombardment, and training types, together with accessories, spares, armament and ammunition, in quantities sufficient for effective action against Japanese military and naval forces operating in China and in neighboring countries and waters.

2. That the United States provide a cadre of American instructor pilots in China aided by such technical personnel and equipment as may be necessary to the accomplishment of the training of Chinese personnel as flight and maintenance crews. This instructor cadre will render advisory assistance in the maintenance and employment of all training and combat aircraft, and equipment pertaining thereto, which has been made available to China by the United States Government.

3. That to aid China in the proper utilization of the large amount of material resources being furnished by the United States, the United States send a military mission to China to act in an advisory capacity.

b. With regard to the Short-Term Aircraft Program for China:

1. That aircraft, together with accessories, spares, armament, and ammunition be made available to the Chinese Government as follows:

(a) 144 Vultee 48 C and D, Pursuit, from stocks or production already allocated to China by the Joint Aircraft Committee.

(b) 125 Republic P–43 Pursuit, now on contract to the Chinese Government.

(c) 33 Lockheed Hudson, Medium Bombardment, from stocks or production now allocated to the British.

(d) 33 DB–7, Light Bombardment, from stocks or production now allocated to the British.

(e) Accessories and spares to be scheduled for production or made available from stocks controlled by the United States or Great Britain, as the case may be, to accompany each group of planes.

(f) Armament and ammunition from stocks or production controlled by the British.

2. That delivery of aircraft indicated in recommendation b (1), (a) to (d), inclusive, De conditioned upon the diversion of adequate armament and ammunition to permit their efficient employment in combat.

The recommendations to which your attention is specifically directed are those dealing with the diversion of a limited number of medium and light bombers from the British, the diversion of a limited amount of armament and ammunition, now being produced in America for the British, and the proposal of a military mission.

On the diversion of bombers, armament and ammunition, I have prepared for you the accompanying directives which the Secretary of War can transmit to the Joint Aircraft Procurement Committee and the appropriate Ordnance Committee.

I had previously raised the question of a Military Mission to China with Mr. Welles. He feels strongly that all our relations with the Chinese Government should be tied in with the Embassy, that increased military representation in China, if necessary and desirable, should take the form of appointing a Military Attaché of higher rank than the Colonel now there and of additional assistant military attachés assigned to different tasks, and that, finally, the lease-lend “expediter” in China should be a civilian. Mr. Hopkins concurs in these views. It so happens that one of the ablest officers in the Far East Foreign Service, John Carter Vincent, is now acting temporarily as Counselor at our Embassy in Chungking. He knows China, speaks Chinese, and is a close friend of Lattimore. His detail as lease-lend expediter would be agreeable to Mr. Welles and to me.²⁶

I would suggest, as a possible way of reconciling the views of the State Department and the War Department, that the man the War Department has in mind to head the mission, General Magruder, be appointed Military Attaché with the understanding that in the event of hostilities, he would become head of a Military Mission. This is the arrangement the British have worked out in Chungking with their Military Attaché, Major-General Dennys.

I would also like to recommend that you approve the suggestion of detailing John Vincent as lease-lend expediter in Chungking.

Lauchlin Currie

25. Photostatic copy obtained from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, N.Y.
26. Marginal notation in ink by President Roosevelt: “OK FDR”.