811.79620 Boeing Airplane Co./1

The Assistant Secretary of Commerce ( MacCracken ) to the Assistant Secretary of State ( White )

My Dear Mr. Secretary: Mr. Ralph A. O’Neill of the Boeing Airplane Company, Seattle, Washington plans to sail on the Steamship Southern Cross February 11 for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He also represents the Pratt and Whitney Motor Corp. of Hartford, Connecticut. He is taking with him a Boeing pursuit plane and a Boeing mail plane. At the end of six months, there will be shipped to him a Boeing flying boat which is now in the process of construction. Mr. O’Neill plans to give demonstration flights of these ships for the army and navy air services of the various countries which he visits. He is taking with him the necessary personnel and subsidiary equipment.

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Mr. O’Neill’s contemplated route is as follows: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Buenos Aires, Argentina to Montevideo, Uruguay; Montevideo, Uruguay to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile; Santiago, Chile, to La Paz, Bolivia; La Paz, Bolivia to Lima, Peru; Lima, Peru to Guayaquil, Ecuador; Guayaquil, Ecuador to Bogotá, Colombia; Bogotá, Colombia to Caracas, Venezuela; Caracas, Venezuela to Panama City, Panama. This is a contemplated itinerary only and may be subject to change depending upon local conditions. At the end of six or eight months, Mr. O’Neill plans to be in Panama to assemble the flying boat, which will be shipped to him and to reverse his route around South America, ending in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Will you kindly communicate the necessary information to the governments concerned through the American Embassies and Legations and obtain the necessary permission for this expedition to visit and fly in these countries. Also, if possible, please obtain permission for the equipment of the expedition to be entered and shipped out of the various countries free of customs charges. It is suggested that Brazil, the Argentine, and Uruguay might be communicated with by cable and the remaining countries by letter. It would be advisable to have a reply from Brazil before the expedition sails. It might also be useful to suggest that the American diplomatic missions in each place render all possible assistance to the expedition, especially with regard to communicating with the American diplomatic mission in the next contemplated stop and obtaining necessary permits, visas, etc.

The Department of Commerce is notifying its representatives in the cities named of the itinerary and plans of this expedition, and they are being requested to render every aid possible by cooperating with representatives of the Department of State and officials of the local governments. The Department of Commerce is also requesting the War and Navy Departments to advise the military and naval attaches in South America to render all possible assistance.

For your information, I may say that the Boeing Airplane Company is one of the leading manufacturers of airplanes in the United States, supplying planes to the Navy Department and also supplying mail planes to certain airmail routes which it operates in the west. The Boeing planes, powered with the Pratt & Whitney motors, rank among the very best manufactured in the United States.

Mr. O’Neill is a captain, aviation specialist, Air Corps Reserves. He served in the First Pursuit Group, A. E. F., and was one of the first Americans to be rated as Ace. He received the D. S. C. with two oak leaves, and the Croix de Guerre while serving as Flight and Squadron Commandant of the 147th Aero Squadron. After the war, [Page 820] he obtained a contract with the Mexican Government to organize the Mexican Air Force, and he served there as Chief and Technical Consuitor for five years.

Any assistance that can properly be accorded Mr. O’Neill and this expedition will be beneficial to American aeronautics.

Faithfully yours,

Wm. P. MacCracken, Jr.