711.00111 Armament Control/Military Secrets/418

The Embassy of the Soviet Union to the Department of State

Memorandum

The Amtorg Trading Corporation7 wishes to negotiate with different steel companies such as the Midwell Steel Company, the Bethlehem Steel Company, the Carnegie Steel Company and others regarding [Page 458] the purchase of certain amounts of heavy armor for battleships and cruisers and in this connection the securing of offers with technical specifications. These firms do not find it possible to make offers regarding the sale of heavy armor with technical specifications without the special permission of the Navy Department.

The Embassy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics would appreciate it very much if the Department of State could intervene in this matter and discuss with the Navy Department the possibility of giving the necessary permission to the steel companies for negotiating about the sale of heavy armor and the making of offers with technical specifications.

  1. Official Soviet Agency for purchases and sales in the United States, 261 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y.