811.79690 Pan American Airways/82
The Chargé in Japan (Dickover) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 30.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that Mr. Ko Ishii, Chief of the First Section of the American Bureau of the Foreign Office, called on me today to make inquiries regarding the identity of an airplane which flew over the Island of Rota, one of the Marianne group of islands administered by Japan under mandate. According to Mr. Ishii, on October 26, 1936, a silver-painted airplane flew over the Island of Rota, which lies just north of Guam and south of the Island of Saipan, keeping a northeast to southwest course. The airplane flew at a height of 700 meters and at a speed of about 300 kilometers per hour. The Foreign Office had no information regarding the [Page 993] marks and numbers on the airplane and could give no information as to type of plane or the number of motors. There is enclosed a rough chart63 prepared by the Foreign Office showing the position of the islands in question and the course taken by the airplane in flying over Rota.
Mr. Ishii stated that the Japanese authorities have ascertained that one of the clipper airplanes of the Pan American Airways arrived at Manila on October 27, at 3 p.m., and presume, therefore, that the airplane which flew over the Island of Rota was this clipper ship, en route from Wake to Guam and perhaps blown off its course. The Foreign Office requests the American Government to ascertain if the airplane which flew over Rota was this clipper ship, and, if so, requests that the Pan-American Airways be warned against a repetition of the flight over the island in question.64
Respectfully yours,