852.00/8396
The Secretary of State to the Consul at Vigo (Graves)
The Secretary of State refers to the concluding paragraph of the Consulate’s despatch No. 259 of August 6, 1938,38 referring to American airplanes reported to be in the service of the Loyalist forces and to have been shot down by the Nationalists.
Since the outbreak of the civil strife in Spain, the Department has received repeated reports to the effect that Curtiss, Martin, and Boeing planes were in the service of the Loyalist air force. Most of these reports have emanated from Spanish Nationalist or from Italian sources. None of them, however, has ever been authenticated and the Department has never had any concrete evidence presented to it which would lead it to believe that any aircraft manufactured in the United States by the above-mentioned companies were being utilized by either party to the Spanish struggle. It is understood, however, that each of these companies has licensed the Soviet Government to manufacture certain of its planes and it is altogether possible that aircraft of these types manufactured in the Soviet Union are in use in Spain.
Should the Consular Officer in charge have any information brought to his attention which would lead him to believe that any airplanes of American manufacture are being employed by either of the parties to the Spanish civil strife, he is requested to transmit this information to the Department.
- Not printed.↩