340.1115A/802: Telegram
The Chargé in Germany (Heath) to the Secretary of State
[Received 6:41 p.m.]
1644. My 1641, June 3, 4 p.m.83 I was requested to call at the Foreign Office this morning by Ritter who stated that prompt orders had been issued to the German naval units to prevent any molestations of the S. S. Washington and in amplification of his remarks handed me a copy of the press communiqué transmitted in my telegram under reference. He said that while he could not guarantee the bona fides of the story of a Franco-British plot to sink the Washington as well as other American vessels the information had been received from what the Foreign Office regarded as trustworthy sources. He further asserted that according to German information the alleged plot involved both the use of a time-bomb within the ship and a torpedo attack from outside.
- Not printed.↩