740.0011 European War 1939/4563: Telegram
The Minister in Greece (MacVeagh) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 10—5:42 p.m.]
165. The British Naval Attaché told Captain Johnson this morning that the Italian war plane reported last night to have landed damaged in Crete was one of a formation of three waves of such planes which attacked British surface craft south of Gavdos Island late Monday. Possibly these planes were attempting to intercept the British sweep toward Malta which resulted in yesterday’s clash.
The Attaché also said that a British oiler engaged in refueling destroyers has recently three times violated Greek territorial waters the first occasion being in the Gulf of Argolis the second near the southern capes and the third off the northwest coast of Crete. At the instance of the Greek Government the Attaché has each time requested the [Page 532] Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet to discontinue such action but has received non-cooperative replies.
The positions given for the refueling would seem to indicate the existence of constant British patrolling across the direct route from Italy to the Dodecanese and the tenor of the Commander-in-Chief’s replies is reminiscent of the practical disregard of Greece’s neutrality which was shown by the British in the last war.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has now created resident service representation at this post by the appointment of a Naval Attaché who has just arrived.