862.24/640: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Leahy) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:12 p.m.]
454. Department’s 205, March 24, 8 p.m. and Algiers’ 172, March 23, 5 p.m. and 181, March 24, 11 a.m. I considered it advisable first to make an informal inquiry from a competent official in the Foreign Office before bringing the substance of these reports to the attention of the French Government. The result of this inquiry is as follows:
- 1.
- We are informed that of the original 3,600 tons of gasoline to be delivered by France to Libya 2,000 tons of this amount is aviation gasoline of which 1,400 tons came from Marseille and 600 tons from stocks already in French North Africa. The 1,400 tons in question were transported from France to French North Africa by tanker whose total carrying capacity did not exceed that amount. The official stated that if the French Government had had at its disposal a tanker with a carrying capacity of 2,000 tons the entire amount of French aviation gasoline destined for Libya would have been sent to French North Africa from French metropolitan stocks.
- 2.
- The remaining 1600 tons is automotive gasoline to be delivered to Libya from French North African military stocks.
The official stated that the following is an exact record to date (March 26) of deliveries already made: Aviation gasoline 1148 tons; automotive gasoline 1395 tons, total 2543 tons. Remaining to be delivered is therefore 1057 tons.
The official offered the opinion that the discrepancy in the figures (received from Murphy) is due to the fact that the 1140 tons of aviation gasoline reported as having been supplied from France should not have been added to the 2,000 tons of aviation gasoline described as supplied by Algeria but should have been included. In fact our informant said French North Africa not having the local stocks available to furnish 2,000 tons of aviation gasoline to Libya had been forced to call on metropolitan France to supply the 1400 tons in question.
As regards Cole’s report mentioned in the Department’s 205, March 24, 8 p.m., the official said that he presumed that it referred to the recent landing of five (not three) Italian airplanes at Maison Blanche, Algeria, on March 7, 1942. The arrival of these planes, he claimed, had embarrassed the local authorities who felt themselves obliged to supply the necessary gasoline to insure their immediate departure. The amount of supplies furnished these planes was approximately 10,000 liters.
The delivery of this gasoline was made from French military stocks only (and not borrowed from Standard Oil stocks) which in some instances, due to a lack of army owned reservoir tanks, are stored in tanks of a number of private companies from which they are taken as needed to meet the requirements of French aviation.
As the Department is aware we have been informed by our Consul at Tunis (see last paragraph of Tunis telegram 44, March 12, 8 p.m., and Tunis 51 [52?], March 25, noon, to the Department46) that Italian military planes coming from Libya have landed in Tunisia allegedly to the embarrassment of the French authorities who claim to have protested to the Italian Government but so far without much success.
The official in question assures us that negotiations to forego the balance of tons to be delivered are still proceeding with the Armistice Commission but he appears to be uncertain of what the results will be.
From this point of view it appears advisable to me to recommend to the Department the acceptance of the present situation as outlined above and to take no adverse action in the matter unless some further violation of the assurances is made by the French Government.
I will, however, bring to the attention of the Foreign Office the question of the landing of Italian military planes in French North [Page 159] Africa in the sense indicated in the final paragraph of the Department’s 205, March 24, 8 p.m.
Repeated to Murphy.
- Latter not printed.↩