Office of the Historian

Moscow Embassy Files: Lot F–96

The American Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Standley) to the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union (Molotov)

No. L–15
Moscow, October 12, 1942.

Excellency: I have the honor to inform you that I have been directed to transmit the following message from the President of the United States to Mr. Stalin dated October 12, 1942:42

“I am examining every possibility of increasing the number of fighter planes to be sent to the Soviet Union. The fact of the matter is that all Aircobra production is now going to fighting fronts immediately. While these urgent combat requirements make it impossible to increase the number of Aircobras for you at the moment, nevertheless I am hoping to increase our production of this type at the expense of other types in order to give you more planes. Also if our forthcoming operations43 which you know about turn out as successfully as they promise, we would then be in a position to release fighters.

“Our heavy bombardment group has been ordered mobilized immediately for the purpose of operating on your southern flank. This [Page 734] movement will not be contingent on any other operation or commitment and these planes and sufficient transports will go to the Caucasus at an early date.

“I shall telegraph you in a day or so in reference to explosives, aluminium and trucks.

“Twenty merchant ships for use in the Pacific are being made available to you.

“In October we will ship to you 276 combat planes and everything possible is being done to expedite these deliveries.”

Accept [etc.]

For the Ambassador:
Llewellyn E. Thompson, Jr.

Secretary of Embassy
  1. The reply of October 14, 1942, from Premier Stalin, merely thanking President Roosevelt for his communication, was sent by Molotov to Ambassador Litvinov for delivery to the President, and a copy was sent to Secretary of Embassy Thompson at Moscow.↩
  2. The invasion of French North Africa.↩