882.796/13
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Alling) to the Assistant Secretary of State (Berle)
Mr. Berle: We have discussed with Colonel Johnson of the Operations Division of the War Department the question raised by Sir Ronald Campbell61 and Air Commodore Thornton regarding the use of Liberia as a refueling station for the British BOAC land planes proceeding down the West Coast of Africa. It was explained to Colonel Johnson that the British desired to use Liberian territory for this purpose in order to conserve fuel by short hops along the coast, so that a full load of vital military supplies could be flown to the Egyptian front.
Colonel Johnson said there was nothing new in this approach by the British, except that it was now being made through the State Department instead of directly to the War Department. In addition to the request for refueling facilities, the British were asking permission to introduce their own petroleum installations, their own ground crews and repair facilities, and that they were obviously desirous of making Liberian territory a base for the BOAC commercial traffic as distinct from military patrol work. The range of planes to be used on this route, according to Colonel Johnson, was easily sufficient to fly the distance between Freetown and Takoradi or Accra without coming down for refueling.
Colonel Johnson said that the War Department had been guided in its attitude on this matter by the recommendations of Colonel Harry A. McBride who had recently returned from a special visit to [Page 416] Monrovia, and of Colonel Wood, the Commander of the American military forces in Liberia. Both Colonel McBride and Colonel Wood felt that the use by these BOAC planes of our airports in Liberia would be contrary to commitments given by the American military authorities to the Liberian Government and would be deeply resented by the Liberians. At present the British have the right to make emergency stops in Liberia for refueling purposes when the planes are engaged in coastwise patrol work, but this understanding does not extend to British commercial planes used in ferrying supplies to the Middle East. Colonel Johnson stated that the War Department was opposed to the BOAC proposals because of the advice given by Colonel McBride and Colonel Wood, although this attitude might change in the event that Liberia should declare war at some future date.
Colonel Johnson further stated that a meeting has been arranged between representatives of the War Department and the British Air Ministry, to be attended also by Colonel McBride, in an effort to arrange an amicable solution of the problem. Colonel McBride, however, is at present ill at his home and a meeting will have to be postponed until he is well enough to attend, probably within the next couple of days. It is our view that Colonel McBride is particularly well qualified to discuss the situation, since he has just investigated the air transport problem on the West Coast of Africa, and is fully familiar with all questions relating to the various air services in that area. Colonel Johnson suggested that the matter should be left in the hands of the technical experts, particularly those who had firsthand acquaintance with the Liberian problem. This view, it seems to us, is a reasonable one and as soon as Mr. McBride is recovered I believe that we can expect a prompt handling of the matter.
- British Minister in the United States.↩