Office of the Historian

740.00112 European War 1939/10491: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State

London, April 6, 1944—midnight.
[Received April 6—7:42 p.m.]

2836. For Department and Stone FEA from the Ambassador and Riefler. Foreign Office, MEW and Air Ministry have considered Department’s [Page 493] 2604, April 3. They are not sanguine about the tactics of a high level approach such as is envisaged but are prepared to give instructions to Mallet to join Johnson subject to clarification on the following five points:

1.
They would like to move immediately to get the Russians to join in the approach.
2.
They wish clarification on what moves will be made should the Swedes refuse. They will not consider possibility of risking our present restrictions on ball bearings and other advantages arising out of the 1943 War Trade Agreement and will not join if Swedish inability to meet our demands were to be followed by sanctions which risked that agreement.
3.
They desire in the meantime to go ahead with the approach to SKF through Wallenberg suggested in our 2713, April 3 and already initiated informally through Mallet, and would like your concurrence.
4.
In view of urgent British needs in immediate future for special SKF bearings for latest type aircraft, and also of great Swedish resentment to Blacklist, they would not want to commit themselves to listing SKF and desire that joint note be rephrased at this point to a threat more like that contained in our 2713, April 3.
5.
If this approach is made, British prefer to demand an embargo for a definite period of 3 months during which your suggested London negotiations could take place.

[Winant and Riefler]
Winant