825.248/11–1344
The Ambassador in Chile (Bowers) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 5.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to my strictly confidential telegram No. 1712 of October 30, 5:00 p.m.51 and to enclose the text and translation of a confidential note, No. 51 of October 27, 1944,51 from the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs52 proposing that the understandings reached in conversations which have taken place in Santiago between the Military Air Attaché of this Embassy and the Ministry of Defense be reduced to concrete form as regards the technical advice and equipment which can be furnished by the War Department of the United States for the improvement of airfields in Chile. In this connection reference is made to the confidential memorandum of a conversation53 on the subject, “Chilean Aviation Matters” which took place in the Department on August 18, 1944.
As an indication of the subjects covered in the Santiago conversations, there is enclosed a copy of a memorandum53 to me from Col. Daniel E. Ellis, Military Air Attaché of this Embassy, dated August 30, 1944. It will be noted that Col. Ellis’ memorandum stresses the assistance which might be rendered by U. S. Army Air Forces technical personnel in recommending construction of new landing fields and the improvement of the existing ones which can be carried out with Chilean equipment and resources without the necessity of furnishing construction machinery but with a recommendation for providing lighting, radio, and weather reporting apparatus and equipment. [Page 689] This recommendation is based upon the belief that satisfactory sites for new airfields can be so selected and existing airfields can be so redesigned as to enable the meeting of minimum requirements with respect to size, surface, drainage, etc., using machinery which is already at the disposal of the Chilean Government. Aids to aerial navigation and weather reporting and recording apparatus, however, are not obtainable in Chile and could not be acquired in a reasonable time without assistance.
It is unnecessary to stress the importance, from the military viewpoint, of a network of airfields throughout the length of Chile assuring access to the Cape Horn region and adjacent waters by military aircraft in case of a threat by hostile forces. Almost equally important, from the viewpoint of commercial air communications, is the fact that lighted landing fields and radio beacons would permit considerable lengthening of the flying day, now limited to daylight hours.
As the project is presented in the enclosed memorandum, it seems to offer considerable benefits with a very reasonable outlay on the part of the two Governments, with the advantage that once a survey has been completed and recommendations have been made, the work can then proceed at whatever pace the Government of Chile may find it practicable to set.
It appears that what is now being sought is a general written understanding as to the character of the technical assistance desired and the method of providing it, which would serve as a basis and point of reference for initiating the project, the operating details to be arranged through direct contact between the War Department’s representatives in Santiago and the Chilean Military Authorities. Reference is made to my Despatch No. 9740 of May 16, 194454 outlining the steps taken in arriving at an understanding as to the aerial photographic charting of Chilean territory to be carried out by USAAF personnel and aircraft. In that case, an exchange of notes between the Ambassador and the Minister of Foreign Affairs established the general lines of the project, which were later filled in, and even modified, by agreement between the War Department’s representatives in Santiago and the Chilean Ministry of National Defense. This method might be followed in the present instance, if the War Department considers it appropriate.
I shall await the Department’s specific instructions before taking any steps in this matter beyond an acknowledgment of the Foreign Undersecretary’s letter.
Respectfully yours,