Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1945, European Advisory Commission, Austria, Germany, Volume III

740.019 Control (Austria)/3–1245

The United States Political Adviser on Austrian Affairs (Erhardt) to the Director of the Office of European Affairs (Matthews)

London, March 12, 1945.

Dear Doc: At the request of General Meyer,⁶⁹ I attended this morning a conference of his staff group, including particularly Colonel Williamson,⁷⁰ the Military Air Adviser. Others present included Lightner⁷¹ in place of Mosely, and Colonel McCaffrey⁷² of General Flory’s group. The discussion concerned the new U.K. proposal for the subdivision of the Vienna area. It is assumed that you have in Washington a map illustrating the proposal.

Most of the discussion was devoted to the question of airports. Colonel Williamson made it plain that the air facilities are wholly inadequate in the zone allocated to the U.S. in this U.K. proposal. Attached is a copy of a memorandum of today’s date by Colonel Williamson on this subject.⁷³

The proposed Russian zone includes two airports, one of which is the best in the Vienna area, and the French zone includes the second best. There is no large airport in the zones proposed for the U.S. and the U.K. (In the Russian proposal made some time ago for the zoning of the Vienna area, all three of the airports are within the Russian zone.) Colonel Williamson stated that although the U.S. zone as proposed by the U.K. might include one or more small air strips capable of handling fighters or small bombers, it possesses no airport which could accommodate four-engined bombers or transports, even if enlarged to the limits of the surrounding terrain.

Colonel Williamson mentioned that the ATC⁷⁴ personnel required for Austria will number 4,000. Consequently he pointed out it is desirable to have an airport at or near which substantial housing facilities could be made available.

Colonel Williamson called attention to the fact that Vienna will be an important intermediate stop on the route to the Far East and adequate U.S. landing facilities are needed for communication and movement of personnel between the European and Pacific theaters.

Colonel Williamson is to bring these facts to the attention of Mr. Winant and a telegram will be drafted in the former’s unit for transmission to the War Department.⁷⁵

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with this background and to say it was my impression that the inadequacy of air, facilities in the U.K. proposal for our zone was not realized until Colonel Williamson pressed the matter. My contribution, bearing in mind briefing by Jimmy Riddleberger on the subject of air facilities, was to keep the subject under discussion until all the facts were brought out at the conference.

Faithfully yours,

John G. Erhardt

69. Brig. Gen. Vincent Meyer, Military Adviser to the United States Representative on the European Advisory Commission.
70. Col. Charles G. Williamson, Military Air Adviser to the United States Representative on the European Advisory Commission.
71. E. Allan Lightner, Secretary to the United States Delegation to the European Advisory Commission.
72. Col. George H. McCaffrey, Chief Planning Coordinator, United States Group, Control Council (Austria).
73. Not printed.
74. Air Transport Command.
75. FX 46604 from Lt. Gen. McNarney to the War Department, March 20, 1945, stated that the United Kingdom proposal on the sub-division of the greater Vienna area was unacceptable because of its failure to provide airfield facilities in the United States zone and urged that the United States be assigned the southeastern zone (EAC Mosely File).