Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Eastern Europe, The Soviet Union, Volume VI

811.2360H/8–2046: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Acting Secretary of State²⁶

secret
us urgent

Paris, August 20, 1946—9 p.m.
[Received August 21—1:52 p.m.]

4128. For Acheson from the Secretary. Following receipt of Dept’s 4210 of August 20²⁷ and information concerning second attack on American transport aircraft, I asked Kardelj, head of Yugoslav Delegation and Vice Prime Minister, to call upon me. I read to him the note sent to the Yugoslav Government as set forth in your telegram under reference and told him that the US could not understand why these innocent passengers and crew were still in detention in Yugoslavia. No matter what the actual facts are, the position of this passenger airplane had been the result of bad weather. I requested him furthermore, to ascertain immediately the whereabouts of the second airplane which had reported a further attack on August 19 and subsequently unheard of.

Kardelj stated he was not familiar with details of these two particular cases but repeated allegations of continued violation of Yugoslav territory by American military aircraft. I told him that these planes in question were passenger-carrying transport planes and not military aircraft and again impressed upon him the seriousness with which the US Government viewed these attacks on American aircraft which had been forced from their designated route by bad weather. I asked him to communicate immediately with his Govt in order to obtain the release of the detained passengers and crew of the airplane and to give an explanation under what charge they have been held in custody for 11 days, and also to obtain as soon as possible information concerning the whereabouts of the second aircraft. I told him then that upon the receipt of this information from him the US Government would have to consider what steps it should take in the circumstances but that we could not tolerate the shooting down of American planes or the detention of American citizens in this manner. Kardelj promised to communicate immediately with his Government and let me know as soon as possible.

Repeated Belgrade 41 for the Ambassador.

[

Byrnes

]

[On August 21, 1946, at 5 p.m., Acting Secretary of State Acheson delivered a note to the Yugoslav Chargé regarding the shooting down by Yugoslav planes of a second American C–47 aircraft; for text of note, see Department of State Bulletin, September 1, 1946, page 417.]

26. The Secretary of State was chairman of the United States delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, July 29–October 15, 1946. Messages from the Secretary were transmitted via the Embassy in Paris and carried Embassy numbers.
27. Not printed; it transmitted the text of the note which Ambassador Patterson communicated to the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry on August 20. See bracketed note, p. 921.