893.23/5–448
The Chinese Minister (Tan) to the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Ringwalt)
Dear Mr. Ringwalt: Referring to your conversation with me a few days ago in which you were kind enough to inform me that according to the judgment of certain officers in the Department of the Army the 20 mm. cannons are not suitable for the Mosquito type of aircraft, I take pleasure to inform you that according to the information from the Office of the Chinese Air Force in the USA such cannons are suitable for the said type of aircraft and some of the Mosquito planes in the service of the Chinese Air Force are mounted with them. The pertinent portion of the memorandum from that office to the Embassy on this matter reads as follows:
May we emphasize that if the type of 22 mm. cannons which the United States Government can make available to us is exactly the same as listed in our memorandum [i. e., Memorandum of the Embassy to the Department dated March 22nd with enclosed Lists],97 we do not think any accidents will occur, unless there are faulty parts in them.
We are very thankful for the warning from experts of the United States Army Department, and we shall appreciate it if they would point out to us whether the cannons have any inherent defects to which attention should be called.
I should like to take this opportunity to state that such cannons together with the other items of equipment as indicated in the Lists attached to the Memorandum of the Embassy of March 22nd are urgently needed, and it will be greatly appreciated if they, particularly the cannons in question, would be made available to us at the earliest possible date.
Very sincerely yours,
- Brackets appear in the original.↩