Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, Korea and China, Volume VII, Part 1

Lot 55D128: Black Book, Tab 70: Telegram

The Commander in Chief, United Nations Command (Ridgway) to the Joint Chiefs of Staff

secret
operational immediate

Tokyo, 10 November 1951—3:45 p. m.

CX–57014. DEPTAR msg Def 86477, DTG 082044Z Nov 51.¹ Plane referred to undoubtedly Patron 6 plane rept missing 6 Nov. This plane departed NAS Atsugi on routine daily shipping recon Japan Sea in connection UN opns in Korea. At 0646I plane made comm check with base radio with signal loud and clear. 0850I plane psn fixed by radar Hokkaido at lat 42 39 North long 138 12 East. Normal weather rept which should have been transmitted about 0945I not received. Dead-reckoning plot last known psn indicates that plane could have been in vic lat 42 00 North long 133 40 East at 1010I. Weather this area from pilot rept three hours later broken stratus base 2000 ft visibility ten miles. Nearest approach to USSR territory on track established for this mission forty miles and crew thoroughly briefed on effective order not to approach closer than twenty miles to USSR territory under any circumstances. Plane equipped with excellent radar which insures positive knowledge of psn and current instr require immediate radio rept in case of radar failure. Planes are prepared for inst transmission code group meaning “being atk by enemy acft” in such an emergency. No signals heard. Extensive search most probable areas entirely negative. From above it can only be concluded that (1) Intentional or unplanned approach to Russian Coast was not made (2) Plane was intercepted and atk without warning well outside of twenty miles Russian coastline.

Regardless of insignia this was UN acft operating under UN control.²

1. See footnote 2, p. 1097.
2. In reply to the above message, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in telegram JCS 86791, November 12, instructed General Ridgway to include in normal fashion the loss of the plane in his next report to the United Nations covering the period November 1–15. This policy was concurred in by Mr. Acheson. Additionally, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Department of State decided that there would be no formal reply by the United States to the Soviet note. (Black Book, Tabs 71, 76, 86, and 88) General Ridgway’s report (U.N. document S/2507), which was formally transmitted to the United Nations on January 31, 1952, merely stated that the plane was missing and presumed lost with no survivors; no mention was made of an attack. See also the memorandum from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Secretary of Defense, p. 1163.