Office of the Historian

791.5 MSP/8–152

Memorandum of Conversation, by William L. S. Williams of the Office of South Asian Affairs1

secret
[Washington,] August 1, 1952.

Subject:

  • India’s Request for Release of Tanks and Jet Aircraft under Provisions of Section 408(e) of Public Law 329 as Amended.

Participants:

  • Mr. Sen, Ambassador of India
  • Brigadier Banerji, Military Attaché, Embassy of India
  • Mr. Byroade, NEA
  • Mr. Kennedy, SOA
  • Mr. Williams, SOA

Mr. Sen said that the Embassy had requested, by a letter dated July 1,2 the release of 200 Sherman M4A4 tanks together with spares under the terms of US-Indian agreement regarding reimbursable military assistance.3 He said that India’s present fleet of tanks were obtained at the end of the war and through Lend-Lease settlements, and that India has obtained few spare parts since the end of the war. The tanks were needed for replacement, not expansion.

Mr. Byroade said that it appeared that Sherman M4A1 tanks were available, but that it would take some time, perhaps from nine months to a year, to recondition them. The cost of the tanks and spares was estimated to be around $19,000,000. Mr. Byroade said that he could not give the Ambassador a formal answer because he believed certain further operations were involved.

Mr. Kennedy referred to India’s request for a maximum of 200 jet aircraft and said that the two requests might be considered together and could raise questions about India’s capacity to pay. Mr. Byroade added that preliminary studies put the cost of jet aircraft and the required spares and special tools and equipment at $150,000,000. In commenting on this Brigadier Banerji said that he understood the jets were not required until 1954, and that India had money allocated to the purchase of tanks. On this point Mr. Kennedy replied that it would be necessary, if jet aircraft were available, to make substantial down payments when the contract was agreed upon.

Mr. Byroade said that he did not see any great difficulty over the request for tanks, but that the request for the release of jet aircraft placed the US Government in a difficult position. If the request were [Page 1659] approved, it would mean that the responsible United States official would be saying in effect that India has money to finance the purchase of costly military equipment, but at the same time India does not have the ability to finance essential economic development, and requires external grant aid for this latter purpose.

Mr. Sen replied that India has demands both for economic development and for defense. He said that if tomorrow there were no trouble with Pakistan, India would still need a good defense force, and that defense does not run counter to economic development. India needs strong defenses to guard its borders.

The Ambassador said that India’s military needs were not for expansion but for replacement. The Government of India’s budget for defense is about the same this year as it has been for the past few years. He said that India’s equipment was becoming obsolete very rapidly and the time had come to change over to newer and more modern equipment.

Mr. Byroade said that he realized the tendency all over the world for countries to seek to keep up with the trend, but that from a very realistic standpoint, the maintenance of jet aircraft was largely a foreign exchange problem. He did not take issue with India’s desire for aircraft, but the problem should be viewed also in the light of India’s other requirements and available resources.

Mr. Sen replied that he believed if India became weak it would be a matter of deep concern to the whole world, that India had to be able to defend itself. The Government of India, however, as a matter of policy wishes to keep military expenditures down to the minimum consistent with efficiency. He then said he wished to put aside the request for jet aircraft for the present and consider only the tanks.

Mr. Byroade said that the Department would do everything it could with regard to the tank request, and it was agreed that a more definite answer to the request might be made within a week’s time.

  1. This memorandum was drafted on Aug. 4.↩
  2. Not printed; the Indian Note MG/434/ARM/52 of July 1 is in Department of State file 791.5 MSP/7–152.↩
  3. Under Secretary of State James E. Webb on Mar. 7, 1951 and the Indian Ambassador to the United States, Vijaya L. Pandit, on Mar. 16, 1951, signed a mutual defense assistance agreement, which entered into force on Mar. 16, 1951. For text, see TIAS No. 872, printed in 2 UST 872.↩