382. Memorandum From the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense
(Bundy) to the
Deputy Secretary of Defense (Gilpatric)0
Washington,
June 7,
1961.
SUBJECT
- Defense Interest in the Union of South Africa
I-4945/61
Attached is a memorandum, prepared at your request, concerning the
importance of the Union of South Africa to U.S. naval and maritime [Page 596] interests. This memorandum
could serve as the basis for such discussion of this matter as you may
wish to initiate with Mr. Bowles.
In addition, the Air Force has raised with ISA the desirability of inviting Mr. Bowles and Mr. Williams to visit the Air Force Missile
Test Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. They have suggested a visit on
or about the 14th of June because, if present schedules are maintained,
that period offers an excellent opportunity to witness missile
launchings. The Air Force would make appropriate arrangements for
transportation and accommodations.
We concur that such a visit could be valuable. It might give Mr.
Bowles and Mr. Williams a more concrete grasp of the
operations and objectives of the Atlantic Missile Range, out of which
such problems as the South African tracking station have been generated.
If you agree, it is recommended that you extend the invitation. If Mr.
Bowles or Mr. Williams is interested, we would
undertake through the Air Force to make the necessary detailed
arrangements with the State Department staff.
Enclosure1
SUBJECT
- Importance of the Union of South Africa to U.S. naval and
maritime interests
The Union of South Africa possesses the most extensive and
well-equipped harbors in its part of the world. These ports have a
combined capacity to handle approximately 250 vessels, primarily at
Capetown and Durban. The facilities include adequate numbers of
powerful cranes and excellent floating and graving docks permitting
major repair and maintenance work on large ships. For example, the
largest graving dock in Capetown would handle the Forrestal class
carrier. The nearest adequate facilities are at Bahia Blanca,
Argentina, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but even these are not equal
in capacity to the facilities at Capetown alone.
The South African ports are used regularly by our naval and merchant
shipping in peacetime. In the event of emergency, their value would
be even greater. Closure of the Suez Canal would require extensive
[Page 597] use of the route
around the Cape of Good Hope. The ports would be then needed not
only for services to expanded merchant traffic on that route, but
also for support of the antisubmarine forces which might, depending
upon the nature of the emergency, be required to keep the route
open.
The facilities would be needed also for support of any general naval
operations by a U.S. Indian Ocean Fleet, and would be important for
the staging of U.S. forces should contingency operations be
undertaken in the southern part of the African continent.
In addition, effective U.S. naval operations south of the equator
would require additional shore-based communications to supplement
our present facilities in Morocco and Ethiopia. In the
circumstances, we would have to rely on the use of South African
naval radio facilities at Durban and Simonstown.
For all the foregoing purposes, naval visits to the ports of the
Union of South Africa are most valuable for familiarization and
indoctrination purposes should the need for use of facilities become
more urgent.
