Memorandum from Rear Admiral R. H. Hillenkoetter to President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of State George Marshall, and Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, with Attachment

ER 8852 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WASHINGTON 25, D.C. 12 April 1948 WTOR MEMORANDUM FOR: THE PRESIDENT CTHOMAN THE SECRETARY OF STATE ARCHIVES "NATIONAL AND THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SERVICE REGORDS John Subject: Clandestine air transport operations in Europe Incidents involving the clandestine transport of munitions by air- craft into foreign areas of extreme political sensitivity, such as Northern Italy and Palestine, are increasing. U.S.-owned aircraft and U.S. crews are directly participating in these activities. It appears that no effective U.S. controls are exercised outside of the U.S. in restraint of such operations. Examples of clandestine operations include the following: (a) a C-46 transport aircraft, owned by a non-scheduled U.S. airline, was cleared by the State Department for a flight to Italy where it was allegedly to be converted to civilian passenger use. This aircraft landed on 11 March at Geneva where its contents were observed to include small arms. The aircraft departed the same day for Rome, but was finally reported to have been located, completely empty and apparently abandoned by the crew, at an airfield near Perugia, Italy; (b) an American-owned C-54 four-engine transport aircraft landed on 31 March at the Prague airport. The plane was immediately surrounded by secret police and sub- sequently loaded with a number of very heavy crates. The aircraft took off without obtaining the required clearance, and protests by Czech air- port officials were overruled by the senior secret police officer who stated that the flight was a government operation. The plane returned the next day to Prague where the American crew, after attempting to evade interrogation, finally admitted that they had flown a cargo of surgical instruments and hand tools" to a small village in Palestine. They further asserted that the owner of the aircraft had been unaware of the operation; (c) the Czechoslovak airline (CSA) requested OMGUS early in March for clearances to operate two flights weekly for a total of six weeks into Italy via Munich and Innsbruck for the purpose of hauling "cut timber." The aircraft were to land at an airfield situated on the Italian coast between Genoa and the French border. (No Italian customs officials are stationed at this airfield and the location is such that trans-shipment of air cargo to ocean shipping could be effected.) Although none of these flights appears to have taken place with the above itinerary, there is reason to believe that several operations into Northern Italy have been completed covertly. (For further information on the above examples, see attachment.) DECLASSIFIED CIA LTR.- JUSTICE DEPT. LTR. 2.20.79 PROJECT NLT 77-80 BYNKTHH NARS, Date 3.21.79