Department of State Press Release, “U.S. Diplomatic Note to Czechoslovakia Concerning F-84 Incident Of March 10, 1953"

July 29, 1953. The United States Department of State released a statement detailing the incident that occurred on March 10, 1953. Two United States F-84 planes were engaged by MIG aircraft from Czechoslovakia, and one F-84 was shot down. While the Czechoslovak government stated the American airplanes had crossed into Czechoslovakia, the Americans disagreed. The State Department argued “the differences between the two facts are not reconcilable.”

This document includes American demands that more information about the attack be made available. They sought confirmation of the nationality of the pilots of the planes that shot down the F-84, perhaps suspecting they were Soviet, not Czech fighters. The transmittal slip (CDEX01210) that came with the statement indicates this was sent from the Canadian Embassy in Washington to the External Affairs department, at the same time Canada was involved in a similar incident (see the section here).