WASHDC no. WA-6702 to SSEA

March 19, 1953. In this telegram, the Canadian Embassy in Washington responded to a request from the Department of External Affairs for more information about the legal status of air corridors into Berlin (CDEX01140, CDEX01134). The Canadians in Washington noted their agreement with the Americans about the recent incident, since they pointed out that the American plane was shot down “15 miles inside U.S.-occupied Bavaria.”

The telegram includes information about the American response to the downing of the plane. The U.S. Air Force banned its planes from flying within 30 miles of East Germany and Czechoslovakia, except during border defence missions or “authorized flights in Soviet-recognized Air Corridors.” This formalization of a previously unofficial order shows a cautious U.S. response to a time of tension.