https://declassified.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/bab85e6ef7bbf11aacfda3608ec75f3c.pdf 25db27addba7fc11df2ef0dcc355966f PDF Text Text Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act ■ Document divulge en vertu de la Loi suri'acces a /’information Minute Sheet w is e r TOP SECRET. November 16th, 1951* Mr. Ignatieff. The attached message comments on the proposals of the Defense Department passed on to you by Arneson and reported in our Wiser No. . ll of November 8 th. We are asked to comment on,, these proposals before they are put to the Prime Minister for his consideration. On the whole, it seems to me. that the proposals are sensible. . On first reading, two or three points occur to me. First, before we agree to. modify in this way the Minute accepted by Mr. Acheson at the Consultation of last June I should like to know more about the nature of the agreement which is being worked out between the British Embassy and the State Department. . I should think that we could not unreasonably claim equal treatment with the British in respect to flights in Category B. I think it likely that the U.S. bases in .the United Kingdom will be used by S.A.C. just as much or more for deployment of atomic weapons to other S.A.C. airfields in Europe or North Africa as for the staging of strikes.' Secondly, the reports which we have recently received from various sources about the B.36 and its lack of effectiveness as an intercontinental bomber because of the need for fighter' protection make me think that there is very little likelihood, at any rate for some time, that in the event of war any atomic strikes would take place from Canadian bases or through overflight of Canadian territory. I do not know what, information on this, the Canadian Chiefs of Staff may have, but my' impression is that we have not mentioned this point specifically to Ottawa during the whole course of the Wiser discussions. If you agree, don’t you think that, we should emphasize that , in our judgment and at least for some time operations involving atomic weapons in or over Canada will almost certainly be confined to Categories A and B? We should also mention that this is not a matter on which we can secure specific information and that our judgment is a layman’s judgment. You will remember what Pierce observed at the demonstration at Eglin Field and also that Solandt told us the other day that Secretary Finletter had stated that,. while he could not give the exact speed of the B.36, it was at least 150 miles an hour lower than that of MIG-15's. When you have had a chance to consider these papers we might have a talk about them later today. HHW:mgm IL/*/" /w 00346 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource CDNW (Wiser) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource CDNW16691 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CDNW16691 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wiser Consultations, RG25-B-2, Volume number: 3094, Library and Archives Canada.