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USCIB: 1.3/360 

ll August 1953 ' ,,,, ~/r ~ '~ 

MEMORANDUM FOR THE MEMBERS OF USCIB/USCIBEC: 

Subject: Publication in the Press of Classified Cormnunications 

Intelligence Information. 

l. Enclosures land 2'were published in the New York Herald 

Tribune on .3 and S August 1953. An abbreviated version or the same 

it.em appeared in the Washington Post on S August 195.3. Enclosure 3 

is an ana]Jrsis by the Office of Current Intelligence, CIA, of the 

nature or the security breach involved. Enclosure 4 is a transcript 

of a statement by General Vandenberg. 

2. SBLO, Army, Navy and Air Force have been requested to make 

enquiries as to how, where, when and why the information contained 

in enclosures l and 2: were made available to the press. 

3. The Executive Secretary is continuing to investigate this 

matter with a view to formulating suitable recormnendations when all 

the available facts are at hand. 

Enclosure 

1. Article in New York Herald 

Tribune of 3 Aug 53. 

2. Article in New York Herald 

Tribune of S Aug 53. 

3. CIA Memo to Executive Secretary 

dtd 11 Aug 53. 

4. Article in The New York Times 

of 23 Oct 1951. 

USCIB: 13/.3~0 

tain, u. s. Navy 

ecutive Secretary, USCI'B' 

l 

MAY BE DOWNGRADED !Q RESTRICTED!:!.!!. ENCLOSURE ,l !§.DETACHED~ - ~ r?f 

eclassified and approved for TOP SECRET APPENBEB BOel:lf ~EfHS et>NTAlN elease by NSA on 05-12-2014 .v 

ursuantto E.O. 13526 GQQf WORD MAlERIAL 
REF ID:A66453 

RES'l'RICTED 

Seca1ity I11fm111atiw1 

Marguerite Higgins New York Herald Tribune 

3 August 1953 

RUSSIA SENDING PEKING LONG RANGE BOMBERS 

HONG KONG,, 2 Aug. 

This is the first or a series of ~ticles 'bY Marguerite Higgins on 

recent develotments inside Commuist China 

By Marguerite Higgins 

The Soviet Union,, it can now be revealed,, has transferred to 

Communist China,, the first shipment of long range strategic bombers. 

Twelve are now operational f'rom a Red airfield 40 miles southeast of 

Peking. Until now the Chinese Red Air Force consisted of Russianbuilt MIG Jet fighters and medium bombers. 

Enclosure 1 with USCIB 13/360 dtd 11 Aug 53. 
REF ID: A66453-

R~B'FRICTEI) 

S&Gl.lrity Inform.a tioJl 

Miss Higgins Discloses New York Herald Tribune 

8 August 1953 

RUSSIA TO KEEP SENDING RED CHINA MILITARY AID 

This is the last or a series or articles by Marguerite H:Jggins on recent 

developments inside Communist China 

By Marguerite H~gins 

HONG KONG, Aug. 7.--

The Soviet Union, which intervened in Korea rar more directly than 

the American public yet realizes, is scheduled to continue a steady 

flow or military and technical assistance to Communist China in spite 

or the Korean truce, according to inf'ormation reaching Western intelligence sources. 

Badio Points to Soviets 

For reasons that have ultimately served only to help the Russians 

to cover up their aggressive actions, the United Nations has thus rar 

conf'ined itself to a passing reference, about a year ago, to the tact 

that "Russian-speaking" individuals were manning MIG-15 Jet fighters 

in North Korea. 

Actually, radio intercepts or pilot-to-ground conversations in 

the Yalu River area--exchanges which are easily monitored and recorded--established as early as January, 1951, that Soviet personnel 

were actively engaged in the Communist air errort. 

Other intelligence sources have subsequently contirmed the tact 

through other channels. Since Russian dialects and accents vary considerably, there even exists a catalogue indicating what parts or the 

Soviet Union various MIG pilots hailed from. 

Soviet citizens also served in Korea as tank drivers and artillery officers and in anti-aircraft battalions. The vast majority or 

the Communist ground troops in Korea, were, or course, or Oriental 

extraction, but it is noteworthy that some were persons born .11.nd educated in Soviet ~erritory. 

Soviet "Foreign Legion" 

It Japan, as an ally or the United States should become involved 

in a war and if the United States were to send American soldiers or 

Japanese extraction--such as the Nisei troops or World War II--to 

RES'flUC'f'ElD 

Enclosure 2 with USCIB 13/360 dtd 11 Aug 53. 
• 

REF ID:A66453 

ieeaPi-ty 

REST!tfC'f'!lD 

I:e:fe1me.M:eft • 

tight in t:ba.t war mider the Japanese flag, then it would be following the Soviet pa"ttern ot sending Soviet citizens of Korean or Manchurian extraction to fight against the United Nations. 

Actually, the Soviet Union keeps trained on Soviet soil a kind 

ot ForeiJn Legion or various nationalities, including torcibl.J' retained German, Yugoslav and Japanese prisoners taken in World War II. 

They are shock troops which the Russians can send "to any place 

llhere it suits them to pretend that a given conflict is a civil war. 

The G~rman troops, tor example, would come in handy it the Russians 

should decide to initiate a Korea-type civil war between East and 

West Germall1'• 

Suppl.y Pattern Traced 

In spite of "the tact that the Chinese Communist press has been 

talking since spring about the i'Dlllinence or a truce in Korea, there 

has been no drop in the tempo or the Soviet suppl.J' build-up by rail 

·or by sea, although it currently is less, or course, than in the 

emergency build-up phase in 1950 and 1951 when the Chinese and North 

Korean air torcea were being created. 

As indicated b1"types of equipment and the categories of Russian 

training missions appearing in key areas of mainland China, the present. pattern of Sino-Soviet supply seems to involve a conscious effort 

to round out COJDmtinist China~s military capabilities--which in the air, 

for ins~ance, bas been limited to fighter forces--and to give greater striking power and versatility with use of the equipment the Chinese 

Reds alreaC17·have. 

It appears that -the Chinese Communist Jet and other fighter planes 

and medi1JD1 bombers are destined to remain fairl.J static numerically, 

with the Russians providing replacements and spare parts. 

The existi"Dg Red Chinese air force will be given a new potential 

by activation of an additional complex of airfields in South and Southwest China. The MIGt'orces "in the base complex south or Shanghai, as 

at Ningpo and Hangkow, have been -reinforced. Between Shanghai and 

Canton there now are about 250 MIG's, at a minimum. 

The Chinese Communists have activated recently an important group 

or airfields in the southwest, near French Indo-China. 

COIQlllUnist China's air progress has been significantly aided by the 

recent transfer to a base south or Peking or a force or strategic bombers 

- 2 -

RBfff RlO'i'ED 
REF ID:A66453-

ftES'f!tJC'f'Ef) 

SeCJ ix:ity Iafermation 

--the Soviet version of the American B-29 Superfortress. Presence in 

central China of Soviet-style jet bombers also has been reported but 

so far as is at-present known none or the latest Soviet jet bombers 

has been permanently transferred to the Chinese govermnent. 

New attention is being ·given to "the Chinese Communist navy and the 

Russians have been taki-ng an increasing number of Chinese candidates 

into their naval training- centers at Port Arthur and Da.iren. 

It bas been reported persistently that a dozen Soviet submarines 

have been-"turned over to Red China, but Western "intelligence is not 

yet prepared to accept -this report without reservations, for one reason because it is a far more complicated job to train a submarine team tha~ to train individual MIG pilots. 

Probabl.y in the Cards.._ 

However, there is no reason to doubt that such a move is in the 

cards, as it is known·that Chinese are being trained as submariners 

and that a number of Chinese ports, including Tsingtao, are capable 

now of handling submarine traffic. 

It has-been established that the Russians have in the Far East 

alone seven- "ti:mes as 1D&1J1' submarines as were manned by Adolf Hitler's Germa~ when the Nazis were launching deadly undersea attacks in World 

War II. 

- 3 -

R:BB'f'RIC'f'EID 
M]MORANDUM TO: Captain Rufus L. Taylor 

Executive- Secretary, USCIB 

11:0 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

~L 86-36/50 USC 3605 

11 Augus.t 1953 

SUBJECT: OCI Comment on Marguerite Higgins' Articles\of 

3 and 8 August 

1. Miss Hi ins 1 information on the C 

graded the 

2. OCI does not know or instance in which the statement 

ese messages 

:3. So far as is known, no US agency in Washington hae catalogued dialects s Russian MIG-15 ilots in action over 

Korea.. 

Enclosure 3 with USCIB 13/360 dtd 11 Aug 53. 

TOP SECRET CANOE 
.. 

/ 

I 

General Vandenbug 

REF ID:A66453 

Rl!lfff'RlCTl!lD 

Secuzity Informa:tiieft 

The New York Times 

23 October 1951 

I GENERAL VANDENBERG'S STATEMENT 22 OCTOBER 1951 

Washington, Oct. 22--

Genera! Vandenberg charged today that "Russian pilots" were flying 

Communist Jet planes in the Korean Battle of "MIG Alley". He bitterly denied that'United States air losses were being concealed as to force 

curtailment'or the Korean war or European air operations. "When our 

sabre jets tangle with MIG's, we can hear their pilots on the radio 

and they all speak Russian. There sure as hell are no Chinese or Red 

Koreans flying these MIG's. That is undoubtedly why they stay in MIG 

Alley well behind their own lines. Ii' they came down around Pusan 

they know that we would i'ind some dead Russians in the planes we would 

shoot down, · and we would shoot down a lot more if they would get a 

little farther away from the Manchurian border and sat'ety. 11 

' 

· 1 

I 

' 

I 

!. 

I 

Enclosure 14 with USCIB 13/360 dtd 11 Aug 53.