U.S. Claims Damages

Wanganui Chronicle, 5 September 1946, Page 5

U.S. Claims Damages

NOTE TO YUGOSLAVIA LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY

Reed. 8 p.m. Washington, Sept. 3 The United States has sent a Note to Marshal Tito stating- that .he Government expects Yugoslavia to pay damages for the loss of life and property resulting from the shooting down of two American planes over Yugoslavia.

The Associated Press interprets the Note as an intimation that the United States is prepared to close the matter if compensation is paid.

The Note, comprising 3100 words, says the United States confidently expected that the expressions of Yugoslav regret would have been accompanied by an offer to make suitable indemnification to the victims' families and dependents. The Note made it clear that the United States believes Marshal Tito’s reports of unauthorised flights of American planes over Yugoslavia are fantastically exaggerated, and reiterated a previous contention that the first of two unarmed planes shot down by Yugoslav fighters was over Yugoslavia only because the pilot got off his course in bad weather.

The Note, answering the charge of unauthorised American flights over Yugoslavia, says that whereas Tito named 172 breaches between July 16 and August 8, the United States investigations had established that only ten American aircraft flew anywhere near YugosTav territory in that period. American planes, between August 10 and August 20, made only 30 flights close to Yugoslavia, compared with 39 territorial breaches claimed. Only four unarmed Fortresses .were near Yugoslavia between August 23 and August 29, whereas Tito reported 36 unauthorised flights and also only two American planes made flights near, Yugoslavia on August 28 and 29, whereon Tito said 26 American aircraft flew over his country. The Note emphatically declared that no American plane had flown over Yugoslavia intentionally without advance approval, except in an emergency. The United States presumed that Yugoslavia recognised that when a plane was jeopardised the pilot might change his course to seek safety, though such action might re-

suit in flying over Yugoslav territory without prior clearance. The Note took a share in the issue with Tito over whether the attacking Yugoslav fighters gave the landing signal to an American plane forced down on August 9.