M.
3621
Military Branch,
ADMIRALTY, 3.W.1.
5th October, 1938.
Dear Admiral Blake,
As arranged yesterday with the Director of Naval Intelligence, I am writing to let you know the result of our consultations with the other Departments concerned with regard to the possibility of Chinese orders for Motor Torpedo Boats being placed with the Power Boat Company.
To begin with, the Foreign Office see no political objection at the moment to your accepting orders from the Chinese Government since, in the present situation, we are not bound to prevent the despatch of such supplies. You will, however, appreciate that the future course of the hostilities in China and our relations with the two parties cannot be predicted with any certainty and that the position might be radically altered even by a change of circumstances over which we could exercise no control, e.g., a formal declaration of war by Japan.
We do not, of course, know how soon you would expect to deliver any vessels which the Chinese Government might order, or how you would propose to effect delivery.
It is, of course, important that delivery should be so arranged as to minimise the risk of incidents with the Japanese and for this reason we should strongly deprecate the boats proceeding from British territory to their destination under their own power. Similar vessels recently delivered by Hessrs. Thornycrofts were shipped as part cargo to Hong Kong and sent on thence, I believe, by rail.
raised to this course, but whether at
Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Blake, K. C.B., D.3.0.,
The British Power Boat Company,
HYTHE.
No objection was
future date a safe
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