TRB                                London
This telegram must be
closely paraphrased be-            Dated January 12, 1942
fore being communicated
to anyone. (SC)                    Rec'd 3:18 p.m.
 
Secretary of State,
     Washington.
 
     TRIPLE PRIORITY.
     167, January 12, 7 p.m., (SECTION ONE).
     PERSONAL AND SECRET TO THE PRESIDENT.
     Nothing heartened England so much as your address to
Congress of January 7. I want to single out your statement on
60,000 airplanes for 1942. You know that I continuously hammer on
the need of getting British war experience built into our
airplane production and yet in spite of General Arnold's complete
cooperation, there is a continuing lag in actual accomplishment
and only today the British received an unofficial report from
their representatives in the United States that mulitiple
production would require a simplification of design and
necessitate an abandonment of the accoutrements provided by
combat to be necessary. It is my opinion that the Battle of
Britain was won over the Germans in spite of their superiority in
numbers in September and October 1940 because of superiority in
gunfire, protection and manneuverability and organization 
                                   Of ground control
 
                               -1