German aircraft factories are now producing between six and seven thousand airplanes of all types annually, but their potential production is not less than seventeen thousand a year, without including additional factories. These revelations are so startling to American visitors who know something about our own industry that at first they find it hard to believe and to grasp, but they go away convinced of the truth of what I have said. It is difficult indeed for the officers here to carry conviction through the written word as to the magnitude of this affair, its quality, and above all the rapidity and ease with which orders are placed, prototypes furnished and production of new types begun. The very difficulty with which the officers can carry conviction to our Army and Navy on these matters leads me to believe that it might be highly important for high authorities in the Air Force, accompanied by the necessary technicians, to come over and look at this situation. Our officers here have the best relationship with the German Air Force and producers. The Germans have been consistently willing to show our people about and give them the widest kind of knowledge. I firmly believe that we should take advantage of this and send |