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     He said that his total production of planes at
present was 1,800 per month; by January 1st, this would 
increase to 2,500 per month. 60% of these would be 
fighter planes, and 40% bombers. This was exclusive of 
training planes, now being produced at 15 per day. The 
Russians have approximately 3,500 training planes. Stalin 
said the training course for pilots was 8 months.
     He expressed considerable interest in training pilots
in America and left me the impression there would soon be 
a shortsge of pilots. Stalin said the German claims of 
Russian air losses were absurd. The Russians lost more 
planes than the Germans at first, but he thinks the ad-
vantage is the other way now. He would not indicate the 
number of losses other than there were a "good many on 
both sides".
          He stated there had been some damage to aircraft 
factories but that there had been considerable disbursal 
of the machinery before the destruction took place. (I 
saw two factories, which I was told by our Ambassador were 
aircraft factories, Just outside Moscow completely destroyed.)
          I asked Mr. Stalin about the location of his munitions 
plants. He did not reply to this in detail but indicated 
that about 75% of the sum total of his munitions plants, 
the percentage varying depending on the type of plant, 
were in the general areas of which Leningrad, Moscow and 
Kiev were the centers.
     I gained the impression from him that if the German
army could move some 150 miles each of each of these
centers, they would destroy almost 75% of Russia's