What did the declassified documents reveal?

This is a declassified United States Air Force memorandum dated March fourteenth, nineteen fifty‑two, concerning a British request for photographic assistance over the Hong Kong area. The document is listed in the public archive of the Black Vault. The record was released to the public through the Black Vault website. The entry was posted without a specific FOIA case number, and the declassification authority is noted as the United States Air Force, which has now made the material available in its entirety. The digital text can be accessed at the Black Vault URL for this file. From: Air Vice Marshal J. D. Breakey, C.B., D.F.C. To: United States Air Force Staff, Washington, D. C. Reference: BAFS/MAS Air, March fourteenth, nineteen fifty‑two. Classification: Top Secret. As I mentioned to you during our discussion yesterday, the British Defence Coordinating Committee, Far East, have for a long time urgently required photographic coverage of Chinese territory in the vicinity of Hong Kong to a depth of fifteen miles. Unfortunately, however, vertical photography is not acceptable as the risk of detection is considered too great, and we have no other type of camera which would do the job without infringing Chinese territory, a thing for obvious reasons we wish to avoid. The Air Ministry, on behalf of the British Chiefs of Staff, have therefore asked me to ascertain whether the United States Air Force could help us out with this problem. It is believed that the United States Air Force have a small number of one‑hundred‑inch lens cameras fitted in Skymasters or similar size aircraft, which would cover the area very adequately by oblique photography without infringing the frontier, and that one such camera has been used recently by the United States Air Force in the Far East. This type of camera is incidentally too large to fit into any Royal Air Force aircraft. Also it is understood that the United States Air Force have other long‑focal‑length lens cameras, including a sixty‑inch of conventional design, which we think might possibly fit into a Valletta aircraft, although we do not know for certain until it has been tried. This camera we believe could produce oblique coverage of the border to a depth of twenty miles without crossing the frontier. Lieutenant General T. D. White, United States Air Force, is Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Room four‑H one‑zero‑zero‑eight, Pentagon, Washington, D. C. The only satisfactory method of obtaining this most valuable photographic coverage would be by either (a) the United States Air Force agreeing to undertake periodic oblique photographs, possibly from bases in Okinawa and Formosa without landing at Hong Kong, or (b) the United States Air Force lending the Royal Air Force a sixty‑inch camera for use in a Valletta aircraft, provided it can be fitted. I will be most grateful if you will consider this matter and inform me whether either of the above alternatives can be agreed. If this request can be approved, you…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

United States Air Force Memorandum Dated March Fourteenth, Nineteen Fifty‑two

◆ BLUF — The short version

This is a declassified United States Air Force memorandum dated March fourteenth, nineteen fifty‑two, concerning a British request for photographic assistance over the Hong Kong area. The document is listed in the public archive of the Black Vault. The record was released to the public through the Black Vault website.

Date: OCT 13 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was United States Air Force Memorandum Dated March Fourteenth, Nineteen Fifty‑two about?: This is a declassified United States Air Force memorandum dated March fourteenth, nineteen fifty‑two, concerning a British request for photographic assistance over the Hong Kong area. The document is listed in the public archive of the Black Vault. The record was released to the public through the Black Vault website.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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United States Air Force Memorandum Dated March Fourteenth, Nineteen Fifty‑two

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