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22 August 1946
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT:
Since preparation of original memorandum dated 1 August 1948
on the subject of "Ghost Rockets" over Scandinavia, additionnal intelligence
indicates that the former tentative conclusions should be somehow modified.
- 1. The weight of evidence now points to Peenemunde rather than to the
Golf of Finland as the probable launching site of most of these "rockets".
- a. While it was originally believed that the German installations at Peenemunde had
been dismantled and shipped to the U.S.S.R., General McNamary now reports that Peenemunde is operational.
- b. The U.S. Military Attache Moscow has reported that a key
Swedish Officer stated that, on the basis of the Swedish radar course-plotting, most of the launching have been identified
with the Peenemunde area.
- c. An S.S.U. sources indicates that a Soviet ship is reporting
by radio to shore stations on the passage of these missiles from Peenemunde
over the North baltic.
- d. The Leopoldville radio reported in July that the Soviets were warning shipping
against the passage through certain parts of the Baltic and
were threatening to death penalty the seamen who might disclose the "phenomena"
that they saw.
2. On the basis of the above evidence it seems probable that the U.S.S.R. is carrying out large-scale
guided-missile tests around the Baltic, in which most of the missiles are launched from the Peenemunde
area and traverse Sweden toward the Gulf of Bothnic.
3. It is believed of CIG that scientific experimentation is the
primary Soviet objective and that political considerations,
although thoroughly appreciated, are secondary.
- a. In view of transportation difficulties it would seem logical
for the Soviets to center their experimental program around Peenemunde
where manufacturing facilities, material and German personnal would be close at
hand, rather than to set up new installations in Russia.
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