SOVIETS CLAIM U.S. JETS STRAFED RUSSIAN AIRFIELD

FROM THE UNITED PRESS - - OCTOBER 10, 1950

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LONDON-OCT. 10 -- THE SOVIET GOVERNMENT PROTESTED TO THE UNITED STATES TUESDAY THAT TWO AMERICAN FIGHTER PLANES HAD "GROSSLY VIOLATED" THE RUSSIAN FRONTIER AND STRAFED A SOVIET AIRPORT 60 MILES NORTH OF THE KOREAN BORDER.

THE SOVIET MONITOR, QUOTING A TASS DISPATCH BROADCAST BY MOSCOW RADIO, SAID SOVIET DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER ANDREI GROMYKO DELIVERED THE PROTEST TO U.S. MINISTER-COUNSELOR WALWORTH BARBOUR IN MOSCOW ON OCT.9 AFTER READING IT VERBALLY.

MOSCOW SAID TWO F-80 SHOOTING STARS IN A HEDGE-HOPPING ATTACK ACROSS THE SOVIET BORDER FROM KOREA ON OCT. 8 ATTACKED A SOVIET AIRPORT ON THE SEACOAST ABOUT 60 MILES ABOVE THE FRONTIER AND ROUGHLY 40 MILES BELOW VLADIVOSTOCK.

RUSSIA CALLED IT A "RESOLUTE PROTEST" AND DEMANDED THE STRICT PUNISHMENT OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE OF THE "PROVOCATIVE" ACT. IT DEMANDED ASSURANCES THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL TAKE NECESSARY MEASURES TO PREVENT SUCH ACTIONS IN THE FUTURE.

THE SOVIET GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS IT NECESSARY TO STATE THAT THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF SUCH ACTIONS ON THE PART OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE FALLS ENTIRELY ON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

THE SOVIET MONITOR SAID BARBOUR REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE PROTEST. "MR. BARBOUR DECLARED THAT ON THIS QUESTION IT WAS ALLEGEDLY NECESSARY TO DEAL WITH THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION INASMUCH AS IN THE AREA OF KOREA THE UNITED NATIONS ARMED FORCES WERE ACTING. ON THIS PRETEXT, MR. BARBOUR REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE NOTE," MOSCOW SAID.

THIS WAS THE SAME PROCEDURE ADOPTED JUST OVER A MONTH AGO WHEN THE SOVIET UNION SOUGHT TO PROTEST THE SHOOTING DOWN OF A TWIN-ENGINED RUSSIAN BOMBER OFF THE WEST COAST OF KOREA BY U.S. NAVY FIGHTER PLANES. THE U.S. INSISTED THAT ONLY THE U.N. COULD HANDLE THE PROBLEM.

GROMYKO POINTED OUT THE "ABSOLUTE GROUNDLESSNESS OF MR. BARBOUR'S ARGUEMENTS INASMUCH AS THE SUBJECT OF THE NOTE OF THE SOVIET GOVERNMENT WAS THE FIRING FIRING ON A SOVIET AERODROME BY AIRPLANES OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE AND NOT BY SOME OTHER AIRPLANES," MOSCOW SAID.

MOSCOW'S PROTEST FOLLOWED SEVERAL SIMILAR PROTESTS BY COMMUNIST CHINA THAT AMERICAN PLANES HAD VIOLATED CHINESE SOVEREIGNTY WITH AIR ATTACKS IN MANCHURIA ACROSS THE YALU RIVER BOUNDRY FROM KOREA. THESE PROTESTS HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO THE U.N..

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AIR FORCE PUNISHES STRAFERS

WASHINGTON D.C. OCT. 20

COL. STANTON T. SMITH JR. OF TEXAS, HAS BEEN RELIEVED OF THE COMMAND OF THE FIGHTER UNIT INVOLVED IN THE STRAFING OF A RUSSIAN AIRFIELD NEAR SHKYU RECHKA OCT. 8.

THE AIR FORCE, ANNOUNCING THIS TODAY, SAID ALSO THAT THE TWO PILOTS BELIEVED TO HAVE TAKEN PART IN THE ATTACK HAD BEEN GROUNDED BY THE FAR EAST AIR COMMAND PENDING THE FILING OF CHARGES AGAINST THEM.

THE PILOTS WERE IDENTIFIED AS LTS. ALTON H. QUANBECK OF FARGO, N.D., AND ALLEN J. DIEFENDORF, WHOSE HOME ADDRESS WAS NOT AVAILABLE

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AND WHAT FINALLY HAPPENED.........

WELL, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE TWO PILOTS INVOLVED WERE PUBLICLY COURT MARTIALED FOR THE INCIDENT, AND THEN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, PROMOTED. AS A RESULT OF THIS AND A FEW OTHER VARIOUS INCIDENTS INVOLVING THE NORTH KOREANS AND THE CHINESE, GENERAL DOUGLAS MacARTHUR WAS EVENTUALLY FIRED AS THE COMMANDER OF THE FAR-EAST THEATRE.

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