TLS as president, one page, 7 x 8.75, White House letterhead, June 6, 1942. Letter to Robert R. Graham, in full: "Your letter of May 23rd and the one which followed on the 29th enclosing detailed drawings and notes covering a proposed net protection against torpedo attack for ocean going vessels, were referred to the Navy Department for examination and report. The Navy Department has in the past twenty-five years received a great many similar suggestions, and word comes back to me that while your interest in exploring the possibilities of such an arrangement is thoroughly appreciated, your proposal adds nothing to common knowledge of this type of device. Information at hand indicates that in order to offer any protection from the explosion of a torpedo, the net would have to be carried at a distance of at least fifty-feet from the side of the vessel. In connection with your thought of repelling the torpedo by the use of springs behind the net, it should be stated that torpedoes for over twenty-five years have been equipped with 'inertia detonators,' and any appreciable force exerted to stop the forward motion of the torpedo or to deflect it from its course will cause it to explode immediately. The whole subject of protection against torpedoes, including net protection for vessels, is now under the most active consideration by the Navy Department, and it is hoped that before long current experimentation will be productive of profitable results." In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope, plus carbon copies of Graham's letters to the White House and original pencil drawings of his ideas for torpedo protection (totaling 14 pages). FDR letters discussing the war or military matters are difficult to find. For all of his correspondence he seldom wrote about military matters except to other government officials. This is a very nice example discussing a major threat to shipping and the US Navy.
Robert Graham was a respected architect in New York who focused on public buildings and schools; he built two schools in Hyde Park, one of which was named in FDR’s honor, and developed a friendship with the president. This lot also includes a binder with copies of Graham's correspondence with FDR and his aides, which offer an interesting look into FDR's involvement in certain buildings around Dutchess County, New York.
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