"Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Martha of Norway ..."

FRI 16 AUG 1940
President Roosevelt, in press conference, announces that the U.S. government is discussing with the British government the acquisition of naval and air bases to defend the Western Hemisphere and the Panama Canal. Secrecy, however, continues to shroud the ongoing discussions concerning the transfer of destroyers to the British.

U.S. Army Transport American Legion departs Petsamo, Finland, for New York; on board is Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Martha of Norway and her three children, who have been invited to come to the United States by President Roosevelt. The last neutral ship permitted to leave Petsamo, American Legion also carries a crated twin-mount 40-millimeter Bofors gun "with standard sights ... spare parts, and 3,000 rounds of ammunition." Shipment of the gun, an almost Herculean effort that involves trucking the weapon the entire length of Sweden, has required the cooperation of the British, Swedish, and Finnish governments.