Humanity has gone through one of the most difficult eras in the entire history of its existence - the twentieth century. There were quite a few wars in it, but the most difficult test was the Second World War. Until now, there are a huge number of episodes, facts, events and names that no one knows about. And there is a real threat that no one will know about them if eyewitnesses do not tell about it. Among such little-known facts is the American lend-lease to the Soviet Union, during which military equipment, foodstuffs, weapons, equipment, ammunition, and strategic raw materials were supplied to the USSR. For certain political reasons, these deliveries were strictly classified until 1992, and only the direct participants knew about them.
The total amount of lend-lease received by the Soviet Union amounted to about $ 9.8 billion. America's help at that time was truly invaluable, and became one of the decisive factors that contributed to the defeat of the fascist force.
A convoy of American military trucks carrying Lend-Lease to the USSR stands on a road in eastern Iraq
At the same time, the Soviet authorities not only artificially created a negative opinion about American aid, but also kept it in the strictest confidence, and often outlawed all direct participants. But finally the time has come to dot the i's, and to find out at least a part of the whole truth about such a fruitful (probably the only one in history) cooperation of the two superpowers.
Both American and Soviet pilots, sailors who participated in the ferrying of aircraft, in the transportation and escort of cargo, performed a real feat, circling more than half of the globe, so our generation should not, simply have no right to forget their feat and heroism.
Lend-Lease negotiations were officially launched in the last days of September 1941. A. Harriman, who was specially sent to Moscow by the American president, took part in the negotiations on behalf of the American side. On October 1, 1941, he signed a protocol on supplies to the Soviet Union, the amount of which amounted to $ 1 billion. Delivery time is nine months. But despite this, only at the beginning of November 1941, the American President signed a decree stating that the Lend-Lease Act (the full title of the document is English. "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States" States "), adopted by the US Congress on March 11, 1941) applies to the Soviet Union.
American bomber A-20 "Boston" (Douglas A-20 Havoc / DB-7 Boston), crashed near the airport Nome (Nome) in Alaska while ferrying to the USSR under Lend-Lease. Later, the aircraft was repaired and successfully delivered to the Soviet-German front. Source: Library of Congress
The first deliveries of weapons and equipment began in October, and by the end of the year, 256 aircraft worth 545 thousand dollars were delivered to the Soviet Union. The sum of the entire aviation lend-lease during the war years was 3.6 billion dollars. However, from the very beginning, certain difficulties arose with the distillation. It was not possible to achieve a clear organization of supplies. The situation became especially complicated in the winter period, when it became clear that American aircraft were not adapted to the cold: in severe frosts, the rubber of the tires became fragile, the hydraulic system froze. Therefore, it was decided to exchange technologies: the Soviet side shared the technology for the production of frost-resistant rubber, and the American side - the hydraulics, frost-resistant.
But people experienced even greater difficulties. During the ferry through the Verkhoyansk ridge, the pilots were forced to climb to a great height (5-6 kilometers) without having oxygen devices. For many, it turned out to be beyond their strength, and a large number of aircraft crashed, falling on the rocks. Similar incidents occurred throughout the three years of distillation. In the Russian taiga, wreckage of aircraft with the remains of pilots are still found, and how many have not yet been found. In addition, many planes, along with their crews, simply went missing.
General A. M. Korolev and Major General Donald H. Connolly, the US Gulf Service Commander, shake hands as the first train to cross the Persian corridor as part of Lend-Lease shipments from the US to the USSR. Source: US Library of Congress.
In total, over the years of the war, more than 14 thousand aircraft were transported from America to the Soviet Union: Bell R-39 "Airacobra", Curtiss "Kitihawk" and "Tomahawk", Douglas A-20 "Boston", Consolidated PBY "Catalina", Republican P-47 Thunderbolt, North American B-25 Mitchell.
Most of these aircraft (about 8,000) were flown along the Alaska-Siberia route. Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane fighters, as well as Hendley-Page Hempden bombers, were supplied to Murmansk from England. One of the least-known aircraft, the Armstrong Albermarl, was also supplied under Lend-Lease.
The aircraft, which were manufactured in the United States, were ferried by American and Canadian pilots to Alaska, and from there they were ferried to the territory of the Soviet Union by pilots of the Soviet ferry division, which was created specifically for these purposes and consisted of five regiments.
Many of the older generation remember jeeps, airplanes, as well as Studebakers and American stew, which were supplied under Lend-Lease.
Photo for the memory of Soviet and American pilots at the airfield in Fairbanks at the Bell P-63 Kingcobra fighter. In Alaska, American aircraft intended for Lend-Lease deliveries to the USSR were transferred to the Soviet side, and Soviet pilots ferried them to the Soviet Union.
In addition to great help in material terms, the American Lend-Lease played a significant role in terms of moral support for the Soviet troops. While at the front, many Soviet soldiers felt more confident when they saw foreign aircraft in the sky supporting them. And the civilian population, seeing that the Americans and the British were helping with resources, understood that this could in many ways help to defeat Nazi Germany.
American aircraft have always been visible on the fronts. They provided support and covered sea convoys with cargo from the air, during the blockade of Leningrad, air defense was carried out by Kitihawk fighters, they carried out bombing of German sea transport in the Gulf of Finland, participated in the liberation of Ukraine and the Kuban.
In addition to aircraft, jeeps were also supplied to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease, although, according to the Soviet side, they asked for the supply of motorcycle sidecars. However, on the advice of US Secretary of State Edward Stettinius, it was military vehicles that were delivered, since the Americans had a long and very successful experience of using them. The total amount of jeeps received during the war years amounted to 44 thousand units.
Jubilant Sofia residents welcome Soviet soldiers entering the Bulgarian capital in Valentine tanks supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease. Source: Estonian History Museum (EAM) / F4080.
In addition, cars of 50 models were received under Lend-Lease, the manufacturers of which were 26 American, British and Canadian firms. Components for them were produced by a significantly larger number of factories.
The largest number of all delivered cars were American trucks US 6 Studebaker and REO - their volume amounted to 152 thousand copies. The total volume of such cars amounted to about 478 thousand units excluding spare parts (and they would be enough to assemble several thousand cars).
Although the documents were signed later, the first sea convoys with Lend-Lease cargo were already sent to the USSR in August 1941. They received the designation PQ (these are the initials of the British naval officer Edwards). Cargoes were delivered to Murmansk, Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk. At first, the ships arrived in Reykjavik, where they were formed into caravans of 20 ships, and then, accompanied by guards from warships, they were delivered to the territory of the USSR. But very soon, German intelligence received the exact coordinates of the routes of these convoys. Then the losses began. One of the largest losses is an episode that occurred in July 1942, when only 11 out of 36 ships survived, more than 4 hundred tanks, 2 hundred aircraft and 3 thousand cars were at the bottom. In total, during the war, 80 ships were sunk by German submarines and torpedo bombers, even though warships and aircraft were involved in their protection. British and American navies lost 19 warships in the North Atlantic.
Soviet Hurricane Aircraft Testing Brigade. Fighters of this model were supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease.
It should be noted that in Soviet history, there are many dark spots regarding Lend-Lease. It was generally accepted at the time that the Americans were deliberately delaying deliveries while waiting for the Soviet order to collapse. But at the same time, many questions arise: why did the Americans pass the Lend-Lease Law and its extension to Soviet territory with such haste? Can it be considered an accident that the war "met" the deadline for this law?
Moreover, some researchers put forward the version that American Lend-Lease is the result of the work of Soviet intelligence. There were even rumors that Stalin himself played a big role in signing the Lend-Lease Law - allegedly, in order to prevent the spread of Nazism, he intended to be the first to start a war against Nazi Germany and very much hoped for the help of the West in this war. But these are just rumors, there is no documentary evidence of these theories yet.
Soviet aircraft technicians repair the engine of the R-39 Airacobra fighter, supplied to the USSR from the United States under the Lend-Lease program, in the field. The unusual layout of this fighter was the placement of the engine behind the cockpit near the center of mass.
In any case, we must pay tribute to Stalin in this matter. He, one might say, proved himself to be practically a genius of diplomacy, wrapping up lend-lease supplies with the benefit of the USSR. When it became known that America and Great Britain expressed their readiness to help the USSR, he first mentioned the word "Sell", but pride, or some other motive, did not allow the American or British parties to demand payment. In addition, the Soviet troops very often got the equipment that was originally intended for the British, in particular, the Bantam all-terrain vehicles, of which there were not so many.
Among other things, the Soviet leader did not hesitate to chastise the allies for the fact that the cargo was poorly packed, and also to hint that if the Soviet troops could not continue hostilities, the whole burden of the war would fall on the British.
Assembly of the Bell P-63 "Kingcobra" aircraft at the American plant, top view. 12 exhaust pipes on each side are a clear sign of the "Kingcobra" (the R-39 "Airacobra" has 6 pipes each). On the fuselage, there are stars-identification marks of the Soviet Air Force - the plane is intended to be sent to the USSR under Lend-Lease.
Note that deliveries practically did not stop throughout the war, except once in 1942, when Great Britain was preparing for an operation in Africa, and once in 1943, when it was planned to land allied troops in Italy.
At the end of the war, part of the equipment, according to previous agreements, the Soviet side handed over back to the Allies. But at the same time, there was also a solid debt of the USSR to the United States under Lend-Lease, the remainder of which in the amount of $ 674 million was refused by the Soviet authorities, citing discrimination against the USSR on the part of the Americans in trade. But, already in 1972, an agreement was signed, according to which the USSR agreed to pay the US $ 722 million. The last payment under this agreement was made in 2001.
Transfer of frigates from the US Navy to Soviet sailors. 1945 year. American patrol frigates of the "Tacoma" class (displacement 1509 / 2238-2415t, speed 20 knots, armament: 3 76-mm guns, 2 40-mm twin "Beaufors", 9 20-mm "Erlikons", 1 "Hedgehog" rocket launcher, 2 bomb releasers and 8 airborne bombers (ammunition - 100 depth charges) were built in 1943-1945. In 1945, 28 ships of this type were transferred to the USSR under Lend-Lease, where they were reclassified into patrol ships and received the designation "EK-1 "-" EK-30 "The first group of 10 ships (" EK-1 "-" EK-10 ") was received by Soviet crews on July 12, 1945 in Cold Bay (Alaska) and departed for the USSR on July 15. These ships took part in the Soviet-Japanese war in 1945. The remaining 18 ships (EK-11 - EK-22 and EK-25 - EK-30) were received by Soviet crews in August-September 1945 and did not take part in hostilities. On February 17, 1950, all 28 ships were excluded from the USSR Navy in connection with the return of the US Navy to Maizuru (Japan).
Thus, the downplaying of the importance of the supply of military equipment, ammunition and food, which was carried out by the American and British allies, was carried out on the basis of the ideological principles of that time. This was done ostensibly in order to assert the postulate that the Soviet war economy has not just great, but simply enormous superiority over the economies of capitalist states, and not only Germany, but also the United States of America and Great Britain.
In contrast to the Soviet point of view, in American historiography, as is almost always the case in the West, the role of Lend-Lease supplies has always been seen as a decisive factor in the USSR's ability to continue waging a war against Nazi Germany.
The American-built Soviet fighter P-39 "Airacobra", supplied to the USSR under the Lend-Lease program, in flight.
But whatever the judgment, it cannot be denied that Lend-Lease provided significant support to the Soviet country in difficult times.
In addition, I must say that on the territory of the former Soviet Union, there is practically nothing left that would serve as a reminder of the heroism of our people, who ferried American planes, drove and escorted transports, with the exception, perhaps, of three small museums and the remains of planes. At the same time, in Alaska and Canada, a completely opposite picture is observed - memorial plaques and large museums, well-groomed cemeteries. Every year in the cities along which the route passed, celebrations are held in honor of the veterans.
Maybe it's time to think and at least try to change something? After all, this is also a part of that war, which we simply have no right to forget.
Italian soldiers at the damaged Soviet M3 "General Lee" medium tank. Tanks M3 "General Lee" of the American were delivered to the USSR under Lend-Lease. Summer 1942. Location: southeastern Ukraine (Donbass) or Rostov region, Stalingrad direction.
A rare photo of Soviet tankmen with M3A1 "Stuart" tanks, wearing American headsets, with a Thompson M1928A1 submachine gun and an M1919A4 machine gun. American equipment was left fully equipped under Lend-Lease - with equipment and even small arms for the crew.
Soviet pilots receive an American medium bomber A-20 (Douglas A-20 Boston), transferred under Lend-Lease. Nome Airfield, Alaska. Source: US Library of Congress.
British women are preparing the Matilda tank to be shipped to the USSR under Lend-Lease. In Great Britain at that time, everything Soviet was very fashionable and popular, so the workers with sincere pleasure write Russian words on the armor of the tank. The first 20 Matildas arrived in Arkhangelsk with a PQ-1 caravan on October 11, and by the end of 1941, 187 of these tanks arrived in the USSR. A total of 1,084 Matilds were sent to the USSR, of which 918 reached their destination, and the rest were lost on the way when convoy transports were sunk.
Soviet armored reconnaissance vehicle M3A1 Scout Car, supplied under Lend-Lease, in battle on the streets of Vienna, Austria. Vehicle of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
Sending the Valentine tank to the USSR under the Lend-Lease program. A tank marked "Stalin" is being transported by truck from the factory to the port. The picture was taken on September 22, 1941, when the tank factory Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Co. a solemn meeting took place, to which the Soviet ambassador Ivan Maisky was invited. In the photo, "Valentine" modification Mk. II.
A company of American tanks M3s "General Lee", supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease, is moving forward to the front line of the defense of the Soviet 6th Guards Army. July 1943
The P-63 "Kingcobra" fighter, previously supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease, has returned to the United States and is being examined by American technicians. Great Falls Air Base, USA.
