The role of Western supplies during the Great Patriotic War is traditionally hushed up in Russian society. So, in the enchanting book by N. A. war monopoly capitalism of the United States of America. " Other sources indicate that all military equipment "bought with the gold of the USSR" was worthless rubbish with an exhausted resource, followed by accusations of the United States and Great Britain in refusing to supply the most advanced models of equipment.
In general, there are conflicting opinions about the role of military supplies in the victory over fascism. There are few objective assessments. We invite the reader to familiarize himself with the facts from the field of aviation and draw a conclusion for himself about the importance of military supplies under the Lend-Lease program during the Second World War.
Cobras
The most famous Lend-Lease aircraft was the legendary Bell P-39 Aircobra. In total, during the war, the Red Army Air Force received 5,000 fighters of this type.
Only the guards iap were equipped with aircobras, due to the extremely high flight characteristics of the aircraft. A description of the Aircobra can be found on any thematic site, I will note only a small detail - the main caliber is 37 mm. Also, one of the important advantages of the aircraft was the original layout - the engine is located behind the cockpit, thereby protecting the pilot from the most dangerous direction. An oil cooler and a crankshaft served as additional protection from the bottom of the cab.
It was on the P-39 fighter with tail number 100 that Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin ended the war.
In addition to the main batch of Bell P-39 Aircobra, 2,400 Bell P-63 Kingcobra were delivered to the USSR - even more formidable machines.
Under the terms of Lend-Lease, all military equipment after the end of the war was to be returned to the United States or destroyed on the spot. The Soviet Union, of course, neglected this clause of the treaty, and the most modern Lend-Lease fighters went to serve in the air defense until the appearance of jet Migs. Thanks to the nose landing gear, as on the MiG-15, Kingcobras were successfully used for pilot training until the end of the 50s.
Boston
Attack aircraft A-20 Havos (Boston). 3125 delivered machines. The first A-20s appeared on the Soviet-German front in the summer of 1943. The Boston became a truly multipurpose aircraft in our aviation, performing the functions of a day and night bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, torpedo bomber and mine layer, a heavy fighter and even a transport aircraft. He was little used only as an attack aircraft - for its main purpose!
The American bomber was distinguished by good maneuverability and a large practical ceiling. Deep turns were easy for him, he flew freely on one engine. Taking into account the poor training of pilots who were quickly released from schools during the war years, the aerobatic qualities of the aircraft became important. Here the Boston was excellent: simple and easy to drive, obedient and stable on turns. Takeoff and landing on it were much easier than on the domestic Pe-2.
The combat value of this aircraft was so great that, even with the advent of jet aircraft, the Northern Fleet until 1956 had a mothballed Boston set.
Useless junk
In the fall of 1944, at a special request in the USSR, he began to receive the P-47 Thunderbolt. One of the most heavily armed fighters of that time - 8 large-caliber Browning and 1000 kg of outboard weapons. Thunderbolts successfully escorted the Flying Fortresses in the skies over Germany (flight range with PTB - 2000 km), fought with Focke-Wolves at extreme heights and chased German tanks (it is believed that it was the rocket from Thunderbolt that finished off Michael Wittmann's tank).
However, the paranormal happened: the USSR abandoned this plane! Soviet pilots complained that Thunderbolt was too heavy and clumsy. The deliveries were stopped on 203 vehicles, the already accepted Thunderbolts were sent to the assault regiments. After the war, the surviving vehicles were transferred to the air defense.
Marine patrol
Heavy amphibians Consolidated PBY Catalina became the basis of naval patrol aviation in many countries of the world, including the USSR. Equipped with radars, the Catalins were actively used for patrolling, reconnaissance, search and rescue and anti-submarine operations.
"Katalina" was well known to Soviet specialists. Firstly, before the war in the USSR, a small series of its licensed version was produced - the GST flying boat. Secondly, since 1942, the British Catalins have regularly appeared at the airfields of the Northern Fleet, solving various tasks, including in the interests of the Soviet command. So, for example, in September-October 1942, nine "Catalin" from the 210th squadron of the RAF operated from our northern airfields while escorting the convoy PQ-18.
After the end of the war, not a single car was returned to the United States. So, in the Northern Fleet in September 1945, the 53rd separate reconnaissance aviation regiment was formed, fully equipped with Catalins, and in the Baltic a year later - the 69th, armed with purely flying boats and amphibians. The reconnaissance regiments of the Black Sea and Pacific fleets were also staffed, in approximately equal proportions, with PBN-1 and PBY-6A aircraft.
For several years, American technology became the basis of domestic seaplane aviation. Only in 1952, at first, new domestic Be-6 flying boats began to arrive at the Northern, and then to other fleets. However, naval pilots fondly remembered the comfort, reliability and high quality of American seaplanes. Gradually replaced by the Be-6, the Catalins were used by naval pilots until the end of 1955.
Mosquito bite
When the star of the DeHavilland Mosquito rose, the USSR showed a keen interest in the promising bomber. The English side provided one copy for review, the Mosquito was transported to Moscow and dismantled to a screw. The verdict of the experts was categorical: the production of a Mosquito in the USSR is impossible, and the operation is associated with great technical difficulties, due to the lack of high-quality consumables and qualified specialists. Most of the doubts were caused by the professionally glued skin and the high quality of Rolls-Royce Merlin motors.
Despite these findings, the Soviet Union ordered as many as 1,500 Mosquitoes. The order was canceled, in exchange for the USSR received Spitfires - the British decided that the Soviet Union needed a fighter more than a bomber.
Apple of discord
Lend-Lease deliveries of the P-51 Mustang were clearly not part of the American plans. An outstanding aircraft of its time, it formed the backbone of the United States Air Force's fighter fleet. Naturally, America did not want to share these machines with anyone. The only exception was the Royal Air Force - America's most loyal allies, Anglo-Saxons by blood. In total, over the years of mass production from 1940 to 1950, 8,000 Mustangs were produced - enough only to meet the needs of the US Air Force.
Objectively, the USSR did not have a need for Mustangs; there were no suitable missions for this aircraft on the Eastern Front. The battles were fought at low and medium altitudes, where the Aircobras did an excellent job. Nevertheless, the Soviet mission managed to obtain 10 vehicles for inspection. All Mustangs went to TsAGI for a detailed study.
Trifle
Also deliveries under Lend-Lease included:
- 4400 Tomahawks, Kittyhawks and Hurricanes (total)
- 1300 Spitfires
- 870 front-line bombers B-25 Mitchell
- 700 C-47 "Skytrain" (the most common transport aircraft of the anti-Hitler coalition)
- combat training AT-6 "Texan", transport A. W.41 Albemarle, bombers Handley Page HP.52 Hampden in quantities not worthy of mention
Freebie
A certain amount of aircraft was received by the USSR bypassing the Lend-Lease agreement. According to the Soviet-Japanese agreement on neutrality in force at that time, all damaged American bombers landing in the Far East were interned. This practice applied to all American aircraft, starting with E. York's B-25 of the Dolittle group, which landed at Unashi airfield in April 1942. In this way, a significant number of B-25 and B-24 subsequently fell into the hands of Soviet pilots, of which the 128th mixed air division was formed.
Aircraft crews were placed in a special assembly camp in Central Asia. Although the camp was watched by representatives of the Japanese embassy, American pilots were periodically "escaped" and announced at US bases in Iran.
Gasoline arithmetic
One of the bottlenecks of the Soviet economy before the war was the production of aviation gasoline. So, in 1941, on the eve of the war, the need for aviation gasoline B-78 was satisfied by only 4%. In 1941, the USSR produced 1269 thousand tons, in 1942 - 912, in 1943 - 1007, in 1944 - 1334 and in 1945. - 1017 thousand tons.
In total, during the war years, 628.4 thousand tons of aviation gasoline and 732.3 thousand tons of light fractions gasoline were supplied to the United States under Lend-Lease. In addition, Great Britain supplied 14.7 thousand tons of aviation gasoline and 902.1 thousand tons of light fractions gasoline from the Abadan oil refinery to the USSR (these supplies were compensated by the United Kingdom by the United States). To this must also be added 573 thousand tons of aviation gasoline supplied to the USSR from oil refineries in Great Britain and Canada. In total, all this gives 2850.5 thousand short tons of aviation gasoline and light gasoline fractions received by the USSR from the USA, Great Britain and Canada, which is equal to 2586 thousand metric tons.
More than 97% of imported gasoline had an octane number of 99 and higher, while in the USSR, as we have already seen, there was even a huge deficit of B-78 gasoline. In the Soviet Union, imported aviation gasoline and light gasoline fractions were used almost exclusively for mixing with Soviet aviation gasoline in order to increase their octane number. Therefore, in fact, the aviation gasoline supplied under Lend-Lease was included in the Soviet production of aviation gasoline and, therefore (together with light gasoline fractions), amounted to 51.5% of the Soviet production in 1941-1945. If we subtract from the total Soviet production of aviation gasoline for the first half of 1941, estimating it at about half of the annual production, then the share of supplies under Lend-Lease will rise to 57.8%.
