When politicians cannot agree among themselves, it remains to rely only on people's diplomacy, an example of which is the initiative of a number of non-governmental organizations. Its essence is the reconstruction of the ferrying of military aircraft under Lend-Lease in 1942-1945 from the USA to the USSR. Seven decades ago, this operation was called "Alsib".
It is noteworthy that the project, dubbed "Alsib-2015", was proposed by the American side and then warmly supported by the Russians. In the plan of this project, the flight of two transport aircraft "Douglas C-47" from the airport of Fairbanks (Alaska, USA) through the Bering Strait, Chukotka, Siberia to the western border of the Russian Federation, the final destination will be the LII airfield near Moscow. Gromova. Then the planes will take part in the MAKS 2015 air show, and in the future they will be transferred to the Museum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. This action is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Victory and the 40th anniversary of the joint Soviet-American space flight under the Soyuz-Apollo program.
LEND-LEASE CALCULATIONS
Now, when the relationship between our countries is far from ideal, it's time to remember that our states were allies in that war, and talk about the common contribution of our peoples to the great Victory.
In the most difficult years of the Great Patriotic War, the United States and Great Britain provided significant assistance to the bleeding Soviet Union, it was expressed in the supply of our country with the material resources necessary for waging war, called "Lend-Lease".
Preliminary deliveries prior to the conclusion of the agreement, which were carried out before September 30, 1941, were paid for in gold. The first protocol was signed on October 1, 1941. And only on June 11, 1942, between the governments of the United States and the USSR, an agreement was concluded on mutual assistance in waging a war against the aggressor, in other words, a lend-lease agreement. This was followed by the signing of the second protocol - October 6, 1942, which was valid until June 30, 1943. The third protocol was signed on October 19, 1943, according to which shipments were carried out until June 30, 1944. The final, fourth protocol was signed by the parties on April 17, 1944; formally, it operated from July 1, 1944 to May 12, 1945, but in fact, supplies were carried out until the final victory over Japan, which surrendered on September 2, and on September 20, 1945, lend-lease supplies were stopped.
In total, over the entire period of the Lend-Lease, various cargoes of weapons and equipment in the amount of about $ 13 billion arrived in the USSR from the USA and Great Britain. Most of these deliveries fell on the United States ($ 11.3 billion). According to the agreement, the receiving party, after the end of the war, had to return all non-destroyed equipment and all unused materials and property or pay for them in whole or in part. Military materials, weapons and equipment lost during the fighting were not subject to payment.
Initially, the Americans put out a very significant amount, exceeding $ 900 million. But the Soviet side referred to the fact that Great Britain received assistance from overseas for $ 31.4 billion, that is, three times more, and only 300 were presented for payment. mln. Therefore, the USSR offered the Americans to assess the debt at the same amount, to which the US representatives refused. In 1949 and 1951, during negotiations, overseas partners reduced the amount of payment twice and brought it to 800 million, but Moscow insisted on its own. The final agreement on the repayment of the debt under the Lend-Lease was concluded only in 1972. According to it, the USSR was supposed to transfer to the USA 722 million dollars by 2001, including interest. Until mid-1973, three payments were made in the amount of $ 48 million. In 1974, the United States adopted the Jackson-Vanik amendment, according to which severe restrictions on trade between our countries were introduced on January 3, 1975, and lend-lease payments in connection with this unfriendly actions of the former allies were suspended. It was only during a meeting between Presidents Gorbachev and George W. Bush in June 1990 that the parties agreed to resume discussions on Lend-Lease payments. As a result of the negotiations, a new debt repayment line was established - 2030. The amount of debt was determined at $ 674 million. Then the collapse of the USSR followed, and the Russian Federation assumed the obligation to pay. The debt was finally paid off in 2006.
From June to September 1941, the USSR received about 16.6 million tons of various cargoes under a mutual assistance agreement, while 17.5 million tons of goods were sent from the ports of Canada, the United States and Great Britain (the difference mainly lies at the bottom of the World Ocean). To underestimate the material assistance that the USSR received from the allies is to sin against the truth. In the first months of the war, the Red Army suffered huge losses in manpower, military equipment and material resources, the front was missing about 10 thousand tanks, 6 thousand aircraft, 64 thousand vehicles. The enemy in a short time managed to occupy the rich industrial and agricultural regions of the country. As a result, the active army in the fall and by the beginning of the winter campaign of 1941 was insufficiently armed (sometimes even small arms were not enough), and it was supplied with food unsatisfactorily.
Lend-Lease deliveries fed the front, and even the rear got some supplies. Canned meat (which was jokingly called the "second front") was delivered 664, 6 thousand tons, which amounted to 108% of Soviet production for the entire war period. Granulated sugar was shipped 610 thousand tons (42% of the level of our production), shoes - 16 million pairs.
The supply under Lend-Lease made it possible to provide the active army and the rear with means of communication and transport, these two positions were produced in our country in quantities insufficient for the needs of the war. The USSR received about 600 thousand trucks and cars (which is more than 1.5 times higher than the level of production in the Union). The country received 19 thousand steam locomotives (we produced 446 units), more than 11 thousand freight cars (we made no more than 1 thousand of them), 622 thousand tons of rails. Radio stations were delivered 35, 8 thousand units, about 5, 9 thousand receivers and repeaters, 445 locators, more than 1.5 million running km of field telephone cable.
The Allies made up for the acute shortage of gunpowder (22, 3 thousand tons from Great Britain) and explosives (295, 6 thousand tons from the USA), in the total mass about 53% of this military material from its amount produced during the war in the USSR. It is also difficult to overestimate the supply of military materials to Soviet industry. More than half of Soviet aircraft were produced from imported aluminum. In total, the Union received 591 thousand tons of aluminum. About 400 thousand tons of primary copper, over 50 thousand tons of electrolytic and refined copper came from the United States, which amounted to 83% of Soviet production. During the war, 102, 8 thousand units of armor plate were supplied from the United States. Great Britain shipped 103.5 thousand tons of natural rubber to the USSR. For the needs of the front and rear, 3,606 thousand tires were supplied, 2,850, 5 thousand tons of gasoline, mainly light fractions, including high-octane (51.5% of Soviet production). 4 oil refineries, 38,100 metal-cutting machines and 104 presses were also supplied.
7,057 tanks and self-propelled guns arrived in the Union from the United States by sea, and 5,480 from Great Britain. About 140 thousand units of long-barreled small arms and about 12 thousand pistols were also delivered. The Soviet fleet received from the Allies 90 units of Liberty class cargo ships, 28 frigates, 89 minesweepers, 78 large anti-submarine ships, 60 patrol boats, 166 torpedo boats and 43 landing ships.
During the entire period of the war, our Air Force received 15,481 aircraft from the United States and 3,384 from Great Britain (in the USSR during the same period, 112,100 aircraft were produced).
Lend-Lease deliveries were carried out along three main and several auxiliary routes. The most famous was the route that ran through the North Atlantic; 22.6% of all military cargo destined for the USSR was transported along it. But the most effective route was still the Pacific route, which transported 47.1% of military cargo. The second most important was the trans-Iranian, or southern, route, along which 23.8% of the cargo was delivered. Secondary were: the Black Sea route (3, 9%), which was part of the southern route; route that ran along the Northern Sea Route (2, 6%), which was a continuation of the Pacific. In addition, the planes were ferried on their own along the ALSIB route (it was part of the Pacific route) and through the South Atlantic, Africa, the Persian Gulf, further along the Trans-Iranian route. The last route, due to its long length, allowed only bombers to overtake. 993 planes flew over it to the USSR.
Douglas, Si-47 at the intermediate airfield of the Alsib route. Photo from the site www.alsib.org
WAR SPARES NO ONE
The most infamous was the shortest route, which ran from the ports of the USA, Canada, Iceland and Scotland across the North Atlantic to Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Molotovsk (Severodvinsk), then the goods followed along the front line to the south along two railway lines (Severnaya and Kirovskaya). At the initial stage, which covered the second half of 1941 and the first third of 1942, deliveries were carried out both by individual ships and by small convoys. By the middle of 1942, the solo voyage ceased, and the convoys began to grow larger. They formed mainly in Reykjavik or in the Hwal Fjord in Iceland, less often in Scotland in Loch Yu or Scapa Flow. Sea crossings lasted 10-14 days. Convoys going to the ports of the USSR were assigned the PQ code and the corresponding serial number, and while moving to the home ports they were called QP and were numbered accordingly. The route ran along the coast of Reichswehr-occupied Norway, where the Kriegsmarine bases (Navy of the Third Reich) were located in numerous convenient fjords, and well-equipped Luftwaffe bases were located in the immediate vicinity of the coast in the mountains. Convoys went from Iceland or Scotland, bypassing the Faroe Islands, past the Jan Mayen and Bear Islands, clinging to the pack ice, and headed for the Union. Depending on the ice conditions in the Greenland and Barents Seas, the route was chosen south (usually in winter) or north (mainly in summer) Jan Mayen and Bear Islands. The ships sailed in an area with a lot of drift ice and strong currents. Additional difficulties were associated with the Gulf Stream, whose warm waters, mixing with the cold Arctic waters, are the cause of frequent fogs and bad weather with rather strong sudden storms and the formation of ice on the structures of ships. It happened that the convoys broke up due to bad weather. During the polar night, the influence of the warm current made it extremely difficult to maintain the order of the convoy and the battle formations of the escort ships. During the polar day, the convoy was constantly under the threat of attacks by enemy surface and submarine warships, as well as from the air. Therefore, in summer, bad weather was the lesser evil. The only non-freezing Soviet seaport of Murmansk was located close to the front line and was often subjected to air raids. The convoy ships that entered the mouth of the Kola Bay became an easy target for the Luftwaffe pilots. The safer port of Arkhangelsk had a very short navigation period.
At the first stage, the convoys were mainly composed of British ships. From the beginning of 1942, American transports began to predominate in convoys, the number of ships was increased to 16–25 and more. PQ16 included 34 vehicles, PQ17-36, PQ18-40. For the combat escort of convoys, the British Admiralty allocated a detachment of ships. All security forces were divided into two parts: a cruising detachment (close line), which included squadron and escort destroyers, corvettes, frigates, sloops, minesweepers and anti-submarine ships, and a detachment of operational (long-range) cover, which included battleships, cruisers, sometimes aircraft carriers. East of the 18th (then 20th) meridian, the convoys entered the operational zone of the Soviet Northern Fleet, where our warships and aircraft were already providing its security. At first, the Germans did not pay serious attention to these shipments. This was followed by a Soviet counteroffensive near Moscow, and the situation in the Arctic changed. In January-February 1942, the battleship Tirpitz, the heavy cruisers Admiral Scheer, Lutzow, and Hipper, the light cruiser Cologne, five destroyers and 14 submarines were transferred to the Trondheim region (Norway). A large number of minesweepers, patrol ships, boats and auxiliary vessels were used for combat support and support of these ships and lines of operations. The forces of the 5th Nazi Air Fleet, based in Norway and Finland, were significantly increased. The consequences of these maneuvers were not long in coming: in the summer of 1942, convoy PQ17 was practically destroyed. Of the 36 ships of his order, released from Reykjavik, only 11 transports arrived at Soviet ports. Together with 24 vessels, the Germans sank about 400 tanks, 200 aircraft, and 3,000 cars to the bottom. The next convoy PQ18 left in September 1942 and lost 10 transports along the way. There was another break in the dispatch of convoys. The bulk of the transportation of military cargo was transferred to the Iranian and Pacific routes. In the summer of 1943, convoy dispatches across the North Atlantic resumed. Later, in 1944-1945, they formed only in Loch U (Scotland). Convoys bound for the Union became known as JW (and serial number), and return convoys RA.
In total, during the years of the war, 40 convoys passed through this route from Iceland and Scotland to the USSR, 811 ships, of which 58 were sunk, 33 fought off the order of the convoys and returned to the ports of departure. In the opposite direction, 35 convoys left the Soviet ports, 715 ships, 29 transports were sunk, 8 returned to the ports of departure. In total, the losses amounted to 87 transport ships, 19 warships, among the latter 2 cruisers and 6 destroyers. In this epic, about 1,500 Soviet sailors and pilots and over 30 thousand British, Canadian and American military and civilian sailors and military pilots were killed.
IRANIAN ROADS
The second in terms of cargo turnover under the Lend-Lease was the "Persian corridor", it is also called the Trans-Iranian, or southern, way. Material supplies were delivered from the ports of the United States, British dominions, through the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Persian Gulf to the ports of Basra and Bushehr. Further, the cargoes went through Iran to the shores of the Caspian Sea, to the Soviet Transcaucasia and Central Asia. This path became possible after the joint occupation of Iranian territory by British and Soviet troops in August 1941.
Until June 22, 1941, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition considered the USSR as an ally of Nazi Germany. The invasion of the Wehrmacht forces into the territory of the Union dramatically changed this situation, the USSR automatically entered the coalition. The first joint military operation of the allies was the occupation of Iran.
In the directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters No. 001196, the Central Asian Military District (SAVO) was ordered to deploy the 53rd Army on the border with Iran for a further transition to the offensive in the South, South-West and South-East directions. And by directive No. 001197 of the SVGK, the Transcaucasian Military District was reorganized into the Transcaucasian Front, it was tasked with the forces of the 44th and 47th armies, supported by the Caspian Flotilla, to advance in the South and South-East directions.
The operation was codenamed "Countenance". The USSR used five combined-arms armies in it, despite the catastrophic situation on the Soviet-German front. In addition to the above, two more armies, the 45th and 46th, were deployed on the Soviet-Turkish border, just in case. Air support of the troops was carried out by four aviation regiments. Before the outbreak of hostilities, Iran managed to carry out a partial mobilization, as a result of which 30 thousand reservists were put under arms and the total number of the army was brought to 200 thousand. But in reality, Tehran was able to put no more than nine full-blooded infantry divisions on the front line.
The Transcaucasian Front launched an offensive on August 25, and the 53rd SAVO Army crossed the Iranian border on August 27. Soviet aviation struck at airfields, communications, reserves and logistical resources of the enemy. Our troops advanced swiftly, without encountering stubborn resistance, and within a week, by August 31, they completed the operational task assigned to them.
The British fleet attacked Iranian naval forces in the Persian Gulf on 25 August. At the same time, the British ground forces, with the support of aviation, launched an offensive from the territory of Baluchistan and Iraq with a general direction to the north. The air was dominated by the Allied aviation, the Shah's troops were retreating in all directions. Already on August 29, Tehran signed a truce with Great Britain, and on the 30th with the USSR, but the hostilities continued for about two and a half weeks. Tehran fell on September 15, the next day the intractable Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi abdicated the throne (in favor of his son). An agreement was concluded between Tehran, London and Moscow, according to which the entire territory of Iran was divided into British and Soviet occupation zones.
Already in November 1941, the first deliveries of military supplies began along the "Persian corridor". The main disadvantage of this route was the long sea routes from the ports of the USA and Australia, through the Pacific and Indian oceans. Sea transportation lasted a minimum of 75 days. The wave of the offensive of the Japanese armed forces by mid-June 1942 reached the shores of Australia. The waterway was still lengthened by that time.
For the needs of Lend-Lease, the allies reconstructed large Iranian seaports in the Persian Gulf and on the Caspian coast, built railways and highways. Several automotive assembly plants have been erected by the leading American automakers in Iran. During the war, these enterprises produced 184,112 vehicles, most of which were sent to the Union on their own. By May 1942, the volume of goods transported by the Iranian route reached 90 thousand tons per month. In 1943, this figure exceeded 200 thousand tons.
Additional difficulties for deliveries by this route arose during the period when German troops reached the banks of the Volga and the line of the Main Caucasian ridge. Due to the increased frequency of Luftwaffe air strikes, the forces of the Caspian military flotilla and military aviation, covering the sea route from Iran to the north, were increased. Disorganization in the work of transport in this region was brought about by the flows of refugees and the evacuation of enterprises of various purposes from the regions affected by the war to Central Asia. The main flow of cargo went through the waters of the Caspian Sea, which required additional efforts from Moscow to reconstruct Soviet seaports and increase the tonnage of the transport fleet. In total, during the war years, 23.8% of the cargo provided to the USSR under Lend-Lease was transported by this route.
In the spring and summer of 1942, a large number of ships in the Caspian were diverted to evacuate to Iran the Polish army of General Andres, formed from Polish prisoners of war held in the NKVD camps after the autumn military campaign of 1939. This army, numbering from 80 thousand to 112 thousand, refused to fight as part of the Soviet troops. First, it was withdrawn to the Soviet occupation zone in Iran, then passed into the possession of the British. Later, the 2nd Polish Corps was formed from it, which fought as part of the Allied forces in Italy.
A LONG TRAVEL THROUGH THE PACIFIC OCEAN
The largest volume of Lend-Lease cargo was transported along the Pacific route. The ships were loaded in the ports of Canada and the United States and went, as a rule, alone by various routes to the Soviet shores, there were no convoys in this direction. Most of the ships flew under Soviet flags, the crews were also Soviet. The entire Pacific Ocean, from the Bering Sea in the north to the northern coast of Australia in the south, was a huge theater of operations, where the armies and navies of Japan and the United States came together in mortal combat.
Up to 300 ships took part in the Pacific shipping at the same time. There was no outpost, but the crews included military teams, and the ships had heavy machine guns on board. The bulk of the transportation was carried out by American-made dry cargo vessels of the "Liberty" type; later these ships were operated by the Soviet shipping companies for a long time, the last of them were still on the move in the 1970s.
American crews navigated their ships along the Pacific coast of North America to the Aleutian Archipelago in the port of Cold Bay, where reloading on Soviet ships or replacement of crews and pennants on American transports was carried out. With the beginning of navigation, the ships sailed through the Bering Sea to Provideniya Bay (Chukotka), then some of them crossed the Bering Strait and headed to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk along the Northern Sea Route. To ensure navigation, the Americans betrayed three icebreakers to the Soviet fleet.
Most of the transports went to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. 60 km to the south of it, in the Akhomten (now Russian) bay, there was a military pilot post, where caravans of three or four ships were formed. If the ice situation allowed, the caravans went south, if not, they were unloaded in Petropavlovsk, after which they returned to America. With favorable ice conditions, the caravans entered the Sea of Okhotsk along the strait between Cape Lopatka (the southern tip of Kamchatka) and the northernmost Kuril island - Shumshu. Further transports were sent to Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, Nakhodka and Vladivostok. Some of the ships passed bypassing the Kuril ridge through the La Perouse Strait into the Sea of Japan.
The southern part of Sakhalin and the entire Kuril archipelago belonged to Japan (Russia lost them in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905). At the beginning of June 1942, a Japanese formation of warships consisting of two small aircraft carriers, five cruisers, 12 destroyers, six submarines, four landing ships with numerous amphibious assault forces on board and a group of support vessels approached the Attu and Kiska Islands (Aleutian Archipelago, USA), captured them and held them until August 1943. In addition, many other factors interfered with the movement of transports along the Pacific route. The Pacific Ocean is actually not that quiet, stormy weather has caused the death of some ships. Minefields were located near Avacha Bay, along Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, in the Tatar Strait and the La Perouse Strait near Vladivostok and Nakhodka. In stormy weather, some of the mines tore off the waves and carried away to the open sea. The Japanese, although rarely, nevertheless captured and sank transports, at least three ships were torpedoed by the Americans. In the Pacific Ocean, 23 ships perished, about 240 sailors.
During the war years, more than 5 thousand ships passed from America to Petropavlovsk and back. More than 10 thousand transports arrived in Vladivostok, the city “suffocated from Lend-Lease” all this time. The only railway connecting it with the whole country could not cope with the load. Not only the port territories, but all the streets adjacent to them were littered with military materials and equipment. If we sum up all the cargoes transported along the Pacific route, including the Northern Sea Route, then this will amount to 49.7% of the total volume of supplies under the Lend-Lease.
NOT THE MOST SAFE WAY
The Alsib route was part of the Pacific route. American and Canadian pilots (including the women's squadron) ferried aircraft from aircraft manufacturers scattered throughout the United States to Great Falls (Montana, USA), then through Canada to Fairbanks (Alaska, USA). Here the representatives of the USSR took the cars, then the Soviet pilots sat at the helm. In total, 729 Bi-25 medium bombers, 1355 Ai-20 light bombers, 47 Pi-40 fighters, 2616 Pi-39 (Airacobra) fighters, 2396 Pi-63 (Kingcobra) fighters, three Pi-47 fighter-bombers, 707 Douglas C-47 transport aircraft, 708 Curtis Wright C-46 aircraft, 54 ET-6 (Texan) training aircraft, 7908 units in total. In addition, in addition to the contract, the Russians got two flying fortresses Bi-24. Towards the end of the war, the Soviet Air Force received 185 Nomad and Catalina seaplanes.
To ensure this route, 10 airfields were reconstructed and eight new ones were built at a distance from the village of Uelkal (Chukotka) to Krasnoyarsk. During the summer navigation of 1942, along the Northern Sea Route, further along the rivers of Eastern Siberia, materials, communication equipment and fuel and lubricants were thrown by the forces of the fleet at intermediate landing points, then these transfers were repeated in each navigation. Base airfields were located in Uelkal, Seimchan, Yakutsk, Kirensk and Krasnoyarsk. Alternate airfields were built in Aldan, Olekminsk, Oymyakon, Berelekh and Markov. Reserve runways were prepared in Bodaibo, Vitim, Ust-May, Khandyga, Zyryanka, Anadyr. Most of the construction work was carried out by the Dalstroy NKVD, that is, by the hands of prisoners.
The first ferry aviation division (PAD) was formed, whose headquarters were located in Yakutsk, and five ferry aviation regiments (PAP) descended into it. From Fairbanks to Uelkal, the aircraft was ferried by the 1st PAP (on January 10, 1943, it was transferred from the PAD to the subordination of the head of the military acceptance of the Red Army Air Force in Alaska). From Uelkal to Seimchan, the planes were piloted by the pilots of the 2nd PAP. Further to Yakutsk there was the area of responsibility of the 3rd PAP, to Kirensk the planes were ferried by the pilots of the 4th PAP, and at the last stage to Krasnoyarsk the pilots of the 5th PAP sat at the helm. Bombers and transport planes flew one at a time. Fighters were ferried only by a group, accompanied by bombers or transport aircraft. Bombers and transport vehicles flew from Krasnoyarsk to the front on their own, and fighters were delivered in disassembled form by rail.
Not without losses. The accidents were caused by climatic conditions, technical malfunctions and the human factor. During the run on the territory of the United States and Canada, during the entire period of Alsib's operation, 133 aircraft crashed, 133 pilots died, 177 aircraft did not cross the Bering Strait, and Soviet pilots also rest in Alaska. On the segment from Uelkal to Krasnoyarsk, 81 aircraft crashed, 144 pilots were killed, and many aviators were missing.
FLIGHT 70 YEARS LATER
The flight from Fairbanks to Moscow is made by two Douglas СB-47 airplanes of 1942 release. The cruising speed of the flight is 240 km per hour. Accompanies the Douglases in the air AN-26-100, specially chartered for this purpose. Fuel for the entire journey, spare parts for the Sy-47 were loaded on board the vehicles.
One of the C-47s is named after cosmonaut Alexei Leonov and has the Soyuz-Apollo logo on its fuselage. Another "Douglas" is named after Air Marshal Evgeny Loginov. The budget for the entire event was about $ 1 million.
According to the former Commander-in-Chief of the RF Air Force, Pyotr Stepanovich Deinekin, who takes an active part in the project, there is no radar on the Douglas, the anti-icing protection and oxygen equipment have been removed from the vehicles. Therefore, the flight takes place only in good weather conditions at an altitude of up to 3, 6 thousand meters, they wait out bad weather on the ground. The composition of the crews is mixed, Russian-American. One C-47 will be driven: commander Valentin Eduardovich Lavrentyev, co-pilot Glen Spicer Moss, technician John Henry Mackinson. The team of another "Douglas": commander Alexander Andreevich Ryabin, co-pilot Frank Warsheim Moss, technicians - Nikolai Ivanovich Demyanenko and Pavel Romanovich Muhl.
