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79-746: Before the United States declared war on Japan in December 1941, the US had remained isolationist with regards to the events happening in Europe and elsewhere but had aided Britain via the Lend-Lease program. Also, from September 1939 through to the end of the war, various charitable organisations in the US collected money and items to alleviate the hardships and suffering of the British general public. As

158-538: A 15-page letter for American help. In his December 29, 1940 Fireside Chat radio broadcast, President Roosevelt proclaimed the United States would be the " Arsenal of Democracy " and proposed selling munitions to Britain and Canada. Isolationists were strongly opposed, warning it would result in American involvement with what was considered by most Americans as an essentially European conflict. In time, opinion shifted as increasing numbers of Americans began to consider

237-528: A loss of labour; between 1941 and 1945, 19.5 million working-age men had to leave their farms to work in the military and industry. Agricultural issues were also compounded when the Soviets were on the offensive, as areas liberated from the Axis had been devastated and contained millions of people who needed to be fed. Lend-Lease thus provided a massive quantity of foodstuffs and agricultural products. According to

316-584: A matter of days. In turn, this would have allowed the German commanders to escape at least some encirclements, while forcing the Red Army to prepare and conduct many more deliberate penetration attacks in order to advance the same distance. Left to their own devices, Stalin and his commanders might have taken twelve to eighteen months longer to finish off the Wehrmacht; the ultimate result would probably have been

395-485: A public education mission to build support for the war effort. Late in 1941 the film Our Russian Front was produced, featuring war footage from the Eastern front. The movie, produced by director Lewis Milestone and documentary filmmaker Joris Ivens , featured narration by Walter Huston and was displayed in theaters to a paying audience. The film premiered on February 11, 1942. In 1942, actor Charlie Chaplin gave

474-555: A rapid expansion of the United States Navy . In the meantime, Great Britain was running out of liquid currency and asked not to be forced to sell off British assets. Hampered by public opinion and the Neutrality Acts, which forbade arms sales on credit or the lending of money to belligerent nations, Roosevelt eventually came up with the idea of "lend–lease". As one Roosevelt biographer has characterized it: "If there

553-585: A speech at a meeting of the organization in San Francisco, where he called for the opening of a second front against Germany. A wide array of medical and humanitarian aid was provided to the Russian war effort by Russian War Relief. Some products distributed during the first year of the war included typhus and malaria medication, hospital field tents, x-ray film, surgical implements, sterilization equipment, and artificial sweetener. Russian War Relief

632-815: The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), served as director of public relations and was later promoted to Executive Director. The chairman of Russian War Relief was Edward C. Carter , chairman of the National Committee for Medical Aid to the Soviet Union , a member of the Executive Committee of the American Russian Institute , and secretary general of the Institute of Pacific Relations . From 1942,

711-806: The Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States ( Pub. L.   77–11 , H.R. 1776, 55  Stat.   31 , enacted March 11, 1941 ), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom , the Soviet Union , France , the Republic of China , and other Allied nations of the Second World War with food , oil , and materiel between 1941 and 1945. The aid

790-591: The Tizard Mission to the United States. The aim of the British Technical and Scientific Mission was to obtain the industrial resources to exploit the military potential of the research and development work completed by the UK up to the beginning of World War II , but that Britain itself could not exploit due to the immediate requirements of war-related production. The British shared technology included

869-789: The cavity magnetron (key technology at the time for highly effective radar ; the American historian James Phinney Baxter III later called "the most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores"), the design for the VT fuze , details of Frank Whittle 's jet engine and the Frisch–Peierls memorandum describing the feasibility of an atomic bomb. Though these may be considered the most significant, many other items were also transported, including designs for rockets , superchargers , gyroscopic gunsights , submarine detection devices, self-sealing fuel tanks and plastic explosives . On December 7, 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pressed Roosevelt in

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948-514: The "cash and carry" program, as required by the U.S. Neutrality Acts of the 1930s, but by 1941 it had liquidated a large part of its overseas holdings and its gold reserves were becoming depleted in paying for materiel from the United States. During this same period, the U.S. government began to mobilize for total war, instituting the first-ever peacetime draft and a fivefold increase in the defense budget (from $ 2 billion to $ 10 billion). The Two-Ocean Navy Act of July 1940 set in motion

1027-612: The 1930s . It was a decisive step away from non-interventionist policy and toward open support for the Allies. Lend-Lease's precise significance to Allied victory in World War II is debated. Khrushchev claimed that Stalin told him that Lend-Lease enabled the Soviet Union to defeat Germany. The 1930s began with one of the world's greatest economic depressions , and the later recession of 1937–1938 (although minor relative to

1106-593: The 1939 amendment to the previous Neutrality Acts marked the beginning of a congressional shift away from isolationism, making a first step toward interventionism. After the Fall of France during June 1940, the British Commonwealth and Empire were the only forces engaged in war against Germany and Italy , until the Italian invasion of Greece . Britain had been paying for its materiel with gold as part of

1185-603: The Allied side, there was almost total reliance upon American industrial production, weaponry and especially unarmored vehicles purpose-built for military use, vital for the modern army's logistics and support. The USSR was very dependent on rail transport and starting during the latter half of the 1920s but accelerating during the 1930s (the Great Depression), hundreds of foreign industrial giants such as Ford were commissioned to construct modern dual-purpose factories in

1264-514: The Allied victory. Even after the United States forces in Europe and the Pacific began to attain full strength during 1943–1944, Lend-Lease continued. Most remaining Allies were largely self-sufficient in frontline equipment (such as tanks and fighter aircraft) by this time but Lend-Lease provided a useful supplement in this category and Lend-Lease logistical supplies (including motor vehicles and railroad equipment) were of enormous assistance. Much of

1343-435: The Allies during the war, to provide each other with goods, services, and mutual aid in the widest sense, without charging commercial payments. A total of $ 50.1 billion (equivalent to $ 672 billion in 2023) was involved, or 17% of the total war expenditures of the U.S. Most, $ 31.4 billion ($ 421 billion) went to Britain and its empire. Other recipients were led by $ 11.3 billion ($ 152 billion) to

1422-521: The Americans shipped over to us material without which we could not have equipped our armies held in reserve or been able to continue the war. David Glantz , an American military historian known for his books on the Eastern front, offers a similar view: Although Soviet accounts have routinely belittled the significance of Lend-Lease in the sustainment of the Soviet war effort, the overall importance of

1501-751: The BWRS and its affiliates have provided a wealth of items for collectors of home front memorabilia. Some of the more common items are button lapel pins. These display the British War Relief emblem of a lion rampant and shield. A high number feature the French motto Dieu et mon Droit , the motto of the British monarch and translated as "God and my right". All pins are labelled on the back as either "Official Bundles for Britain" or, more commonly, "Official BWRS and BB". Larger brooches were for women, whilst

1580-589: The BWRS, its affiliates and Bundles for Britain produced their own matchbooks. The song "Thumbs Up!" (aka "British Delivers the Goods"), composed (words and music) in 1941 by Moe Jaffe , Jack O'Brien , and Bert Lee (pseudonym of Bert Lown , was the official theme song of the British War Relief Society. The song became the theme and movie title for the 1943 film, Thumbs Up . Russian War Relief Lend-Lease Lend-Lease , formally

1659-647: The Great Depression) was otherwise also one of the worst of the 20th century. In 1934, following the Nye Committee hearings, as well as the publication of influential books such as Merchants of Death , the United States Congress adopted several Neutrality Acts in the 1930s , motivated by non-interventionism —following the aftermath of its costly involvement in World War I (the war debts were still not paid off), and seeking to ensure that

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1738-605: The Lend-Lease bill was strongest among isolationist Republicans in Congress, who feared the measure would be "the longest single step this nation has yet taken toward direct involvement in the war abroad". When the House of Representatives finally took a roll call vote on February 8, 1941, the 260 to 165 vote was largely along party lines. Democrats voted 236 to 25 in favor and Republicans 24 in favor and 135 against. The vote in

1817-593: The President deems vital to the defense of the United States] any defense article." In April, this policy was extended to China, and in October to the Soviet Union, which was attacked by Germany on 22 June 1941. Roosevelt approved $ 1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to Britain at the end of October 1941. This followed the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement , whereby 50 US Navy destroyers were transferred to

1896-403: The President's proposal. When poll participants were asked their party affiliation, the poll revealed a political divide: 69% of Democrats were unequivocally in favor of Lend-Lease, whereas only 38% of Republicans favored the bill without qualification. At least one poll spokesperson also noted that "approximately twice as many Republicans" gave "qualified answers as ... Democrats." Opposition to

1975-489: The Red Army, eight percent of war-time production. A particular critical aspect of Lend-Lease was the supply of food. The invasion had cost the USSR a huge amount of its agricultural base; during the initial Axis offensive of 1941–42, the total sown area of the USSR fell by 41.9% and the number of collective and state farms by 40%. The Soviets lost a substantial number of draft and farm animals as they were not able to relocate all

2054-489: The Red Army. The British tanks first saw action with the 138 Independent Tank Battalion in the Volga Reservoir on November 20, 1941. Lend-Lease tanks constituted 30 to 40 percent of heavy and medium tank strength before Moscow at the beginning of December 1941. Significant numbers of British Churchill , Matilda and Valentine tanks were shipped to the USSR. Between June 1941 and May 1945, Britain delivered to

2133-699: The Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy in exchange for basing rights in the Caribbean. Churchill also granted the US base rights in Bermuda and Newfoundland for free; this act allowed their British garrison to be redeployed to more crucial theatres. In 1944, Britain transferred several of the US-made destroyers to the USSR. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entering

2212-539: The Russian War Relief Fund and The American Committee for Russian War Relief) was the largest American agency for foreign war relief. It had the "express and exclusive purpose of giving succor to the Russian people at a time of crisis." The organization was a front organization for the USSR. On July 29, 1941, one month after Germany's attack on Russia, a group met in New York. This effort led to

2291-758: The Russian historian Boris Vadimovich Sokolov , Lend-Lease had a crucial role in winning the war: On the whole the following conclusion can be drawn: that without these Western shipments under Lend-Lease the Soviet Union not only would not have been able to win the Great Patriotic War, it would not have been able even to oppose the German invaders, since it could not itself produce sufficient quantities of arms and military equipment or adequate supplies of fuel and ammunition. The Soviet authorities were well aware of this dependency on Lend-Lease. Thus, Stalin told Harry Hopkins [FDR's emissary to Moscow in July 1941] that

2370-623: The Senate, which occurred on March 8, revealed a similar partisan difference: 49 Democrats (79 percent) voted "aye" with only 13 Democrats (21 percent) voting "nay". In contrast, 17 Republicans (63 percent) voted "nay" while 10 Senate Republicans (37 percent) sided with the Democrats to pass the bill. President Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease bill into law on March 11, 1941. It permitted him to "sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such government [whose defense

2449-467: The Soviet Union, $ 3.2 billion ($ 42.9 billion) to France, $ 1.6 billion ($ 21.5 billion) to China, and the remaining $ 2.6 billion to the other Allies. Reverse lend-lease policies comprised services such as rent on bases used by the U.S., and totaled $ 7.8 billion; of this, $ 6.8 billion came from the British and the Commonwealth , mostly Australia and India. The terms of

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2528-444: The U.S.S.R. could not match Germany's might as an occupier of Europe and its resources. Nikita Khrushchev , having served as a military commissar and intermediary between Stalin and his generals during the war, addressed directly the significance of Lend-lease aid in his memoirs: I would like to express my candid opinion about Stalin's views on whether the Red Army and the Soviet Union could have coped with Nazi Germany and survived

2607-797: The US and Canada, and to prevent the US monopolizing British orders, the Hyde Park Declaration of 20 April 1941 made weapons and components manufactured in Canada for Britain eligible for Lend-Lease financing as if they had been manufactured in the US. Canada operated a program similar to Lend-Lease called Mutual Aid that sent a loan of Can$ 1 billion (equivalent to Can$ 17.1 billion in 2023) and Can$ 3.4 billion (Can$ 58.1 billion) in supplies and services to Britain and other Allies. Roosevelt made sure that Lend-Lease policies were supportive of his foreign policy goals by putting his top aide Harry Hopkins in effective control of

2686-448: The USSR lost a huge number of military aircraft. Some of them were lost at airfields in the first days of the fighting, some were abandoned for various reasons, and some were lost in air battles. The losses of Soviet aviation in 1941 is one of the most controversial topics for military historians and publicists. The situation was aggravated by the loss of many aircraft factories that produced aircraft and components for them, which remained in

2765-462: The USSR, 16 alone within a week of May 31, 1929. With the outbreak of war these plants switched from civilian to military production and locomotive production ended virtually overnight. Just 446 locomotives were produced during the war, with only 92 of those being built between 1942 and 1945. In total, 92.7% of the wartime production of railroad equipment by the USSR was supplied by Lend-Lease. including 1,911 locomotives and 11,225 railcars. Much of

2844-644: The USSR: In total 4 million tonnes of war material including food and medical supplies were delivered. The munitions totaled £308m (not including naval munitions supplied), the food and raw materials totaled £120m in 1946 index. In accordance with the Anglo-Soviet Military Supplies Agreement of June 27, 1942, military aid sent from Britain to the Soviet Union during the war was entirely free of charge. Russian War Relief Russian War Relief ( RWR ) (also known as

2923-507: The United Kingdom, $ 11.3 billion to the Soviet Union, $ 3.2 billion to France, $ 1.6 billion to China, and the remaining $ 2.6 billion to other Allies. Roosevelt's top foreign policy advisor Harry Hopkins had effective control over Lend-Lease, making sure it was in alignment with Roosevelt's foreign policy goals. Materiel delivered under the act was supplied at no cost, to be used until returned or destroyed. In practice, most equipment

3002-460: The United States needed to help the Soviets fight against the Germans. Because of its utmost importance, Roosevelt directed his subordinates to heavily prioritise shipments of aid to the Soviet Union above most other uses of available shipping. Soviet Ambassador Maxim Litvinov significantly contributed to the Lend-Lease agreement of 1941. American deliveries to the Soviet Union can be divided into

3081-537: The United States totalled $ 7.8 billion. Of this, $ 6.8 billion came from the British and the Commonwealth . Canada also aided the United Kingdom and other Allies with the Billion Dollar Gift and Mutual Aid totalling $ 3.4 billion in supplies and services (equivalent to $ 61 billion in 2020). Lend-Lease weakened the United States' neutrality which had been enshrined in the Neutrality Acts of

3160-609: The Western Hemisphere to the USSR, 94% coming from the US. For comparison, a total of 22 million tons landed in Europe to supply American forces from January 1942 to May 1945. It has been estimated that American deliveries to the USSR through the Persian Corridor alone were sufficient, by US Army standards, to maintain sixty combat divisions in the line. In the first weeks and months of the German–Soviet war,

3239-552: The act to allow warring nations to purchase military goods, arms and munitions if they paid cash and bore the risks of transporting the goods on non-American ships, a policy that would favor Britain and France. Initially, this proposal failed, but after Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland in September, Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1939 ending the munitions embargo on a "cash and carry" basis. The passage of

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3318-604: The activities of the various other charitable associations, in a similar way to the United Service Organizations (USO). The BWRS was headquartered on Fifth Avenue , in New York City . The BWRS continued to supply humanitarian goods throughout the war. While many of the smaller charities were covered by the activities of the BWRS, the major exception was the "Bundles for Britain" organisation, founded by Natalie Wales Latham Bundles for Britain

3397-424: The advantage of funding the British war against Germany, while staying free of the hostilities themselves. Propaganda showing the devastation of British cities during The Blitz , as well as popular depictions of Germans as savage also rallied public opinion to the Allies, especially after Germany conquered France . After a decade of neutrality, Roosevelt knew that the change to Allied support must be gradual, given

3476-423: The agreement provided that the U.S. materiel was to be used until returned or destroyed. In practice, very little equipment was in usable shape for peacetime uses. Supplies that arrived after the termination date were sold to Britain at a large discount for £1.075 billion, using long-term loans from the United States. Canada was not a direct recipient of Lend-Lease aid. To address balance of payment issues between

3555-412: The animals in an area before it was captured and of those areas in which the Axis forces would occupy, the Soviets had lost 7 million of out of 11.6 million horses, 17 million out of 31 million cows, 20 million of 23.6 million pigs and 27 million out of 43 million sheep and goats. Tens of thousands of agricultural machines, such as tractors and threshers, were destroyed or captured. Agriculture also suffered

3634-401: The assistance cannot be understated. Lend-Lease aid did not arrive in sufficient quantities to make the difference between defeat and victory in 1941–1942; that achievement must be attributed solely to the Soviet people and to the iron nerve of Stalin , Zhukov, Shaposhnikov , Vasilevsky , and their subordinates. As the war continued, however, the United States and Great Britain provided many of

3713-432: The aviation fuel including nearly 90 percent of high-octane fuel used, 4,478,116 tons of foodstuffs (canned meats, sugar, flour, salt, etc.), 1,911 steam locomotives, 66 diesel locomotives, 9,920 flat cars, 1,000 dump cars, 120 tank cars, and 35 heavy machinery cars. Ordnance goods (ammunition, artillery shells, mines, assorted explosives) provided amounted to 53 percent of total domestic consumption. One item typical of many

3792-491: The country would not become entangled in foreign conflicts again. The Neutrality Acts of 1935 , 1936 , and 1937 intended to keep the United States out of war by making it illegal for Americans to sell or transport arms or other war materials to warring nations, be they aggressors or defenders. In 1939, however—as Germany, Japan, and Italy pursued aggressive, militaristic policies— President Roosevelt wanted more flexibility to help contain Axis aggression. He suggested amending

3871-521: The creation of a liberalized international economic order in the postwar world." That is the U.S. would be "repaid" when the recipient fought the common enemy and joined the world trade and diplomatic agencies, such as the United Nations. If Germany defeated the Soviet Union, the most significant front in Europe would be closed. Roosevelt believed that if the Soviets were defeated the Allies would be far more likely to lose. Roosevelt concluded that

3950-464: The fire is over." To which Senator Robert Taft (R-Ohio), responded: "Lending war equipment is a good deal like lending chewing gum—you certainly don't want the same gum back." In practice, very little was returned except for a few unarmed transport ships. Surplus military equipment was of no value in peacetime. The Lend-Lease agreements with 30 countries provided for repayment not in terms of money or returned goods, but in "joint action directed towards

4029-661: The following phases: Delivery was via the Arctic Convoys , the Persian Corridor , and the Pacific Route . The Arctic route was the shortest and most direct route for lend-lease aid to the USSR, though it was also the most dangerous as it involved sailing past German-occupied Norway. Some 3,964,000 tons of goods were shipped by the Arctic route; 7% was lost, while 93% arrived safely. The Persian Corridor

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4108-478: The formal establishment of Russian War Relief, Inc. (RWR) in New York on September 12, 1941. The group had headquarters located at 535 Fifth Avenue in New York City. The organization launched its fundraising drive with a mass meeting held at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 1941. In addition to fundraising to provide medical supplies and humanitarian aid to the people of Soviet Russia, RWR conducted

4187-414: The implements of war and strategic raw materials necessary for Soviet victory. Without Lend-Lease food, clothing, and raw materials (especially metals), the Soviet economy would have been even more heavily burdened by the war effort. Perhaps most directly, without Lend-Lease trucks, rail engines, and railroad cars, every Soviet offensive would have stalled at an earlier stage, outrunning its logistical tail in

4266-980: The logistical assistance of the Soviet military was provided by hundreds of thousands of U.S.-made trucks and by 1945, nearly a third of the truck strength of the Red Army was U.S.-built. Trucks such as the Dodge 3 ⁄ 4 -ton and Studebaker 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -ton were easily the best trucks available in their class on either side on the Eastern Front . American shipments of telephone cable, aluminum, canned rations and clothing were also critical. Lend-Lease also supplied significant amounts of weapons and ammunition. The Soviet air force received 18,200 aircraft, which amounted to about 30 percent of Soviet wartime fighter and bomber production (mid 1941–45). Most tank units were Soviet-built models but about 7,000 Lend-Lease tanks (plus more than 5,000 British tanks) were used by

4345-670: The meaning of Lend-Lease aid can be better understood when considering the innovative nature of World War II , as well as the economic distortions caused by the war. One of the greatest differences with prior wars was the enormous increase in the mobility of armies. This was the first big war in which whole formations were routinely motorized; soldiers were supported with large numbers of all kinds of vehicles. Most belligerent powers severely decreased production of non-essentials, concentrating on producing weapons. This inevitably produced shortages of related products that are required for industrial or logistical uses, particularly unarmored vehicles. On

4424-668: The needs of the Soviet Navy , 2,141 aircraft were delivered to the USSR. Not all of the delivered aircraft could be fully called modern models. But even those that could be called obsolete (the English Hurricane and the American Tomahawk) were more advanced and superior in most characteristics than the I-153 and I-16 aircraft that made up the basis of Soviet fighter aviation in the most difficult first months of

4503-456: The past and present, and when we would return to the subject of the path we had traveled during the war, that is what he said. When I listened to his remarks, I was fully in agreement with him, and today I am even more so. In a confidential interview with the wartime correspondent Konstantin Simonov , the Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov is quoted as saying: Today [1963] some say the Allies didn't really help us ... But listen, one cannot deny that

4582-421: The port and to train Soviet pilots. The convoy was the first of many convoys to Murmansk and Archangelsk in what became known as the Arctic convoys , the returning ships carried the gold that the USSR was using to pay the US. By the end of 1941, early shipments of Matilda , Valentine and Tetrarch tanks represented only 6.5% of total Soviet tank production but over 25% of medium and heavy tanks produced for

4661-461: The program. In terms of administration, the president established the Office of Lend-Lease Administration during 1941, headed by steel executive Edward R. Stettinius . In September 1943, he was promoted to Undersecretary of State, and Leo Crowley became director of the Foreign Economic Administration , which was given responsibility for Lend-Lease. Lend-Lease aid to the USSR was nominally managed by Stettinius. Roosevelt's Soviet Protocol Committee

4740-504: The same, except that Soviet soldiers could have waded at France's Atlantic beaches. Roosevelt, eager to ensure public consent for this controversial plan, explained to the public and the press that his plan was comparable to lending a garden hose to a neighbor whose house is on fire. "What do I do in such a crisis?" the president asked at a press conference. "I don't say ... 'Neighbor, my garden hose cost me $ 15; you have to pay me $ 15 for it' ... I don't want $ 15—I want my garden hose back after

4819-710: The smaller pin came in pinback and screwback varieties for men. To raise funds the pins were originally sold for $ 2.50 and $ 1 respectively in 1941. The success of the RAF during the Battle of Britain led to a number of pins being designed on the RAF wings. Often with a monogram of RAF to the front and with BB (Bundles for Britain) or BWRS marked on the reverse. Produced in vermeil (24k goldplate over sterling) with enamel and are made by Monet or Accessocraft, two costume jewelry manufacturers. Other items sold to raise money included ceramics, books, stamps, celluloid badges, cinderellas , cigarette cases and compacts. Matchbooks were an inexpensive form of advertising and local branches of

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4898-471: The support for isolationism in the country. Originally, the American policy was to help the British but not join the war. During early February 1941, a Gallup poll revealed that 54% of Americans were in favor of giving aid to the British without qualifications of Lend-Lease. A further 15% were in favor of qualifications such as: "If it doesn't get us into war," or "If the British can give us some security for what we give them." Only 22% were unequivocally against

4977-414: The territory occupied by the Germans. Some of the factories were hastily evacuated to the east of the country, but it took time to resume production and reach its maximum capacity. In December 1941, all aircraft factories of the Soviet Union produced only 600 aircraft of all types. This was the reason that the supply of aircraft, primarily fighters and bombers, became the main topic in the negotiations between

5056-509: The top leadership of the USSR, Great Britain and the United States. The vast majority of the total number of aircraft received by the USSR under the Lend-Lease program was made up of British Spitfire and Hurricane fighters , American P-39 Airacobra, P-40 fighters , known in Russia under the names "Tomahawk" and "Kittyhawk", P-63 Kingcobra, American bombers A-20 Havoc, B-25 Mitchell . A significant amount of C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft and PBY Catalina flying boats were also delivered. For

5135-589: The total. In total, the U.S. deliveries to the USSR through Lend-Lease amounted to $ 11 billion in materials (equivalent to $ 148 billion in 2023): over 400,000 jeeps and trucks; 12,000 armored vehicles (including 7,000 tanks, about 1,386 of which were M3 Lees and 4,102 M4 Shermans ); 11,400 aircraft (of which 4,719 were Bell P-39 Airacobras , 3,414 were Douglas A-20 Havocs and 2,397 were Bell P-63 Kingcobras ) and 1.75 million tons of food. Roughly 17.5 million tons of military equipment, vehicles, industrial supplies, and food were shipped from

5214-419: The war in December 1941, foreign policy was rarely discussed by Congress, and there was very little demand to cut Lend-Lease spending. In spring 1944, the House passed a bill to renew the Lend-Lease program by a vote of 334 to 21. The Senate passed it by a vote of 63 to 1. In February 1942, the U.S. and Britain signed the Anglo-American Mutual Aid Agreement as part of a greater multilateral system, developed by

5293-426: The war progressed, and the British need for aid grew, a large number of charities appeared across the US to aid Britain – amongst them (but by no means all) American Ambulances in Great Britain , the American Committee for Air Raid Relief, American Hospital in Britain, British American Ambulance Corps, the British Hospital Association and Bundles for Britain. Incorporated in 1941, the British War Relief Society managed

5372-411: The war without aid from the United States and Britain. First, I would like to tell about some remarks Stalin made and repeated several times when we were "discussing freely" among ourselves. He stated bluntly that if the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war. If we had had to fight Nazi Germany one on one, we could not have stood up against Germany's pressure, and we would have lost

5451-412: The war. No one ever discussed this subject officially, and I don't think Stalin left any written evidence of his opinion, but I will state here that several times in conversations with me he noted that these were the actual circumstances. He never made a special point of holding a conversation on the subject, but when we were engaged in some kind of relaxed conversation, going over international questions of

5530-560: The war. The superiority in high-altitude characteristics of American and British aircraft, powerful armament and the provision of communications ensured their use in the air defense forces – out of 10 thousand aircraft received by the USSR during the war, 7 thousand were from received via Lend-Lease. From October 1, 1941, to May 31, 1945, the United States delivered to the Soviet Union 427,284 trucks, 13,303 combat vehicles, 35,170 motorcycles, 2,328 ordnance service vehicles, 2,670,371 tons of petroleum products (gasoline and oil) or 57.8 percent of

5609-459: Was a front organization for the USSR with ties to Soviet Intelligence agents. Saville Sax was introduced to Soviet agents by his mother, Bluma, who worked for Russian War Relief. Sax was roommates with Theodore Hall who worked on the Manhattan Project . Sax recruited Hall who gave a detailed description of the " Fat Man " plutonium bomb, and of several processes for purifying plutonium , to Soviet intelligence . Fred Myers , who later founded

5688-763: Was a tire plant that was lifted bodily from the Ford Company's River Rouge Plant and transferred to the USSR. The 1947 money value of the supplies and services amounted to about $ 11.3 billion. On 12 July 1941, within weeks of the German invasion of the USSR, the Anglo-Soviet Agreement was signed and the first British aid convoy set off along the dangerous Arctic Sea route to Murmansk , arriving in September. It carried 40 Hawker Hurricanes along with 550 mechanics and pilots of No. 151 Wing in Operation Benedict , to provide air defence of

5767-408: Was destroyed, although some hardware (such as ships) was returned after the war. Supplies that arrived after the termination date were sold to the United Kingdom at a large discount for £1.075 billion, using long-term loans from the United States, which were finally repaid in 2006. Similarly, the Soviet Union repaid $ 722 million in 1971, with the remainder of the debt written off. Reverse Lend-Lease to

5846-466: Was dominated by Harry Hopkins and General John York, who were totally sympathetic to the provision of "unconditional aid". Few Americans objected to Soviet aid until 1943. The program was gradually terminated after V-E Day . In April 1945, Congress voted that it should not be used for post-conflict purposes, and in August 1945, after Japan surrendered , the program was ended. Lend-Lease contributed to

5925-408: Was given free of charge on the basis that such help was essential for the defense of the United States. The Lend-Lease Act was signed into law on March 11, 1941, and ended on September 20, 1945. A total of $ 50.1 billion (equivalent to $ 672 billion in 2023 when accounting for inflation) worth of supplies was shipped, or 17% of the total war expenditures of the U.S. In all, $ 31.4 billion went to

6004-536: Was no practical alternative, there was certainly no moral one either. Britain and the Commonwealth were carrying the battle for all civilization, and the overwhelming majority of Americans, led in the late election by their president, wished to help them." As the President himself put it, "There can be no reasoning with incendiary bombs." In September 1940, during the Battle of Britain the British government sent

6083-604: Was raised in cash. Mrs. Latham was highly recognized for this wartime effort, being invested by King George VI as an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1946, the first non-British subject to receive this honor. Her story may have even served as inspiration for the Cary Grant movie Mr. Lucky . In 1953, she married, as her fourth husband, Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton . Bundles for Britain,

6162-812: Was started in 1940 by Mrs. Latham as a knitting circle in a store front in New York City. Knitted goods—socks, gloves, hats, sweaters, and scarves—were made and shipped to Britain. Within Sixteen months, Latham expanded Bundles into an organization with 975 branches and almost a million contributors, and by the spring of 1941, it had delivered 40,000 sleeveless sweaters, 10,000 sweaters with sleeves, 30,000 scarves, 18,000 pairs of seaboot stockings, 50,000 pairs of socks, and 8,000 caps. By 1941, moreover, Bundles had also shipped ambulances, surgical instruments, medicines, cots, blankets, field-kitchen units, and operating tables, along with used clothing of all sorts. The total value of goods shipped reached $ 1,500,000; another $ 1,000,000

6241-510: Was the longest route, and was not fully operational until mid-1942. Thereafter it saw the passage of 4,160,000 tons of goods, 27% of the total. The Pacific Route opened in August 1941, but was affected by the start of hostilities between Japan and the U.S.; after December 1941, only Soviet ships could be used, and, as Japan and the USSR observed a strict neutrality towards each other, only non-military goods could be transported. Nevertheless, some 8,244,000 tons of goods went by this route, 50% of

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