In another book I recently, something was brought to mind that I kind of already knew.  The enormous amount of aid the Soviets got from the US, enabling them to concentrate their production on aircraft and above all, tanks. Hundreds of thousands of trucks and locomotives, tons of steel, railroad track and tons of gasoline were shipped to them.  If the US had remained absolutely isolationist, the Soviets would not have made it, in my opinion, nor would the British.
John

What was really neat was all of the tanks that the Soviets got during WW2 had "USA" stenciled on the side.

Which was OK close to Russia, since they use the Cyrillic alphabet.

Once they started getting closer to Germany, peasants began to notice the big "USA" stencils.

Troops were told that the USA was an acronym for: Kill that Son-of-a-bitch!

Av.

In fact a merchant vessel left Boston harbor stuffed to the gunnels w/ military equipment bound for Murmansk, Russia the day before Pearl Harbor. For Roosevelt was so enamoured with communism he saw to it that the Russians got equipment and supplies while our own forces and Britians' too were begging for spare parts, tanks and planes. Roosevelt even used blackmail against Churchill to get him to ship his own forces equipment to Russia or risk losing US military equipment and support.

Chruchill has written quite abit about this issue, and there are several new books out describing in depth the extent to which FDR went to see to it that Stalin survived.


Mike

The Russians are still paying for that lendlease.  IIRC, they still have 10 years to go.  The Soviets still kept up their payments during the worst of the cold war.

guess they wanted to keep a good credit rating with us for a time when they might need it...like now  [:)]

FWIW, over one million Number 4 Mark 1 and Number 4 Mark 1* rifles were made for Britain at the Savage-Stevens plant. They are marked as US Property....


Scott

From page #198 of [b][u]The Lee-Enfield Story[/i][/b] by Ian Skennerton:


Sent to Britain:

.303 Number 4: 1,196,706
.30 M1 Garand: 38,001
.30 M1903A1 & A3: 64,003
.30 M1917: 119,000
.30 M1 & M2 Carbine: 25,362
.38 S&W Revolver: 650,551
.45 M1911 ACP: 39,592
.45 Submachine guns:
651,086

Sent to Canada:

.30 M1 Garand: 8,014
.30 M1903A1&A3: 1
.30 M1&M2 Carbine: 230
.38 S&W Revolver: 13,650
.45 M1911 ACP: 1,515
.45 Submachine guns: 1,321

Sent to Free France:

.30 M1 Garand: 58,114
.30 M1903A1&A3: 11,015
.30 M1&M2 Carbine: 96,983
.45 M1911 ACP: 19,325
.45 Submachine guns: 20,856

(EDITED FOR ACCURACY AND CHART)

[beer]