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parsifal
Colonel
US farm produce was estimated to be equivalent to that needed to keep the entire Red army fed and clothed for a full two year period.
Very substantial aid, that allowed substantial diversion of manpower to the armed forces.
The other major contributiuons of US military aid were in trasnport and rolling stock. The US provided more trucks to the Soviets in two years than the Germans produced in 6 years. Domestic Soviet production was also greater than German output of trucks. the other great assistance was in the rail transport area. Britain provided huge amounts of rolling stock, as did the US. The US also provided large numbers of advanced locomotives, that unlike the German types seemed able to cope with the harsh conditions. Soviet locomotives lacked many of the refinements found in German machines, but they were tough, and unlike the Germans machines, able to go from coaling point to coaling point without the need to install interim fuelling and watering stations within the network.
The British rolling stock came mostly from India, where it is thought such transfers of machinery contributed materially to the 1943 famine in Bengal (wheat sat on the docks and could not be transferred to the interior regions for lack of rail transport....it had been transferred to the Soviet Union). There was more rolling stock in India in1939 than the whole of England or Germany, though the individual cars tended to be of lighter lift capacity. The Russians I have read found this rolling stock very useful, being of similar standard to their own existing stock of freight cars.
A very large contingent of US engineers assisted in the conversion of all this hardware. it was a massive boost to Soviet capability, and something the germans had absolutely no hope of matching.
The majority of aid did come via the northern route. That route in fact was less important to the souther route through Iran and the Far eastern routes, wheree the Japanese refused to interdict the large numbers of reflagged US shipping t5ransporting goods to the ports of Vladivostock and Sovietskaya Gavan.
Ive read somewhere that about 14% of Soviet AFVs were of Allied origins, and a significant number of these were British. apparently the Soviets were particaulelry happy with the Canadian built Valentines.
Very substantial aid, that allowed substantial diversion of manpower to the armed forces.
The other major contributiuons of US military aid were in trasnport and rolling stock. The US provided more trucks to the Soviets in two years than the Germans produced in 6 years. Domestic Soviet production was also greater than German output of trucks. the other great assistance was in the rail transport area. Britain provided huge amounts of rolling stock, as did the US. The US also provided large numbers of advanced locomotives, that unlike the German types seemed able to cope with the harsh conditions. Soviet locomotives lacked many of the refinements found in German machines, but they were tough, and unlike the Germans machines, able to go from coaling point to coaling point without the need to install interim fuelling and watering stations within the network.
The British rolling stock came mostly from India, where it is thought such transfers of machinery contributed materially to the 1943 famine in Bengal (wheat sat on the docks and could not be transferred to the interior regions for lack of rail transport....it had been transferred to the Soviet Union). There was more rolling stock in India in1939 than the whole of England or Germany, though the individual cars tended to be of lighter lift capacity. The Russians I have read found this rolling stock very useful, being of similar standard to their own existing stock of freight cars.
A very large contingent of US engineers assisted in the conversion of all this hardware. it was a massive boost to Soviet capability, and something the germans had absolutely no hope of matching.
The majority of aid did come via the northern route. That route in fact was less important to the souther route through Iran and the Far eastern routes, wheree the Japanese refused to interdict the large numbers of reflagged US shipping t5ransporting goods to the ports of Vladivostock and Sovietskaya Gavan.
Ive read somewhere that about 14% of Soviet AFVs were of Allied origins, and a significant number of these were British. apparently the Soviets were particaulelry happy with the Canadian built Valentines.
