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Complete List of Lend Lease to Russia including atomic materialsUS and Russia went to war against each other in 1945, 1946
Complete List of Lend Lease to Russia including atomic materials
I'd be concerned about Russian manufacturing capability without Lend-Lease. When was Russia able to produce high quality aviation gasoline? Synthetic rubber for tires, fuel hoses, gaskets etc.? Aluminum in adequate quantities? Brass in adequate quantities? Insulated copper wire in quantity and of decent quality? Nickel in adequate quantity? Molybdenum? Magnesium? Zinc? Armor plate? Structural steel? Machine tools? Cotton cloth? Chemicals like acetone, alcohol, toluene and ammonia which are vital for making explosives? Spare parts for the 100s of thousands of American made motor vehicles in Soviet service? If the war lasts more then a few months Soviet military production could slow to a crawl for lack of vital materials.
Can you image a 1000 bomber raid on Moscow, Stalingrad, or the oil plants?
Why fly from UK when you and your allies control half of Europe?
Granted the Soviets had a good number of aircraft at war's end, but the U.S. had well over two theaters worth of fighters. Unescorted bombing missions weren't anything new to the Americans, either.Unescorted raid on Moscow, 2500km away from its airbase in UK? For B-17 that would be a suicide mission.
Stalingrad is 700km further east and major industrial centers in 41-42 were relocated beyond Ural mountains. That's out of reach even for B-29.
And what was VVS strength by the end of the war? 40-50 thousands aircraft? Well, chances to fly in the soviet air space without being intercepted in 45 would be close to none. Most of the bombers after such raid wouldnt make it home in my opinion.
Granted the Soviets had a good number of aircraft at war's end, but the U.S. had well over two theaters worth of fighters. Unescorted bombing missions weren't anything new to the Americans, either.
As far as the B-29 was concerned, it had a combat range of 3,200 miles (5,230km) and could have easily struck strategic targets in the Soviet Union.
Bear in mind that the U.S. was fully capable of escorted long range bombing missions and new bomber designs were in the works by WWII's end so that if hostilities broke out between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., wartime production would be able to ramp up the production of the later designs like the B-32 and the B-36. The B-32 had a range of 3,000 miles (8,815km) and a ceiling of 35,000 feet (11,000m), the B-36 was capable of about 6,800 miles (10,945km) and a ceiling of 48,000 feet (15,000m).
The Russians didn't focus on strategic bombing, and the Germans never used a solid strategic bombing strategy against them, so thier experience in that regard would put them at a disadvantage. Granted, the Russians had good fighters and experienced pilots, but so did the Americans, who not only had the strategic bombing and high altitude combat experience, but experienced personnel from two different theaters at thier disposal.
Take into consideration that not only were newer and more powerful bombers becoming available, but the U.S. had thousands of heavy bombers on hand, which goes back to the formula for beating Germany with quantity over quality (classic argument of Sherman versus Tiger). I seriously don't believe the Soviet Union was prepared to defend themselves against that type of warfare, and any "wonder weapons" they had scored from the Germans wouldn't have been ready for production by such an early date.
I have to make a couple points here, but at the same time, I don't want to sound like I'm being a jerk about it, but Germany did in fact feel the effects of the Allied raids. In manufacturing, infrastructure and in moral.The war in Europe was won on the ground. Even in Germany with its high population density, allied air raids had little effect. To win a war against Russia where large cities located thousands kilometers apart, with areal bombing only, would be difficult, practically impossible, no matter how many aircrafts you have.
Yes, USAF had well trained, experienced fighter pilots by the end of the war. The thing is, they didnt have a fighter plane to fly deep into the soviet airspace to escort bombers.
Those aircraft were made of U.S. aluminum and ran on U.S. aviation gasoline. Just as T-34 tanks were largely made of U.S. steel. Half of the explosives used in Soviet artillery shells were made in the USA. For a few months this won't make any difference. That will change when existing Lend-Lease material stockpiles are exhausted.The power in the VVS in 1945 lay in Russian made planes
The war in Europe was won on the ground. Even in Germany with its high population density, allied air raids had little effect. To win a war against Russia where large cities located thousands kilometers apart, with areal bombing only, would be difficult, practically impossible, no matter how many aircrafts you have.
Yes, USAF had well trained, experienced fighter pilots by the end of the war. The thing is, they didnt have a fighter plane to fly deep into the soviet airspace to escort bombers.