Although USA was still not at war with Germany, 11 March 1941 the American Congress adopted the so-called Lend-lease act which envisaged lending or leasing arm and ammunition, provisions and other material to nations in a state of war with the states of the Nazi bloc, thus per definition the prime bene­ficiary was Great Britain.
Immediately after the German attack on the Soviet Union 22 June 1941 the British Prime- Minister Churchill promised British assistance to USSR. A British credit line was subse­quently opened 16 August 1941, and arms deliveries from England were immediately initiated with the American Lend-lease principles as guidelines. (The British Lend-lease to the Soviet Union was formalized in a British-Soviet agreement sig­ned only 26 June 1942.)
24 June 1941 Soviet assets in American banks (which had been frozen after the Soviet attack on Finland 30 November 1939) were released by President Roosevelt, which enabled the
Soviets to immediately purchase 59 fighters (including at least 21 P-40s). Negotiations concerning application of the Lend-lease act were simultaneously initiated.
A high-level Soviet aviation commission led by Maj.Gen. and Director of LII M.M.Gromov (and including the famous test-pilots G. F. Bajdukov, A.B .Yumashev etc.) was dispatched to USA in late August 1941. Gromov's delegation made a daring trip along the future ALSIB-route through Siberia to Alaska in two GST-flying boats, and then investigated and studied tested various American combat aircraft at several USAAF bases. The Soviet delegation was prepared to fly home with a number of Boeing B-17s, which was absolutely refused by the Americans (Gromov attempted even a direct appeal to President Roosevelt whom he had met after his non-stop ANT-25 flight from Moscow to San Jacinto, California in July 1937). After rejection of the Martin B-26 proposed by the Americans the Russians settled for five B-25 Mitchell bombers which were delivered by ship to Murmansk in late 1941. An interesting point is that Sikorski R-4 helicopters offered to another Soviet delegation were also refused by the Russians.
After return of Gromov's partly unsuccessful Soviet delega­tion the first US-Soviet Lend-lease protocol was signed in Moscow 1 October 1941. As President Roosevelt declared the defense of Russia vital to USA the Lend-lease act was formally extended to USSR on November 1941.
American Lend-lease to the Soviet Union can be divided into the following phases:
- "pre Lend-lease" 22 June 1941 to 30 September 1941
- first protocol period from 1 October 1941 to 30 June 1942 (signed 1 October 1941)
- second protocol period from 1 July 1942 to 30 June 1943 (signed 6 October 1942)
- third protocol period from 1 July 1943 to 30 June 1944 (signed 19 October 1943)
- fourth protocol period from 1 July 1944, (signed 17 April 1945), formally ended 12 May 1945 but deliveries continued for the duration of the war with Japan (which the Soviet Union entered only 8 August 1945) under the "Milepost" agreement until 2 September 1945 when Japan capitulated. 20 September 1945 all Lend-Lease to Russia was terminated.
In addition to the aircraft deliveries American Lend-lease deliveries to Russia included also more than 400.000 trucks, over 12.000 tanks and other combat vehicles, 32.000 motorcycles, 13.000 locomotives and railway cars, 8.000 anti-aircraft cannons and machine-guns, 135.000 submachine guns, 300.000 tons of explosives, 40.000 field radios, some 400 radar systems, 400.000 metal cutting machi­ne tools, several million tons of foodstuff, steel, other metals, oil and gasoline, chemicals etc. A price tag was naturally attached to all deliveries, with following typical fighter prices:
P-40 Kittyhawk - 44.900 dollars, P-39 Airacobra - 50.700 dollars and P-47 Thunderbolt - 83.000 dollars.
Regardless of Soviet cold-war attempts to forget (or at least diminish) the importance of Lend-lease, the total impact of the Lend-Lease shipment for the Soviet war effort and entire national economy can only be characterized as both dramatic and of decisive importance. The outcome of the war on the East front might well have taken another path without Lend-lease.