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94-509: Artillery Factory No. 92 began designing the ZiS-3 at the end of 1940. The ZiS-3 combined the light carriage from the 57 mm ZiS-2 anti-tank gun and the powerful 76.2 mm barrel from the F-22USV , the previous divisional field gun. The addition of a muzzle brake reduced recoil and prevented damage to the light carriage upon firing. Producing a ZiS-3 cost only a third of the time and two-thirds of

188-589: 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

282-515: A North Korean cargo ship, the Chong Chon Gang , was intercepted smuggling weapons from Cuba while transiting the Panama Canal . Following a board-and-search operation by Panamanian security forces, it was discovered to be carrying ZiS-2 ammunition among other older Soviet-made weaponry, indicating that some examples remain in continuing use by North Korean forces. Until this incident, Namibia

376-467: A limber and towed by a team of six horses. ZiS-2s are equipped with PP1–2 panoramic sights. ZiS-2s were employed by anti-tank artillery platoons of infantry units and by anti-tank artillery units of the reserve of high command, the most numerous of these being anti-tank artillery regiments (Russian Истребительный Противотанковый Артиллерийский Полк, abbreviated ИПТАП). Guns captured by the Germans were given

470-621: A tank gun version of ZiS-2 called ZiS-4. In 1941, in an attempt to improve the anti-tank performance of the T-34 tank members of the Morozov Design Bureau experimentally equipped it with the ZiS-4. Only a small number of these T-34-57 tanks were built and used as tank hunters. The idea resurfaced in 1943 after the Battle of Kursk because Germany fielded heavily armoured Tiger and Panther tanks . Only

564-573: 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 the "cash and carry" program, as required by the U.S. Neutrality Acts of

658-776: A division or battalion. Independent anti-tank regiments consisted of six batteries with no divisions. A staff battery included a fire-control section. The ZiS-3 saw combat service with North Korean forces during the Korean War (1950–1953). It was also deployed by the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) during the Angolan Civil War and the South African Border War and by Tanzania People's Defence Force during Uganda–Tanzania War in 1978–1979. The ZiS-3

752-545: A limited number of the T-34 equipped with a slightly modified version of the ZiS-4M gun with a new breech to simplify production were produced. Although the high-velocity gun had superior armour penetration to the F-34 the small weight of its shell meant that it could not fire an adequate high-explosive round for general use. The ultimate solution for the tank was to design a new turret allowing

846-519: 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

940-570: 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

1034-540: 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

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1128-580: A task from the artillery department to develop a powerful anti-tank gun. The head of this department, Marshal Kulik , and his subordinates estimated that the use of heavily armoured tanks by the USSR in the Winter War would not have gone unnoticed in Nazi Germany and would lead to the development of similar fighting machines there. There is also a chance that the department was influenced by German propaganda about

1222-400: Is a Soviet 57 mm anti-tank gun used during World War II . The ZiS-4 is a version of the gun that was meant to be installed in tanks. ZiS stands for Zavod imeni Stalina (Russian Завод имени Сталина , 'Factory named after Stalin '), the official title of Artillery Factory No. 92 , which produced the gun first. In the beginning of 1940 the design office of V. G. Grabin received

1316-607: Is an automated-action gun with a vertical block breech. When firing the block opens and closes automatically, the loader only has to put a round into the receiver. Due to this feature the rate of fire can reach 25 rounds per minute. The split-trail carriage with gunshield was shared with the ZiS-3 divisional gun. The carriage has coil spring suspension, which allows towing with a speed of up to 50 km/h (31 mph) on highways, 30 km/h (19 mph) on unpaved roads and 10 km/h (6.2 mph) off-road. The gun can also be attached to

1410-661: 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 the country would not become entangled in foreign conflicts again. The Neutrality Acts of 1935 , 1936 , and 1937 intended to keep

1504-573: 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

1598-686: The War in Donbass . In 2016, the gun remained in active service with the armies of at least six sovereign nations: Cambodia , Nicaragua , Namibia , Sudan , Mozambique , and Tanzania . Mozambique at the time operated the largest number of ZiS-3s, with 180 in service. By 2020, the gun only remained in active service with Cambodia, Namibia, Nicaragua, and Sudan. A number of other nations, including Russia and Zimbabwe , retain functioning ZiS-3s to fire gun salutes during ceremonial occasions. ZiS-2 The ZiS-2 ( Russian : ЗиС-2 ) ( GRAU index: 52-P-271 )

1692-449: The ZiS-3 76.2 mm divisional gun while Soviet anti-tank artillery received cheaper 45 mm guns. Some anti-tank regiments also received the ZiS-3 which was able to defeat any German vehicle until late 1942. The appearance of the heavy Tiger I and then the Panther changed the balance in favour of the Germans. Forty-five millimetre model 1942 guns could only pierce the side armour of

1786-786: 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

1880-441: 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

1974-783: The 76.2-mm guns (M1939 and 1942) are their high rate of fire, good muzzle velocity, and great maneuverability. These guns are employed in close support of infantry ( tanks), and especially for direct fire. Their primary missions are destruction of personnel and neutralization of infantry weapons in the open; antipersonnel barrages; destruction of tanks, vehicles, embrasures, and dragon's teeth by direct fire; and harassing fire. Secondary missions are accompanying barrages and concentrations; neutralization of artillery and mortars; establishment of smoke screens; and destruction of wire. Exceptional missions are fire reconnaissance, destruction of light materiel with indirect fire, and destruction of minefields. Technical Manual, TM 30-530 Soviet soldiers liked

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2068-591: 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

2162-558: 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

2256-484: 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

2350-543: 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 the Great Depression) was otherwise also one of the worst of the 20th century. In 1934, following

2444-562: 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

2538-711: 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 the 1930s . It was a decisive step away from non-interventionist policy and toward open support for

2632-590: 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

2726-552: The Panther while the ZiS-3 managed to penetrate the sides from greater distances. Against the Tiger the ZiS-3 was effective from the side only at close ranges (up to 300 m) and the 45 mm pieces were nearly useless. A more powerful gun was needed, and on 15 June 1943, the ZiS-2 once again entered service as the 57 mm anti-tank gun model 1943. Until 1945, 9,645 units were produced. The ZiS-2

2820-576: 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

2914-403: 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

76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3008-438: 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

3102-482: 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

3196-714: 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

3290-795: 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

3384-614: 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

3478-407: 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

3572-444: 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

3666-784: 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

3760-448: 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

3854-462: 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

76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3948-695: 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 was given free of charge on the basis that such help

4042-405: 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

4136-464: 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 the act to allow warring nations to purchase military goods, arms and munitions if they paid cash and bore

4230-593: 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,

4324-478: The ZiS-3 for its extreme reliability, durability, and accuracy. The gun was easy to maintain and use by novice crews. The light carriage allowed the ZiS-3 to be towed by trucks, heavy jeeps, like American Lend-Lease -supplied Dodge WC-51/WC-52 , simply called the 'Dodge 3/4'-tons by Soviet troops – or even manually hauled by the crew if required. The gun was also quite popular with the German Wehrmacht. The gun

4418-424: 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

4512-423: 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

4606-412: 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

4700-401: 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

4794-432: 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

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4888-539: The belief that they were inadequate; the Soviets overestimated the armour protection of the latest German heavy tanks from propaganda about the Neubaufahrzeug multi-turreted prototype tank. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War revealed that the pre-war 76 mm guns overmatched German armour; in some cases even 12.7 mm DShK machine guns were adequate. Most of the 76 mm guns were lost early in

4982-514: 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

5076-502: The designation 5.7 cm Pak 208(r) . The ZiS-2 was also mounted on a few vehicles. In 1941 about one-hundred ZiS-2 guns were mounted on Komsomolets armoured tractor chassis to create the ZiS-30 tank destroyer. The ZiS-2 gun was also mounted in at least three different prototypes based on the SU-76 assault gun (SU-74, SU-76D, and SU-57B). None were accepted for production. There was also

5170-512: The experimental multi-turreted "supertank" NbFz , i.e. heavier armour was attributed to this vehicle than it actually carried. Therefore, Grabin and his office were guided by the characteristics of their own domestic heavy tank KV-1 with 40–75 mm armour. In the opinion of the designers the optimal calibre in this case was 57 mm. The velocity and mass of the armour-piercing 57 mm projectile allowed it to attain sufficient kinetic energy to penetrate up to 90 mm of RHA while keeping

5264-464: 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

5358-635: 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

5452-462: The front, where it proved superior to existing divisional field guns. A subsequent demonstration impressed Joseph Stalin , who praised the weapon as "a masterpiece of artillery systems design." The ZiS-3 underwent an official five-day acceptance trial in February 1942, and was then accepted into service as divisional field gun model 1942 (full official name). Grabin worked to increase production at Artillery Factory No. 92. Conveyor assembly lines admitted

5546-485: The gun sufficiently light, mobile and easy to conceal. However, the decision also had a downside: this calibre was a new one to the Red Army so the manufacturing of the projectile had to be started from scratch. Development started in May 1940, and in the beginning of 1941 the gun was adopted as the 57 mm anti-tank gun model 1941 (Russian: 57-мм противотанковая пушка образца 1941 года), abbreviated ZiS-2 (ЗиС-2). Production began on 1 June 1941, but on 1 December 1941 it

5640-414: 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

5734-812: 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

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5828-670: 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

5922-419: The money of a F-22USV by making greater use of casting, stamping and welding. V. G. Grabin , the chief designer of Soviet medium caliber guns, initiated the gun's development without state approval, and the prototype was hidden from the state. Marshal Grigory Kulik , commander of Soviet artillery, had ordered a halt to the production of light 45 mm anti-tank guns and 76.2 mm divisional field guns in

6016-422: 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

6110-456: 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

6204-421: 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

6298-461: 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

6392-410: 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 was destroyed, although some hardware (such as ships) was returned after

6486-400: 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 the 1939 amendment to the previous Neutrality Acts marked the beginning of

6580-504: 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

6674-471: 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

6768-414: 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

6862-558: 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

6956-589: 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

7050-614: The use of an 85 mm gun; the new model was called the T-34-85. A modernised version of the ZiS-2 was used in a post-war self-propelled airborne antitank gun known as the ASU-57 . Due to improvements in tank armour protection the ZiS-2 quickly lost its anti-tank value. In Soviet anti-tank artillery forces by the mid-1950s, the ZiS-2 was replaced by a more powerful 100 mm gun. However, its small size and weight kept it in active service with Soviet airborne troops for much longer. On 15 July 2013

7144-440: The use of low-skilled labour without significant quality loss. Experienced laborers and engineers worked on complicated equipment and served as brigade leaders; they were replaced on the production line by young factory workers who were exempt from conscription, producing a new generation of skilled labourers and engineers. More than 103,000 ZiS-3s were produced by the end of the war, making it the most numerous Soviet field gun during

7238-596: 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

7332-411: 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

7426-506: The war. Mass production of the ZiS-3 ceased after the war. It was replaced by the 85 mm D-44 divisional field gun. The D-44 had better anti-armour capabilities, but inferior mobility due to its increased weight. The Finns captured 12 units, and designated them 76 K 42 . At least one ZiS-3 was produced at the Reșița Works in Reșița , Romania , during 1943. This Romanian-produced copy

7520-412: 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

7614-408: 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 the United States totalled $ 7.8 billion. Of this, $ 6.8 billion came from

7708-560: 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

7802-528: The war; some captured examples armed German Panzerjäger self-propelled guns . Marshal Kulik ordered the F-22USV back into production. At Artillery Factory No. 92, Grabin put the ZiS-3 into mass production in December 1941. The factory's ZiS-3 stockpile grew and went unused as the Red Army refused to accept the guns without the usual acceptance trials. Grabin convinced the army to issue the guns for impromptu testing at

7896-791: 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

7990-403: Was an assault gun mounting the ZiS-3 on the chassis of a T-70 light tank. More than 14,000 were produced between 1942 and 1945. The Romanian TACAM R-2 tank destroyer was a R-2 tank converted to mount the ZiS-3 in a three-sided fighting compartment. The KSP-76 was a wartime light assault car mounting the ZiS-3; it did not advance beyond the prototype stage. The tactical characteristics of

8084-574: Was believed to be the last operator of the ZiS-2; the Namibian Defence Force having continued to operate six examples well into the 1990s. Although no longer in active service, ZiS-2s remained in storage as part of the reserve stocks of various national armies as late as 2008. Lend-Lease Lend-Lease , formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of

8178-462: 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

8272-461: 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 the United Kingdom, $ 11.3 billion to the Soviet Union, $ 3.2 billion to France, $ 1.6 billion to China, and

8366-697: Was exported to Soviet allies during the Cold War , who in turn exported it to Third World countries. In Europe, Austria received about 36 of them in 1955 and kept them in service until 1991 under the designation PaK-M42. In the 1990s, both the Croatian Army and the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina used it. In 2014, at least one ZiS-3 was used by pro-Russian separatists against the Ukrainian Armed Forces during

8460-478: Was introduced into German service as the 7,62-cm-Feldkanone 288(r) and factories were retooled to produce ammunition for it. The ZiS-3 had good anti-armour capabilities. Its armour-piercing round could knock out any early German light and medium tank. The frontal armour of later tanks, like the Tiger I and later the Panther , however, were immune to the ZiS-3. A ZiS-3 battery had four guns, with three batteries making

8554-478: 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

8648-423: Was stopped by marshals N. N. Voronov and G. L. Govorov, their explanation being that ZiS-2 shells penetrated straight through weakly-armoured German tanks from one side to the other without doing much damage internally. Other possible reasons for the decision were the high cost of the gun and problems with shell production. By that time 371 pieces had been built. The production lines were switched to manufacturing of

8742-530: Was tested against several Romanian-designed prototypes as well as some foreign models, until eventually one of the Romanian prototypes was selected for serial production as the 75 mm Reșița M1943 . This gun had incorporated a number of features from the ZiS-3. At least 375 75 mm Reșița M1943 guns were produced by Romania, including three prototypes; the gun was later mounted on the Mareșal tank destroyer . The SU-76

8836-510: 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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