'Blast from the past' - Lend-Lease convoys to Russia
Jun 10, 2020 10:55:00 GMT
CptHellcat likes this
Post by warspite1 on Jun 10, 2020 10:55:00 GMT
It is not readily understood how important the supplies to the former Soviet Union from Britain and the USA were in WW2. Looking at the figures below the amounts supplied to the USSR were staggering and yet still Stalin complained in 1942 and 1943 that the Western Allies were not doing enough to help him.
The hazardous Russian convoys to Murmansk supplied 3.9 million tons with only 7% lost to enemy action or storms. Just over 4 million tons went via the Persian Gulf with only 4% lost. 681,000 tons went via the Black Sea with only 1% lost; a massive 8.2 million tons went via the Far East with only 1% lost and a further 452,000 tons were supplied via the Soviet Arctic with no recorded losses.
The Far Eastern supplies were surprising to me but then we have to remember that Japan was careful NOT to declare war on the USSR and avoided conflict until the USSR invaded Japanese-held territory in mid 1945. It is to be presumed that Russian flagged or neutral flagged shipping were allowed into Japanese waters unhindered.
The details in the list clear up one mystery - whether HMS Royal Sovereign was supplied to the Soviet navy for propaganda purposes only. She was NOT. Some 2,000 rounds of 15-inch and some 2,400 rounds of 6-inch naval ammunition were supplied as well. The Royal Sovereign/Arkhangelsk was a viable weapon when supplied. When she returned Royal Navy inspectors found her turrets were jammed and had never been traversed in Soviet service.
My source is the book Convoy by Paul Kemp, an account of the Arctic convoys to Murmansk in WW2. I recommend this book.
*** *** ***
Supplies Despatched to the USSR by Great Britain between October 1, 1941 and March 31, 1946
(Separate supplies from the USA are at the end of the list)
NAVAL SUPPLIES:
Battleship 1 (HMS Royal Sovereign)
Destroyers 9
Submarines 4
Motor minesweepers 5
Minesweeping trawlers 9
ASDIC (SONAR) 293 sets
Radar 329 sets
Submarine batteries 41
6-inch guns 2
5.25-inch guns 56
4-inch guns with 16 spare barrels 36
12-pounder guns with 12 spare barrels 22
20mm guns with 54 spare barrels 162
.5-inch Vickers MG with 52 spare barrels 384
.5-inch Browning with 120 spare barrels 240
2-inch rocket projectors 36 sets
AAD Type L Projectors with ammo 16 sets
Misc gun mounts 530
Mines various 3,206
Paravanes 318
Depth charges 6,800
Hedgehog projectiles 2,304
Torpedoes 361
Smoke generators, candles, etc 5,124 sets
Ammunition:
15-inch 2,000 rounds
6-inch 2,400 rounds
4.7-inch to 3-inch 13,600 rounds
12-pounder 31,000 rounds
2-pounder 93,000 rounds
20mm 882,000 rounds
.5-inch Vickers 5,792,000 rounds
.5-inch Browning 1,399,000 rounds
.455 pistol 26,000 rounds
.303-inch 359,000 rounds
.3-inch 889,000 rounds
2-inch rockets 4,000 rounds
Flares and misc pyrotechnics 8,273 rounds
ARMY SUPPLIES:
Tanks (various) all supplied with ammunition 5,218 vehicles
Motor transport 4,343 vehicles
Bren Carriers 2,550 vehicles
Motorcycles 1,721 vehicles
Spares for the above vehicles 4,090 tons
Weapons:
PIAT 1,000
Thompson SMG 103
2-pounder AT 636 guns
6-pounder AT 96 guns
Boys AT Rifle 3,200 guns
Bren LMG 2,487 guns
7.92mm BESA MG 581 guns
Smoker generators 303,000
Ammunition:
PIAT 100,000 rounds
2-pounder AT 2,807,000 rounds
.45 SMG 20,786,000 rounds
6-pounder AT 776,000 rounds
Boys AT 1,761,000 rounds
.303 SA 89,332,000 rounds
7.92mm BESA 53,411,000 rounds
2-inch mortar 1,163,000 rounds
3-inch mortar 162,000 rounds
Signal cartridges 2,204,000 rounds
Clams (??) 159,000
Electronic equipment:
Radar 1,474 sets
Radio 4,338 sets
Valves 42,850 sets
Misc radio test equipment 850 items
Charging and generating 160 sets
Telephone cable 30,227 miles
Telephones 2,000 sets
Switchboards (40 lines) 60 complete
Switchboards (10 lines) 400 complete
Exploder cable 1,070 miles
Camouflage netting 3,013,000 square metres
Camouflage face veils 1,199,500
Surveying and Metreological Equipment 925 items
Specialloid pistons (??) 159,000
Tyres 72,000
AIR FORCE SUPPLIES:
Aircraft of all types 7,411
Aircraft engines 976
Motor Transport 724 vehicles
Petrol, oil, etc 14,146 tons
Ammunition:
.303-inch 162,000,000 rounds
.30-inch 66,450,000 rounds
.5-inch 24,000,000 rounds
20mm 17,500,000 rounds
Aircraft engines and motor transport spares £15,981,000
Misc aircraft equipment £1,734,000
Raw materials etc supplied by the UK:
Aluminium 32,000 tons
Copper 40,000 tons
Industrial diamonds worth £1,424,000
Jute 100,435 tons
Rubber 114,539 tons
Graphite 3,300 tons
Tin 28,050 tons
Wool 29,610 tons
Total value of all raw materials - £47.84 millions
Food:
Tea, cocoa, palm oil, palm kernels, ground nuts, coconut oil, pepper and spices worth £8.2 millions
Machinery tools:
Total value of £46.6 millions
Medical equipment:
£5.2 millions plus a further clothing grant of £2.5 millions
MAJOR SUPPLIES FROM THE USA:
Aircraft 14,795
Tanks 7,537 vehicles
Jeeps 51,503
Motorcycles 35,170
Tractors 8,701 vehicles
Trucks 375,883 vehicles
AA guns 8,218
Sub-machine guns 131,633
Explosives 345,753 tons
Locomotives 1,981
Rolling stock 11,155 units
Rails 540,000 tons
Field Telephone Cable 1,050,000 miles
Food $1,312,000,000
Gasoline 2,670,000 tons
Industrial chemicals 842,000
Tyres 3,786,000
Leather 49,000 tons
Boots (pairs) 15,000,000
The hazardous Russian convoys to Murmansk supplied 3.9 million tons with only 7% lost to enemy action or storms. Just over 4 million tons went via the Persian Gulf with only 4% lost. 681,000 tons went via the Black Sea with only 1% lost; a massive 8.2 million tons went via the Far East with only 1% lost and a further 452,000 tons were supplied via the Soviet Arctic with no recorded losses.
The Far Eastern supplies were surprising to me but then we have to remember that Japan was careful NOT to declare war on the USSR and avoided conflict until the USSR invaded Japanese-held territory in mid 1945. It is to be presumed that Russian flagged or neutral flagged shipping were allowed into Japanese waters unhindered.
The details in the list clear up one mystery - whether HMS Royal Sovereign was supplied to the Soviet navy for propaganda purposes only. She was NOT. Some 2,000 rounds of 15-inch and some 2,400 rounds of 6-inch naval ammunition were supplied as well. The Royal Sovereign/Arkhangelsk was a viable weapon when supplied. When she returned Royal Navy inspectors found her turrets were jammed and had never been traversed in Soviet service.
My source is the book Convoy by Paul Kemp, an account of the Arctic convoys to Murmansk in WW2. I recommend this book.
*** *** ***
Supplies Despatched to the USSR by Great Britain between October 1, 1941 and March 31, 1946
(Separate supplies from the USA are at the end of the list)
NAVAL SUPPLIES:
Battleship 1 (HMS Royal Sovereign)
Destroyers 9
Submarines 4
Motor minesweepers 5
Minesweeping trawlers 9
ASDIC (SONAR) 293 sets
Radar 329 sets
Submarine batteries 41
6-inch guns 2
5.25-inch guns 56
4-inch guns with 16 spare barrels 36
12-pounder guns with 12 spare barrels 22
20mm guns with 54 spare barrels 162
.5-inch Vickers MG with 52 spare barrels 384
.5-inch Browning with 120 spare barrels 240
2-inch rocket projectors 36 sets
AAD Type L Projectors with ammo 16 sets
Misc gun mounts 530
Mines various 3,206
Paravanes 318
Depth charges 6,800
Hedgehog projectiles 2,304
Torpedoes 361
Smoke generators, candles, etc 5,124 sets
Ammunition:
15-inch 2,000 rounds
6-inch 2,400 rounds
4.7-inch to 3-inch 13,600 rounds
12-pounder 31,000 rounds
2-pounder 93,000 rounds
20mm 882,000 rounds
.5-inch Vickers 5,792,000 rounds
.5-inch Browning 1,399,000 rounds
.455 pistol 26,000 rounds
.303-inch 359,000 rounds
.3-inch 889,000 rounds
2-inch rockets 4,000 rounds
Flares and misc pyrotechnics 8,273 rounds
ARMY SUPPLIES:
Tanks (various) all supplied with ammunition 5,218 vehicles
Motor transport 4,343 vehicles
Bren Carriers 2,550 vehicles
Motorcycles 1,721 vehicles
Spares for the above vehicles 4,090 tons
Weapons:
PIAT 1,000
Thompson SMG 103
2-pounder AT 636 guns
6-pounder AT 96 guns
Boys AT Rifle 3,200 guns
Bren LMG 2,487 guns
7.92mm BESA MG 581 guns
Smoker generators 303,000
Ammunition:
PIAT 100,000 rounds
2-pounder AT 2,807,000 rounds
.45 SMG 20,786,000 rounds
6-pounder AT 776,000 rounds
Boys AT 1,761,000 rounds
.303 SA 89,332,000 rounds
7.92mm BESA 53,411,000 rounds
2-inch mortar 1,163,000 rounds
3-inch mortar 162,000 rounds
Signal cartridges 2,204,000 rounds
Clams (??) 159,000
Electronic equipment:
Radar 1,474 sets
Radio 4,338 sets
Valves 42,850 sets
Misc radio test equipment 850 items
Charging and generating 160 sets
Telephone cable 30,227 miles
Telephones 2,000 sets
Switchboards (40 lines) 60 complete
Switchboards (10 lines) 400 complete
Exploder cable 1,070 miles
Camouflage netting 3,013,000 square metres
Camouflage face veils 1,199,500
Surveying and Metreological Equipment 925 items
Specialloid pistons (??) 159,000
Tyres 72,000
AIR FORCE SUPPLIES:
Aircraft of all types 7,411
Aircraft engines 976
Motor Transport 724 vehicles
Petrol, oil, etc 14,146 tons
Ammunition:
.303-inch 162,000,000 rounds
.30-inch 66,450,000 rounds
.5-inch 24,000,000 rounds
20mm 17,500,000 rounds
Aircraft engines and motor transport spares £15,981,000
Misc aircraft equipment £1,734,000
Raw materials etc supplied by the UK:
Aluminium 32,000 tons
Copper 40,000 tons
Industrial diamonds worth £1,424,000
Jute 100,435 tons
Rubber 114,539 tons
Graphite 3,300 tons
Tin 28,050 tons
Wool 29,610 tons
Total value of all raw materials - £47.84 millions
Food:
Tea, cocoa, palm oil, palm kernels, ground nuts, coconut oil, pepper and spices worth £8.2 millions
Machinery tools:
Total value of £46.6 millions
Medical equipment:
£5.2 millions plus a further clothing grant of £2.5 millions
MAJOR SUPPLIES FROM THE USA:
Aircraft 14,795
Tanks 7,537 vehicles
Jeeps 51,503
Motorcycles 35,170
Tractors 8,701 vehicles
Trucks 375,883 vehicles
AA guns 8,218
Sub-machine guns 131,633
Explosives 345,753 tons
Locomotives 1,981
Rolling stock 11,155 units
Rails 540,000 tons
Field Telephone Cable 1,050,000 miles
Food $1,312,000,000
Gasoline 2,670,000 tons
Industrial chemicals 842,000
Tyres 3,786,000
Leather 49,000 tons
Boots (pairs) 15,000,000
