Lowpe
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Joined: 2/25/2013
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How much of lend lease went thru Siberia? I know the Japanese allowed merchants flagged in some manner to safely transit from North America...but that wouldn't be the case now! Perhaps without that pipeline lend lease would have struggled with only the North Sea and the Persian routes available? Below is some notes on lend lease air...
The second route began in Great Falls, Montana, and went through western Canada to Ladd Field, then continued to Siberia, and finally to Moscow. This route totaled 7,900 miles. Other routes by sea and air were used to supply Lend-Lease equipment, but going through Alaska was shorter and less dangerous than routes by sea. The routes by sea were longer and also dangerous due to German submarines. Since the route through Ladd Field was safer and shorter, the transferred planes made it to the European front within days instead of weeks or months. This route became known as the Alaska-Siberia Route (ALSIB). The United States constructed seven airfields in central Alaska, one at Northway, Tanancross, Big Delta, Ladd Field (Fairbanks), Galena, Moses Point, and Nome. Canada was already building six airfields between Edmonton and Whitehorse. This completed the Alaska-Siberia Route for the delivery of aircraft to the Soviets.
At first, the United States wanted to turn over the planes to Soviet aircrews in Siberia. However, Soviet Leader Josef Stalin did not want United States military forces flying into Soviet airfields, he insisted that Soviet pilots should accept the planes in Alaska. The U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed that Ladd Field in Fairbanks would be the delivery point, due to its strategic location and the fact that, of the routes available, it was the safest and quickest. Since the Soviets officially took ownership of the aircraft at Ladd Field, the planes were inspected and painted with a red star to denote that the aircraft were now the property of the Soviet Union. The Soviets would land at Nome for refueling and repairs before crossing the Bering Strait.
The first Lend-Lease planes flown between Great Falls and Fairbanks arrived on September 3, 1942. Five A-20 bombers made the first two-day flight. Every plane arrived with a white star on the fuselage (body of the plane). The Soviet pilots painted over the white star with the red star, the emblem of the Soviet Union, before leaving for the Soviet Union. The next day, Soviet officers flew in from Siberia. Finally, a group of Soviet pilots landed at Ladd Field on September 24 to begin five days of training before flying the new planes home.
Wartime censorship meant that the ALSIB route and the Soviet soldiers stationed at Ladd Field were not publicly discussed until the summer of 1944. However, in towns along the way, the operation was common knowledge. The Soviet pilots stayed at Ladd Field until the end of WWII. In that time, the United States delivered almost 8,000 planes to the Soviet Union.
< Message edited by Lowpe -- 2/24/2018 2:07:40 PM >
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RE: Soviets Activated.... - 
No damage to speak of to the already damaged battleships here. 
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