In addition, 15,631 guns and 131,633 submachine guns were supplied to Russia by the Allies. While the Russian automotive industry focused exclusively on the production of obsolete copies of American civilian trucks from the 1930s, the vehicles provided under the lend-lease agreement were modern military designs with multiple drive axles and functional off-road capability. This assistance was crucial, not only because of the enormous quantity, but also because of its quality. Valentine Mk VIII tanks with 6pdr gun awaits unloading in Iran during transit to Russia. The USA alone supplied the Russians with 501,660 tactical wheeled and tracked vehicles, including 77,972 Jeeps, 151,053 1.5 t trucks and 200,622 2.5 t trucks. During the Second World War, Russia built only 343,624 cars and trucks, since the major automobile manufacturers, such as the GAZ factories, were used to manufacture armored combat vehicles. Of much more decisive importance for Russian warfare, however, were the deliveries of motor vehicles, especially from the United States. The M4A2 Sherman was not as brilliant a design as the Russian T-34 tank, but in the subsequent conflicts in Korea and the Middle East the US tank was – despite the superiority of the T-34 on paper – always the winner between the two. In the years 19, with the large access of American M4A2 Sherman, some Tank Corps and Mechanized Corps were equipped exclusively with this tank type. The first Russian units equipped with these lend-lease tanks went into action with Valentine and Matilda tanks at Staraya Russia and in the Valdai area in December 1941 and January 1942.Īt the beginning of 1943 there were 1,023 lend-lease tanks in Russian units, although 6,179 had been delivered since 1941. In 1942 Britain delivered another 2,487 tanks and the USA 3,023. The first deliveries of tanks took place already in 1941, namely 487 Matilda II tanks, Valentine and Tetrarch from the UK as well as 182 M3A1 Stuart and medium tanks M3 Lee from the USA.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |