Hi Bruce,
>I believe I read somewhere that the US gov't. "lent" some equipment
>(trucks, etc.) to Russia during WWII.
Oh boy, "some" is an understatement :-)
I don't have the exact figures handy, but I think we shipped over
something close to 200,000 trucks. Jeeps and Studebaker 6x6 come to mind
as primary vehicles, but I know lots of other 6x6s were sent over as
well. These shipments meant that the Soviet Union had a degree of
motorization close to what the US Army had. It was a rather significant
factor in the defeat of Germany due to their acute lack of motorized
transport (especially towards the end of the war).
Then of course the US sent the Soviets large numbers of tanks (M3, M4
Medium, M3, M5 light) and halftracks of various models. There are even a
couple of great books out by Dimtriy Loza ("Hero of the Soviet Union",
like Victoria Cross or CMH) who spent much of the war in a Sherman.
Soviets also used a lot of British equipment as well. In fact, Loza
commanded Matildas before being switched over to M4A2 Shermans. Loza
also had experiences with various T-34 models and thought the Sherman
M4A2(76)W was superior in most ways, even though the armor was not as
good. And since he racked up a VERY impressive combat record, his
thoughts on the matter should be well respected.
Some aircraft were also sent over to the SU, but I'm not sure how many.
P-40 fighters, A-20 and B-25 bombers were sent over for sure.
Radios and CRITICAL raw materials were also sent over in huge quantities.
>I am looking for any information
>(pics, documentation) that depicts US made equipment being used by Russia
>during WWII. Please let me know if you know of any such info.
What are you looking for specifically? I have these figures of what we
shipped over right at my finger tips:
M3 Medium Tank - 1,386
M4A2 Sherman - 1,900
M4A4 Sherman - 2
M4A2(76)W Sherman - 2,073
M10 TD - 52
As for pictures, it is pretty easy to find shots of Soviet troops tooling
around in US 6x6 trucks. Pictures of US tanks in Soviet use aren't that
hard to find either. Lend Lease aircraft pictures are not very common
from my experience.
Hope this helps.
Steve
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