A half track passing a knocked-out Soviet Churchill tank

Knocked out Soviet Lend-Lease Churchill

Significant numbers of British Churchill, Matilda and Valentine tanks were shipped to the USSR along with the US M3 Lee after it became obsolete on the African Front, ceasing production in December 1942 and withdrawn from British service in May 1943. The Churchills, supplied by the arctic convoys, saw action in the Siege of Leningrad and the Battle of Kursk, while tanks shipped by the Persian route supplied the Caucasian Front. Between June 1941 and May 1945, Britain delivered to the USSR:

  • 3,000+ Hurricanes
  • 4,000+ other aircraft
  • 27 naval vessels
  • 5,218 tanks
  • 5,000+ anti-tank guns
  • 4,020 ambulances and trucks
  • 323 machinery trucks
  • 2,560 Universal Carriers
  • 1,721 motorcycles
  • £1.15bn worth of aircraft engines
  • 600 radar and sonar sets
  • Hundreds of naval guns
  • 15 million pairs of boots
In total 4 million tonnes of war materials including food and medical supplies were delivered. The munitions totaled £308m (not including naval munitions supplied), the food and raw materials totaled £120m in 1946 index. In accordance with the Anglo-Soviet Military Supplies Agreement of 27 June 1942, military aid sent from Britain to the Soviet Union during the war was entirely free of charge.

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