General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: U-boat War??Craig and Ralph
Posted by:
John Griffiths
()
Date: April 27, 2001 09:00AM
<HTML>Yuri,
Again I speak only of facts known in the West!
On the subject of ships - as this is a maritime forum - may I just state that the Soviet Union was given 38 Liberty ships under Lease-lend by the USA. They were never returned nor were they paid for!
Despite requests from the US for the matter to be settled, the USSR did not acknowledge the fact, ignored US protests and claims for money and used the vessels to formn the backbone of its post war Merchant Fleet.
An example for you? The Thomas M. Flaherty was built by Permanente Metals Corp (Yard No. 2) in in April of 1944. Handed to the Soviets, she was renamed Stalingrad. In 1962, she was renamed Volgograd. She underwent some structural changes whilst under the Soviet flag but remained a Liberty ship.
Other examples?
Pskov - scrapped by UK shipbreakers in 1970.
Sergei Kirov and Sukhona scrapped in Spain in 1971.
Vitebsk scrapped Taiwan 1972.
Sovetskaya Gavan scrapped in Bombay 1990
Each vessel one of the original lease-lend Liberty ships. The first two Liberties to be taken over where the John Goree and Harry Percy, both of whom were in the UK loading for Russia at the time.
In fact, here is a direct quote from Stalin to Roosevelt.
\"Your decision, Mr. President, to grant the Soviet Union an interest-free loan to the value of $1,000,000,000 to meet deliveries of munitions and raw materials to the Soviet Union is accepted by the Soviet Government with heartfelt gratitude as vital aid to the Soviet Union in its tremendous and onerous struggle against our common enemy-bloody Hitlerism.
On instructions from the Government of the U.S.S.R. I express complete agreement with your terms for granting the loan, repayment of which shall begin five years after the end of the war and continue over 10 years after expiration of the five-year period.\"
You can find the whole text at:
[www.shsu.edu]
The article is entitled \'Correspondence of Roosevelt and Truman with Stalin on Lend Lease and other aid to the Soviet Union 1941-45.\'
You will, I hope, note that Russia was supplied not only with ships but with over 200 C-47 transport aircraft, 18 B-25\'s and 600 P-40 fighters - none of which were ever paid for! The interest free loan was also never fully paid back.
I think the original question here was about differences / simmilarities between Stalin and Hitler. I don\'t know what Hitler\'s financial position was but I feel that Mr. Stalin was a bit of a con man!
Aye,
John
</HTML>
Again I speak only of facts known in the West!
On the subject of ships - as this is a maritime forum - may I just state that the Soviet Union was given 38 Liberty ships under Lease-lend by the USA. They were never returned nor were they paid for!
Despite requests from the US for the matter to be settled, the USSR did not acknowledge the fact, ignored US protests and claims for money and used the vessels to formn the backbone of its post war Merchant Fleet.
An example for you? The Thomas M. Flaherty was built by Permanente Metals Corp (Yard No. 2) in in April of 1944. Handed to the Soviets, she was renamed Stalingrad. In 1962, she was renamed Volgograd. She underwent some structural changes whilst under the Soviet flag but remained a Liberty ship.
Other examples?
Pskov - scrapped by UK shipbreakers in 1970.
Sergei Kirov and Sukhona scrapped in Spain in 1971.
Vitebsk scrapped Taiwan 1972.
Sovetskaya Gavan scrapped in Bombay 1990
Each vessel one of the original lease-lend Liberty ships. The first two Liberties to be taken over where the John Goree and Harry Percy, both of whom were in the UK loading for Russia at the time.
In fact, here is a direct quote from Stalin to Roosevelt.
\"Your decision, Mr. President, to grant the Soviet Union an interest-free loan to the value of $1,000,000,000 to meet deliveries of munitions and raw materials to the Soviet Union is accepted by the Soviet Government with heartfelt gratitude as vital aid to the Soviet Union in its tremendous and onerous struggle against our common enemy-bloody Hitlerism.
On instructions from the Government of the U.S.S.R. I express complete agreement with your terms for granting the loan, repayment of which shall begin five years after the end of the war and continue over 10 years after expiration of the five-year period.\"
You can find the whole text at:
[www.shsu.edu]
The article is entitled \'Correspondence of Roosevelt and Truman with Stalin on Lend Lease and other aid to the Soviet Union 1941-45.\'
You will, I hope, note that Russia was supplied not only with ships but with over 200 C-47 transport aircraft, 18 B-25\'s and 600 P-40 fighters - none of which were ever paid for! The interest free loan was also never fully paid back.
I think the original question here was about differences / simmilarities between Stalin and Hitler. I don\'t know what Hitler\'s financial position was but I feel that Mr. Stalin was a bit of a con man!
Aye,
John
</HTML>
