It seems as if we all know about Lend Lease and the flow of goods to the warring powers in exchange for things like bases in various places, but to most of us the whole subject was a bit amorphous. It was something that was there, it was something that needed to be done and that was about it.

As with most things, there is a LOT more to it. This particular book by Phil Butler is the first serious attempt I've seen to put sense to the whole subject. Concentrating on the airplane part of the system, he covers in considerable depth, the purchase of aircraft from the US as well as those which were used by the US later during the war.

The amount of information in here is absolutely staggering. Most of us think of Lend Lease in terms of P-40s, Baltimores and Liberators being handed over to the RAF, but that was only a part of it. It is also Vengeances to Australia, BT-13s to Bolivia and Nicaragua, and Cuba, and Brazil. Texans to Canada, aero engines to France and a number of other smaller batches of aircraft, some rather obscure (like Ryan STMs to the Netherlands East Indies). If you can think of an aircraft that was used or built in the US, then there is probably one that was sent out as part of Lend Lease or was purchased outright.

The book is broken down into two major sections. One is a history of aircraft purchases or leases. The second is a listing by aircraft of who got what. There are also appendices the include listings of aircraft lost at sea, British serials for US/Canadian built aircraft and a bit on aero engines, just to name a few.

We start with the British need for Hudsons and Harvards (I remember a great movie with James Cagney in them that cover Harvards as well as ferrying Hudsons to the UK. Naturally, he dies heroically). Then there is a section on French purchases as well as one on how the system worked and why we went to the Lend Lease idea in the first place. Other parts cover Canada, ferrying the aircraft, Russian supplies and then chapters on other countries. Finally, there is a part on reverse Lend Lease.

The aircraft section is a who's who of Allied combat aircraft and you'll recognize the majority of what is there. When you add to this over 600 photographs spread through 320 pages, you can realize what a valuable reference this one is. I can tell you that you won't just zoom through it. I generally read every single book that I review from cover to cover and this one will take you quite a while to finish and to digest. But it is all here. It answers your questions and it does so without just reciting stats.

I found it a most intriguing book and one that I can give my highest recommendation.

April 2005

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