Russia's Back Door to the West

Discussion in 'The Eastern Front' started by Dac, Sep 18, 2005.

  1. Dac

    Dac Senior Member

    One of the more interesting aspects of the war was the presence of American ships with Russian/American crews inside the Sea of Japan during the war.

    In 1939 Japanese and Soviet forces fought at Nomonhan, Mongolia with disastrous results for the Japanese. Out of a force of 60,000 Japanese, over 45,000 were killed. Realizing they had no chance of defeating the Soviets in a land war, the Japanese signed a Neutrality Act with Stalin. Under this treaty Russia was granted full use of its only warm-water Pacific port. Before December 1941, just over 100 America ships were transfered to the Russian flag and, with their Russian/American crews, delivered millions of tons of cargo to Vladivostok during the war. The Japanese were powerless to stop the supplies that were destined for use against their Ally, Germany. If they had closed Vladivostok the Russians could have forced them out of China.

    Btw the topic title is a spelling mistake, not a comment on Russia's place in the world.
     
  2. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Originally posted by Dac@Sep 19 2005, 05:11 AM

    Btw the topic title is a spelling mistake, not a comment on Russia's place in the world.
    [post=39169]Quoted post[/post]

    Hi Dac,

    What does this last statement mean?

    I must not be on the right wavelength!
     
  3. Dac

    Dac Senior Member

    The title should have read "Russia's Back Door to the West", not "Russia Back Door to the West." Sorry for the confusion.
     
  4. Kiwiwriter

    Kiwiwriter Very Senior Member

    Brian Garfield's "The Thousand-Mile War" has a lot of material on "ALSIB," the Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease route. The Russians, being neutral in the Pacific, took advantage of it.
     
  5. Dac

    Dac Senior Member

    Originally posted by Kiwiwriter@Sep 19 2005, 09:58 AM
    Brian Garfield's "The Thousand-Mile War" has a lot of material on "ALSIB," the Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease route. The Russians, being neutral in the Pacific, took advantage of it.
    [post=39215]Quoted post[/post]
    Good book. Nome, Alaska was a very busy place with all the lend-lease aircraft being ferried to Siberia.
     
  6. Gnomey

    Gnomey World Travelling Doctor

    The Japanese were powerless over the issue of lend lease in the Pacific, if she had started intervening then it would have had disasterous consequences for her war in China.

    *Moderator* Changed topic title to read what you meant to say Dac.
     
  7. Dac

    Dac Senior Member

    Thanks Gnomey
     
  8. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Originally posted by Dac+Sep 20 2005, 06:54 AM-->(Dac @ Sep 20 2005, 06:54 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Kiwiwriter@Sep 19 2005, 09:58 AM
    Brian Garfield's "The Thousand-Mile War" has a lot of material on "ALSIB," the Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease route. The Russians, being neutral in the Pacific, took advantage of it.
    [post=39215]Quoted post[/post]
    Good book. Nome, Alaska was a very busy place with all the lend-lease aircraft being ferried to Siberia.
    [post=39224]Quoted post[/post]
    [/b]

    Almost 8,000 aircraft were ferried over the ALSIB route, usually by Air Transport Command pilots, through Great Falls, Montana to Fairbanks, Alaska. There, Soviet pilots took over and flew the aircraft to Nome, Alaska and then to Siberia.

    Winter ground temperatures of minus 50º Fahrenheit, the threat of being forced down in remote wilderness, hazardous flying weather, spartan living conditions, and a lack of sufficient hangar space which sometimes forced mechanics to work outside under cruel winter conditions made life difficult for personnel assigned to duty along the ALSIB route.

    Neither the Red Army Museum in Moscow nor the Soviet Air Force Museum makes any mention of Soviet use of American aircraft during WWII or that the Western Allies even participated in that war.
     
  9. Dac

    Dac Senior Member

    There's an abandoned airfield about 50 miles from where I live here in central British Columbia that I've been told was used for the ferrying of lend-lease aircraft.
    The terrain between Montana and Fairbanks is rugged, with several mountain ranges to cross. I don't have any statistics, but they must have lost a lot of planes and pilots.
     
  10. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Originally posted by Dac@Sep 20 2005, 11:16 AM
    There's an abandoned airfield about 50 miles from where I live here in central British Columbia that I've been told was used for the ferrying of lend-lease aircraft.
    The terrain between Montana and Fairbanks is rugged, with several mountain ranges to cross. I don't have any statistics, but they must have lost a lot of planes and pilots.
    [post=39244]Quoted post[/post]

    The line of existing airfields ran from Great Falls, Montana to Edmonton, Alberta to Fairbanks Alaska. The latter two and the others were also utilised for the construction of the ALCAN highway in early 1942.

    If you are near Dawsons Creek or Fort St. John the line was through there to Whitehorse then Ladd Field, Fairbanks. New air bases were built in Grande Prairie, Alberta; Fort Nelson, BC; Watson Lake and Whitehorse, Yukon.
     
  11. Kiwiwriter

    Kiwiwriter Very Senior Member

    Originally posted by Dac+Sep 19 2005, 04:54 PM-->(Dac @ Sep 19 2005, 04:54 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Kiwiwriter@Sep 19 2005, 09:58 AM
    Brian Garfield's "The Thousand-Mile War" has a lot of material on "ALSIB," the Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease route. The Russians, being neutral in the Pacific, took advantage of it.
    [post=39215]Quoted post[/post]
    Good book. Nome, Alaska was a very busy place with all the lend-lease aircraft being ferried to Siberia.
    [post=39224]Quoted post[/post]
    [/b]
    Ah, yes, Nome, Alaska. The town developed overnight with the 1898 gold rush, and was named because some explorer scribbled on his map: "Cape. Name?" and that got translated to "Cape Nome." Great chapter on Nome in Joe McGinniss's "Going to Extremes," his 1975 two-year sojourn in Alaska. It is truly the end of the world.

    Wyatt Earp was fined there for spitting on the street and fighting. He went up there with his Jewish common-law wife to find gold. He never found any.

    I always like the card in the game "Billionaire" for the "Nome Gnomes Hockey Club." :lol:
     
  12. Dac

    Dac Senior Member

    Originally posted by Kiwiwriter@Sep 20 2005, 08:26 AM
    Ah, yes, Nome, Alaska. The town developed overnight with the 1898 gold rush, and was named because some explorer scribbled on his map: "Cape. Name?" and that got translated to "Cape Nome." Great chapter on Nome in Joe McGinniss's "Going to Extremes," his 1975 two-year sojourn in Alaska. It is truly the end of the world.

    Wyatt Earp was fined there for spitting on the street and fighting. He went up there with his Jewish common-law wife to find gold. He never found any.

    I always like the card in the game "Billionaire" for the "Nome Gnomes Hockey Club." :lol:
    [post=39255]Quoted post[/post]
    Don't they punish people in the U.S. military by sending them to remote places like Nome, or is that just myth?
     
  13. Kiwiwriter

    Kiwiwriter Very Senior Member

    Originally posted by Dac+Sep 20 2005, 12:16 PM-->(Dac @ Sep 20 2005, 12:16 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Kiwiwriter@Sep 20 2005, 08:26 AM
    Ah, yes, Nome, Alaska. The town developed overnight with the 1898 gold rush, and was named because some explorer scribbled on his map: "Cape. Name?" and that got translated to "Cape Nome." Great chapter on Nome in Joe McGinniss's "Going to Extremes," his 1975 two-year sojourn in Alaska. It is truly the end of the world.

    Wyatt Earp was fined there for spitting on the street and fighting. He went up there with his Jewish common-law wife to find gold. He never found any.

    I always like the card in the game "Billionaire" for the "Nome Gnomes Hockey Club."  :lol:
    [post=39255]Quoted post[/post]
    Don't they punish people in the U.S. military by sending them to remote places like Nome, or is that just myth?
    [post=39262]Quoted post[/post]
    [/b]
    That's a myth. But Paul Tibbets, when he ran the 509th Composite Group, did send his screw-ups to Alaska. It was a standard threat made by COs to juniors.

    I believe Nome has some tracking stations to monitor the Bering Strait and Russia, and that sort of thing. The only way in or out is by sea or air.
     
  14. Dac

    Dac Senior Member

    Originally posted by Kiwiwriter@Sep 21 2005, 07:43 AM
    I believe Nome has some tracking stations to monitor the Bering Strait and Russia, and that sort of thing. The only way in or out is by sea or air.
    [post=39290]Quoted post[/post]

    Or by dogsled. :)
     
  15. Kiwiwriter

    Kiwiwriter Very Senior Member

    Originally posted by Dac+Sep 21 2005, 02:20 PM-->(Dac @ Sep 21 2005, 02:20 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Kiwiwriter@Sep 21 2005, 07:43 AM
    I believe Nome has some tracking stations to monitor the Bering Strait and Russia, and that sort of thing. The only way in or out is by sea or air.
    [post=39290]Quoted post[/post]

    Or by dogsled. :)
    [post=39299]Quoted post[/post]
    [/b]
    Ah, yes, the legendary Iditarod. They don't say "Mush." They say "Gee"or "Haw." My wife is an expert on dogs.
     
  16. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

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    Maps and statistics here. Overall this Far East route took 47% of all Lend-Lease to the SU, followed by the Iran route 24% and North Russia 23%.
     

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