Work of the International Air Commission of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain in September 1941: Records of the Negotiations

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УДК 94(47)«1939/1945»

DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2018-4-1175-1187

Karina A. Merzhanova

Russian State Archive of Economy, Moscow, Russian Federation

Work of the International Air Commission of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain in September 1941: Records of the Negotiations

Abstract

The publication introduces into scientific use and analyses a unique document on the work of the international aviation commission (Moscow, September 1941) that worked at the conference of representatives of the USSR, the USA, and England on the issue of military deliveries to the Soviet Union. The published document has been found when preparing ‘History of creation and development of the defense industry complex of Russia and the USSR. 1900–1963. Documents and materials.’ Presently the fifth volume of the series covering the period of the Great Patriotic War is being prepared. The document published here precedes the publication of that volume. The question of military lend-lease deliveries of planes to the Soviet Union considered by the commission was of great importance to Soviet aviation industry. Evacuation of aircraft manufacturing facilities led to a decrease in production. For a time the aircraft industry continued to work on mobilization stocks and lend-lease deliveries. The aviation commission of the Soviet Union was to secure the necessary quantity of warplanes from the USA and England, which for that end had to curtail their own arms contracts. The published document shows the process of negotiations and its result – how fully the Soviet delegation managed to solve the tasks set before it. In the introduction, the situation in Soviet and American aviation industry at the start of negotiations is analyzed. The published document is stored in the fonds of the Russian State Archive of Economy. It is a typewritten original record of negotiations of even date. It expands source base on lend-lease, shows how the Soviet delegation tried to obtain newest American and English military aircraft equipment, and allows to understand the nuances of interactions of the allies, to analyze their positions and approaches to negotiations.

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Keywords

Source base, archival documents, aviation commission, aviation industry, lend-lease, Great Patriotic War.

References

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About author

Merzhanova Karina Alexandrovna, Russian State Archive of Economy, main specialist, Moscow, Russian Federation, +7-916-961-22-82, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Submitted 2.07.2018, published:

MERZHANOVA, K. A. Rabota mezhdunarodnoi aviakomissii SSSR, SShA i Velikobritanii v sentyabre 1941 g.: zapisi peregovorov [Work of the International Air Commission of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain in September 1941: Records of the Negotiations. In Russ.]. IN: Vestnik arhivista / Herald of an Archivist, 2018, no. 4, pp. 1175-1187. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2018-4-1175-1187

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