Aircraft of the Second World War at Sea
Part 5: British Lend-Lease
By Steve Cabral
February 2008

When war broke out in September 1939, the U.S. government established a “cash and carry” policy regarding military equipment: Britain and France could purchase goods in the U.S., but had to pay in hard currency (not credit) and transport their purchases in their own ships. This would avoid the credit entanglements that had led America into the First World War.

By early June, over 90 percent of American aircraft production was going to these two air forces. At the end of the year, British currency and gold reserves were almost exhausted, overseas investments were being liquidated at bargain prices, and only the Belgian government's donation of $300 million in gold reserves kept the flow of weapons and supplies open. Faced with an imminent British financial collapse, in March 1941 President Franklin Roosevelt introduced the Lend Lease program, a radical departure from previous policy that gave huge amounts of weaponry to Britain and later China, the Soviet Union and France.

Many American-built aircraft show up in the Second World War at Sea series in British colors, planes provided either under cash contracts (which remained in force after the Lend-Lease Act) or through Lend-Lease itself. Here's a look at some of them.

A-20 Havoc: A twin-engined light bomber designed for the USAAC in 1938 by Douglas entered French and British service before U.S. service. It was called the DB-7 in France and the Boston in the U.K. The U.S.S.R. flew more A-20’s than the USAAF did in World War II. They carried 2,000 lbs of bombs and the armament varied greatly from the early version in ’39 until the A-20G in ’44. They saw service everywhere in the war. The French version had three machine guns and the British seven machine guns; the U.S. A-20 G carried up to seven .50 machine guns and one .30. A version with four 20mm guns failed and few were built.

A-22 Maryland: Designed for a U.S. light bomber competition, the twin-engine Martin design lost to the Douglas A-20 but was purchased by France as the 167 F. It gave excellent service and had a lower loss rate than the good LeO 451 bomber they flew over the same target. Britain purchased the undelivered French models and assigned them to the Mediterranean theater where most were used for recon by the Fleet Air Arm; they took the before-and-after photos of Taranto. It carried two fixed and four wing-mounted machine guns plus 1,200 lbs of bombs.

A-28 Hudson: A twin-engined Lockheed bomber developed from the L-10 Electra airliner (Amelia Earhart was lost in one) for the RAF. It was cheap and delivered on time, and was known as the Hudson I. The aircraft was used primarily for sea recon in Commonwealth (CW) service and eventually given the ASW roll at which the Anson was failing so well. It was credited with 25 U-boat kills. Armed with four machine guns and 1,000 lbs of bombs, it was called Boomerang by crews because “it always came back” from missions. The USAAF also flew Hudsons eventually.

A-30 Baltimore: Developed for the RAF as an improved Maryland, this twin-engine Martin design was an extremely effective bomber. Carrying up to 10 .303 or seven .50 machine guns and 2,000 lbs of bombs, it was assigned primarily to the Mediterranean theater. It entered service in 1941 and in ’44 some were transferred to the Fleet Air arm and were credited with eight U-boats. In addition to the CW countries it was also flown by Free French, Italian, Greek and Turkish units. Though designated A-30 it never saw U.S. service.

A-31 Vengeance: This single-engine dive bomber was built by Vultee. A Lend-Lease bomber quite successful in Burma, it was used by CW forces from May 1942 to July 1944. It was armed with six machine guns and carried two 1,000-lb bombs internally and two 500-lb bombs externally.

B-24 Liberator (LB-30): A heavy four-engine bomber that saw primary usage in the daylight bombing campaign against Germany in conjunction with B-17’s by the USAAF. A number were sent to the U.K. (often designated as LB-30) first as transports and later as bombers. Bomber Command had two squadrons in Egypt but Coastal Command soon found it had the perfect U-boat killer. USA (PB4Y in USN) and CW B-24 Liberators were credited with a record 72 U-boat kills. The low-altitude Liberators carried extra fuel in the bomb bay. The plane entered service in 1941 and could carry up to 8,000 lbs of bombs. Machine gun armament was constantly changed with a mix of .30 and .50 caliber guns, from seven to 11 depending on the model.

B-25 Mitchell: This North American medium bomber was the U.S.’s most-built two-engine design. It was operated by the RAF first in North Africa, then India and finally with up-gunned versions in Northwest Europe. Early versions mounted three .30 and one .50 caliber machine guns with 4,000 lbs of bombs. The late versions could have up to 18 .50 machine guns and sometimes a 75 mm cannon firing from the nose with up to 3,200 lbs of bombs or eight rockets. The RAF used many of the ASW version in the Bahamas. It is credited with one IJN submarine. Australia-based B-25’s developed skip bombing that required the gunship configuration to suppress shipborne flak.

B-26 Marauder: An extremely difficult aircraft to fly because of its stubby wings, this Martin twin-engine medium bomber saw limited service from June 1942 to May 1945. The U.S. used it almost exclusively in northwest Europe. RAF flew it almost exclusively in Italy. It was detested by pilots due to a high accident rate. Ironically it had the lowest combat loss rate in World War II. Designed for medium-level bombing, the needs of war required heavy machine gun packages a la the B-25 to allow low-level operations.

PBY Catalina: This very successful two-engine Consolidated flying boat design was the Allies’ primary sea recon and air-sea rescue machine of World War II. The plane entered service in April 1941 and its first operation was the hunt for the Bismarck. In ASW service it is credited with 37 U-boats. About 50 still fly today in civilian hands. It usually carried one .30 and two .50’s, along with up to 4,000 lbs of bombs, torpedoes or depth charges.

PV-1 Ventura: Lockheed offered this twin-engine aircraft to the RAF as an improved Hudson. Its bad flying characteristics nearly equaled the B-26, making the Ventura very disliked. Its first mission, a 47-plane raid on Holland, saw nine shot down and every other but one shot up. They were moved to maritime patrol soon after. Up to eight machine guns and 2,500 lbs of bombs were carried.

TBF Avenger: This Grumman-built, single-engine, carrier-borne torpedo bomber gave excellent service in World War II, armed with three machine guns and a torpedo or up to 2,000 lbs of bombs or DC. Flying for the U.S. alone it sank 35 U-boats, not including RAF kills. The Avenger was used by Fleet Air Arm escort carriers and fleet carriers starting January 1943. Some land-based Avengers were used in the Channel area against German surface units. The plane’s “pregnant Wildcat” look came from having an internal bomb bay.

Pit the Allied forces against the Regia Aeronautica yourself
in Second World War at Sea: Bomb Alley!