Lend-Lease
This article is about the World War II program. For its precursor, see Destroyers for Bases Agreement. For the company, see Lend Lease Group. President Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease bill to give aid to Britain and China (1941). The Lend-Lease policy, formally titled An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States , (Pub.L. 77–11, H.R. 1776, 55 Stat. 31, enacted March 11, 1941) [1] was an American program to defeat Germany, Japan and Italy by distributing food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and August 1945. The aid went to the United Kingdom, China, and later the Soviet Union, Free France, and other Allied nations. It included warships and warplanes, along with other weaponry. The policy was signed into law on March 11, 1941, and ended overnight without prior warning when the war against Japan ended. The aid was free for all countries, although goods in transit when the program ended were charged for. Some transport ships were returned to the US after the war, but practic...