Lend Lease

[bauple58]

I am a post graduate history student researching the reconversion (i.e. scrapping) of surplus U.S. military aircraft following the Second World War. Since the United States supplied some 30,000 military aircraft to its allies (New Zealand included) my dissertation must necessarily also address this off-shore dimension of the reconversion.

To this end, I would be interested in hearing from any forum members who can help with answering the following:

i. Why did New Zealand elect to repatriate its front line aircraft
when its Pacific allies chose at the end of the war to either abandon or hand back some of their Lend Lease aircraft to local U.S. theater commanders?

ii. Did New Zealand always intend scrapping its surplus Lend Lease aircraft (and was simply awaiting the formal U.S.-N.Z. settlement of July 1946) or, did some other event(s) cause the scrapping of these aircraft?

iii. Where will I find an authoritative source for RNZAF aircraft strengths during and following the Second World War?

iv. What was the total number of Lend Lease aircraft delivered to the RNZAF, and the numbers remaining at the war's end?

v. Was James Larsen exporting the secondary aluminium recovered at his Rukuhia foundry (or was he selling this domestically)?

vi. Where will I find an aggregate cost for New Zealand's Lend Lease aircraft?

vii. I am particularly wanting to understand why there were never any political or public debates preceding or following the destruction of these aircraft, a few half-hearted comments from individual opposition members being all that I can find (e.g. Henry Morton (Waitemata), Parliamentary Debates, H.R., vol.272, 28 November 1945, 164).


Any assistance on these counts would be most appreciated.



Thank you


Papers Past

[Brenden S]

I have been told you got plenty of good info from the WONZ forum.

[bauple58]

Wish that were the case. They're a very knowledgeable and helpful group however, I wasn't able to get any of my questions answered there (hence, my ADF-Serials post)

[Brenden S]

Bugger, most of the guys on the WONZ forum are on here too.