Why Britain Pulled Aircraft with Horses and Trucks
By: Karthick Nambi
Tags: Government, USA, Politics, History, War

Why Britain Pulled Aircraft with Horses and Trucks

To circumnavigate US neutrality act Britain took delivery of aircraft in US Canadian border and pulled them into Canada by horses or trucks

Flights dragged into Canada. Source-Pathe

It was the US Canadian border. On normal days it’s farmland with farmers plowing their fields.

Today is not a typical day. It’s the peak of World War II, and Britain was in a desperate situation in need of help from the USA. The USA converted the farm into a temporary airfield, but aircraft were pulled into the Canadian border using horses or trucks.

Why were the aircraft not flown to Canada directly? It’s a complex web of international politics.

World Politics

FDR and Churchill.Source-History.com

With the rise of Nazism, almost half of Europe was under the control of Hitler. Hitler strengthened the Atlantic Wall while the Luftwaffe bombed Britain. Britain being an island country, relied heavily on outside help to sustain the blockade imposed on it.

Britain imported most of its raw materials from its colonies. Still, for finished goods like armaments and processed food, it relied on the USA. The USA, which fought beside Britain in World War I, shunned itself from international politics.

Franklin D Roosevelt (D-New York) won the USA’s 1940 presidential race on a promise that he will not involve the USA in any other war in a foreign land.

US Neutrality:

FDR signing the lend lease agreement.Source-Wikipedia

The USA declared neutrality with both the Axis and Allied powers. Though it was on paper, the US leaned more to support Britain. The policy change was due to the rise of anti-Communist and ant-Nazi sentiments in the USA.

FDR sided with Britain and negotiated long-term loans to Britain at a low-interest rate. Britain used these loans and ordered several aircraft from the USA.

In the later part of the war, the USA extended the support with a lend-lease method. In the lend-lease process, the US leased armaments like old warships to Britain. After the Japanese attack on pearl harbor, the US committed itself entirely to the war effort and started full-scale support to Britain.

Workaround:

Horses pull the flight. Source-press.com

Due to the neutrality clause of the USA, refused to deliver the armaments to Britain directly. In the movie, Darkest Hour Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill calls FDR and begs for the delivery of the aircraft.

FDR replied that it’s impossible and asked Britain to send an aircraft carrier to pick up the planes. Britain was short on aircraft carriers and asked if the USA can deliver the aircraft to Canada.

The US obliged but informed Britain that it is not possible to fly the flights directly to Canada. USA will deliver the aircraft to the US Canada border and drain fuel from the plane. Horses or trucks were used to pull the aircraft over the Canadian border.

Plane dragged a scene from the movie.Source-Wikipedia

Inside the Canadian border, the aircraft will be refueled and flown to the nearest Canadian airport from where it will be shipped to Britain. In the movie A Yank in the RAF, a US aircraft pilot who is also the protagonist of the film flew the aircraft directly to Canada rather than a halt at the farm.

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the USA joined the Allied forces and broke the neutrality act. The USA was now able to support Britain with armaments directly. The temporary arrangement to move the bombers in the US Canada border was no more in use.

Actual footage of the activity:

Link to the movie :