<P> 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 ) was a program under which the United States supplied Free France , the United Kingdom , the Republic of China , and later the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food , oil , and materiel between 1941 and August 1945 . This included warships and warplanes , along with other weaponry . It was signed into law on March 11 , 1941 and ended in September 1945 . In general the aid was free , although some hardware , such as ships , were returned after the war . In return , the U.S. was given leases on army and naval bases in Allied territory during the war . Canada operated a similar smaller program under a different name . </P>
<P> 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 ) was a program under which the United States supplied Free France , the United Kingdom , the Republic of China , and later the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food , oil , and materiel between 1941 and August 1945 . This included warships and warplanes , along with other weaponry . It was signed into law on March 11 , 1941 and ended in September 1945 . In general the aid was free , although some hardware , such as ships , were returned after the war . In return , the U.S. was given leases on army and naval bases in Allied territory during the war . Canada operated a similar smaller program under a different name . </P>
in return for long-term leases on british military bases the united states
in return for long-term leases on british military bases the united states
supplied Free France , the United Kingdom , the Republic of China , and later the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food , oil , and materiel between 1941 and August 1945
supplied Free France , the United Kingdom , the Republic of China , and later the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food , oil , and materiel between 1941 and August 1945