Just read in the Osprey book 'Ostfront' by Charles Winchester that 'captured Soviet petrol was unsuited to German engines'....is there a petrolhead who can expalin why this might be? Were the German engines too well made???
From what I understand the Soviets used a lower grade fuel then the Germans. The German engines were more complex too then the Soviets also. The Germans ran into similar problems with other things not being compatible. The gauge of the Soviet railroads for example.
And the Soviets relied on Diesel fuel wilst the Germans relied on Petrol per se. So not the entire stock of the Soviet fuel was unusable but a great deal of it was. Cheers...
Thanks for the info.....how did the 'lease lend trucks and jeeps' get on with Russian petrol??? It is said the Rusisans had more western trucks in their logistics tail than their own home manufactured vehicles.....
Good question. The US sent to the Soviets approx these amounts. Jeeps 51,503, Trucks 375,883, Motorcycles 35,170, Tractors 8,071.
The Russians relied on diesel powerplants (less sophisticated than the spark burners) moreso than the Germans, esp. concerning armor.
Don´t know if there was enough fuel for the trucks and jeeps but anyway: Oil of Russia : www.oilru.com : Oil of Russia magazine "...simple arithmetic will show that the amount of gasoline supplied under lend-lease was enough to fly 3.92 million combat missions (1,305,518/0.333), i.e. to send 3,000 aircraft on combat missions daily (3.92 million sorties/1,344 days). According to historical statistics, from 6,500 to 18,800 planes were committed to action simultaneously on Soviet and German sides in the course of hostilities, i.e. an average of 3,250 to 9.400 planes on each side. That means that aviation gasoline supplied under Lend-Lease could satisfy from 33% to 90% of the entire Soviet Air Force's requirements in various periods of the war. "
