[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Mike Cecil

Not many people realise that lend-lease was a two-way street, and that Australia provided a value of something like 75% of the total value of LL equipment provided to Australia, back to US Forces as RLL.

More on Reverse Lend Lease:

Two-way Street

As an example of reverse lend-lease, the British have provided our forces in England with articles, equipment, facilities, and services necessary to the maintenance of an army on foreign soil.
In addition to articles and equipment, our men receive services and facilities from the British, including all United Kingdom communication, all transportation within the United Kingdom, and all heat, power, light, water, and gas used by the Army. The British do not inquire into the need for articles and services requested. They take the word of the American supply officer signing the requisition. The only considerations are those of availability and the effect on the British war economy.

Britain is not self-sufficient in foodstuffs. Yet the British have given us important quantities, and a few troops are supplied 100 percent from British rations. The remainder-on American rations-have their diet supplemented by fresh British home-grown vegetables, and by bread, tea, chocolate, candy, cereals, sugar, and many other items from British stocks.

Joint Planning
During the preparation of the African expedition, the British delegated two of their ranking supply officers, and their entire staffs, to the United States Service of Supply headquarters. The British said that they would supply any required article or service which was not readily obtainable from American stocks. They met our requests with great swiftness. Among other things, we received over 3,800 tons of ammunition, artillery for a United States division, 80,000 tons of coal, over 2,000 tons of British rations, and 30,000 tons of engineer equipment. Shortly before the expedition was launched, it was discovered that American planes destined for Africa required somewhat different radio equipment from that being used in the United Kingdom. The RAF stripped themselves to meet our need, turning over to us every last piece of radio equipment of the type proved to be satisfactory in the Middle East.
Necessary civilian personnel has been made available to us without stint. It has been estimated that as much as two-thirds of the civil and military labor available for military work services in Great Britain has been employed on work for the American Army as reciprocal aid.

Cranes and Dinghies
Here is a list of some of the articles and equipment received by our forces under reciprocal lend-lease:
Concrete mixers, cranes, flame throwers, hangars, huts, lumber, pile drivers, railroad equipment, bakeries, blankets, camouflage, clothing, clothing repair supplies, soap, tents, towels, warehouse equipment, cable-laying equipment, switchboards, automobiles, explosives, grenades, torpedoes, various types of harbor, assault, and combat boats, airplanes, defrosting and de-icing materials, parachutes, dinghies, gas detectors, eyeshields, and incendiaries. In short, the British have obligated themselves to deliver, and have delivered, to United States forces in the European theater, everything which could be made available.
Lend-lease in reverse has become an important reality sooner than many anticipated. It has become an integral part of the war of alliance-all for one and one for all. Outgoing lend-lease-goods and services from us to our allies-has grown from a trickling stream to a torrent since those critical March days of 1941. The flow of war supplies from the factories to the fighting fronts proceeds without being impeded by considerations of finance. Lend-lease in fact has fulfilled the President's original pledge to remove the dollar sign from war supply.

Read more here: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA...One/index.html