The
Lend-Lease policy, formally titled "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States", was a program under which the United States supplied
Free France, the
United Kingdom, the
Republic of China, and later the
USSR 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.