Operation Cedar

For the KGB Cold War program against the United States, see Operation Cedar (KGB).

Project Cedar (also known as Operation Cedar,^{[ citation needed ]} short for "Civilian Emergency Defence Aid to Russia" ^[1] ) was a World War II project to deliver short-range aircraft from the United States to the USSR via Abadan, Iran, in the Persian Gulf. ^[2]

The project was initiated before the United States' entry into the war, ^[1] a base was established on Abadan Island in March 1942. Oil tankers, returning from delivering oil to the United States, would take Bell P-39, Curtiss P-40, and Douglas A-20 parts to Abadan, where they were assembled into aircraft and flown to USSR. The 82nd Air Depot Group was part of Project Cedar. ^[2] Head of the project on the Soviet side was Leonid Ivanovich Zorin. ^[3]

Another similarly secret operation, Project 19, was set up in Gura, ^[1] Eritrea, to repair RAF aircraft. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

See also

• Lend-Lease
• Persian Corridor

References

1. T. H. Vail Motter, ed. (1952). United States Army in World War II: Middle East Theatre, The Persian Corridor and Aid to Russia . Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History Department of the Army. p.  125.
2. Carol Adele Kelly, ed. (2007). Voices of My Comrades: America's Reserve Officers Remember World War II . New York City: Fordham University Press. p.  212. ISBN   978-0-8232-2823-2.
3. T. H. Vail Motter, ed. (1952). United States Army in World War II: Middle East Theatre, The Persian Corridor and Aid to Russia . Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History Department of the Army. p.  129.
4. "Project 19 - US repair base for British aircraft in Eritrea ", American Military History site
5. "Boeing & Douglas: A History of Customer Service", Boeing.com
6. "Episode in Eritrea", Evening Post, 25 July 1945