WWII Horse Drawn Airplanes Beat the Germans?
I’m watching a masterpiece of a movie called Darkest Hour and there is a scene with Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt speaking on the telephone discussing the transport of fighter jets from the USA to England. FDR talks about horses being used and Canada is involved and I’m thinking, ‘What is going on here?’ It turned out to be my favorite part of the movie!
This is the scene:
Winston Churchill asks, “Can you (FDR) loan us 40 older destroyers?” FDR responds, “Well, I did ask around but just not possible I’m afraid. The Neutrality Act we signed last year has tied my hands. Just can’t swing it.” Churchill then asks, “Do I have your permission to pick up the P-40 Fighter Planes we purchased from you?” FDR responds saying, “New law preventing shipment of military equipment. Look Winston, we could take your planes about a mile from the Canadian border, and then if you send across a team of horses from Canada, nothing motorized, then you can pull them over the border yourself.” Churchill replies, “Horses? You did say a team of horses?” FDR then says, “Well I guess you can push them yourself, the damn things have wheels.”
What the hell is going on here!! I was watching a masterpiece of a movie and a satirical scene like this comes up and I’m thinking, what’s the point.
I paused the scene and replayed it. I then put on closed captions to make sure I was hearing the conversation correctly because Churchill has a speech impediment, and sure enough, “Horses” is exactly what FDR says. Now here is the historical background.
A year before the United States got bombed by Japan at Pearl Harbor which is about when the conversation above took place, WWII was already in full swing. Germany had invaded various European countries and the battles of Dunkirk and Britain had occurred. America did not want to be in another world war so in their response they created the Neutrality Act.
One reason FDR won America’s presidential race was based on a promise that he would not involve the US in any other war in a foreign land. The United States signed the Neutrality Act in 1939 which barred America from transporting goods to belligerent ports. A belligerent port is a port in a country that is in a state of war. So, based on the Neutrality Act, FDR could not transport supplies directly to Britain. The Neutrality Act also stated that no US pilots may fly into Canada and no Canadian pilots may fly into the US. Finally, the act allowed sales on a “cash and carry” basis meaning that arms could be purchased by either side but had to be bought with cash and transported by the purchaser. This was effectively a way of supplying the Allies given their larger foreign currency reserves and control over the sea lanes (Britain’s War: Into Battle, 1937-1941, Daniel Todman).
The solution to the US not sending goods to either side was to use Canada to transport goods purchased. The process for America to get those goods over the Canadian border was as follows: First, America would fly in those goods to airports near the border. Then, a Canadian Customs Broker was used to accept and check those goods. A farmer on the Canadian side then supplied horses at a cost of $3 to $5 per tow. Once over the border, Canada created take off and landing lanes for planes to pick up shipments and fly them over to Calgary. Finally, once in Calgary, the country who initially purchased the goods would fly them out.
And there you have it. Horses were used to help transport goods to country’s in need to fight off the Nazis. America, the super power of the world had to use horses to get around the Neutrality Act sending all sorts of supplies to Canada to help Britain fend off the Nazi’s. Just as a side note, most of Germany and the world at this time still used horses to move equipment and men. Got to love history.