• At the time of this meeting, Britain had been sending supply convoys to the USSR for about a year. They sailed once a month, during the periods of the year when the weather was good enough and the Russian ports were not frozen up.
  
• The war between the USSR and Germany was fought over vast areas of open countryside. In this kind of warfare tanks and aircraft were absolutely vital weapons.
  
• German tanks were extremely well armoured. Only powerful guns could destroy them.
  
• Hurricanes were British fighter aircraft.
  
• In late 1942 British Empire and US forces were engaged in major campaigns in the Middle East and North Africa. Desert conditions also required tanks and aircraft.