Precise prices disguise false gasoline and aircraft stories

A recurring gasoline story claimed Americans sold fuel cheaply to Britain and later bought the same fuel back at a much higher price. Its precise cents-per-gallon figures created credibility, but no retail sale occurred: the United States supplied fuel under Lend-Lease and Britain reciprocated without cash under reverse Lend-Lease. Each government kept the original cost in its accounts even though money did not change hands at the transfer. A darker rumor alleged that the Soviet Union traded American aircraft to Japan for rubber and that those aircraft then fought United States forces. The American Historical Association account says the claim circulated on Axis radio and was found baseless, yet warns that a slow correction could still damage Allied unity.