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Operation Orator was the code name for the defence of the Allied
Arctic convoy The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...
PQ 18 by
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n air force units, based temporarily in North-West Russia, against attack by the German battleship and other surface vessels. The wing, known as the Search & Strike Force, was commanded by Group Captain
Frank Hopps Air Vice Marshal Frank Linden Hopps, (3 December 1894 – 10 October 1976) was a senior officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the First World War, Hopps was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire L ...
and its
maritime strike An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...
element was the Leuchars Wing, comprising No. 144 Squadron,
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) and No. 455 Squadron,
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
(RAAF) equipped with
Handley-Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...
 TB 1
torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...
s. The Hampden crews made a long and dangerous flight from bases in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
(4–5 September) and assembled at
Vaenga airfield Severomorsk-1 , formerly known as Vayenga-1, is a naval air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia south of Severomorsk (formerly called Vayenga). It one of the largest airfields on the Kola Peninsula, second only to Olenya. It can accommodate ov ...
on the
Kola Inlet Kola Bay () or Murmansk Fjord is a 57-km-long fjord of the Barents Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It is up to 7 km wide and has a depth of 200 to 300 metres. The Tuloma, Rosta and Kola Rivers discharge into t ...
, north of
Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...
. The two squadrons lost nine aircraft shot down or crashed in transit but the remainder joined a detachment of 210 Squadron Catalina flying boats and a section of photographic reconnaissance Spitfires from 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit to make up the Search & Strike Force (S&SF). At on 14 September, 23 Hampdens were
scrambled Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Scramble'' (film), a 1970 British children's sports drama * ''Scrambled'' (film), a 2023 American comedy-drama * ''Scrambled!'', a British children' ...
, after ''Tirpitz'' was reported absent from its moorings. The Hampdens flew to the maximum distance that ''Tirpitz'' could have reached then turned to follow the track back to Altafjord, as far as the Catalina cross over patrols. After an uneventful flight, the Hampdens returned at from what turned out to be a false alarm; ''Tirpitz'' having moved to a nearby fjord. The S&SF Hampdens stayed at readiness and the Spitfires watched over ''Tirpitz'' until October. Operation Orator had deterred the Germans from risking their capital ships against PQ 18 and after converting the
Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...
(VVS) to the Hampden and Spitfire aircraft to be left behind, the aircrew and ground personnel returned to Britain.


Background


Arctic convoys

In October 1941, after
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
, the German invasion of the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, which had begun on 22 June, the Prime Minister,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, made a commitment to send a convoy to the Arctic ports of the USSR every ten days and to deliver a month from July 1942 to January 1943, followed by and another The first convoy was due at Murmansk around 12 October and the next convoy was to depart Iceland on 22 October. A motley of British, Allied and neutral shipping loaded with military stores and raw materials for the Soviet war effort would be assembled at
Hvalfjörður Hvalfjörður (, "whale fjord") is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The fjord is approximately long and wide. The origin of the name Hvalfjörður is uncertain. Certainly today there is no presence of whales i ...
, Iceland, an anchorage convenient for ships from both sides of the Atlantic. By late 1941, the convoy system used in the Atlantic had been established on the Arctic run; a
convoy commodore Convoy commodore also known as commodore, convoys was the title of a civilian put in charge of the good order of the merchant ships in the British convoys used during World War II. Usually the convoy commodore was a retired naval officer or a se ...
ensured that the ships' masters and signals officers attended a briefing to make arrangements for the management of the convoy, which sailed in a formation of long rows of short columns. The commodore was usually a retired naval officer, aboard a ship identified by a white pendant with a blue cross. The commodore was assisted by a Naval signals party of four men, who used lamps, semaphore flags and telescopes to pass signals, coded from books carried in a weighted bag, to be dumped overboard in an emergency. In large convoys, the commodore was assisted by vice- and rear-commodores who directed the speed, course and zig-zagging of the merchant ships in co-operation with the escort commander.


Convoy hiatus

Following
Convoy PQ 16 Convoy PQ 16 (21–30 May 1942) was an Arctic convoy of British, United States and Allied ships from Iceland to Murmansk and Archangelsk in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The convoy was the largest yet and was provided with a con ...
and the disaster to PQ 17 in July 1942, Arctic convoys were suspended for nine weeks and much of the Home Fleet was detached to the Mediterranean. During the lull, Admiral John "Jack" Tovey concluded that the Home Fleet had been of no great protection to convoys once beyond Bear Island, midway between
Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
and the North Cape of Norway. Tovey planned to oversee the operation from
Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...
, where the fleet was linked to the Admiralty by landline and immune to variations in wireless reception. The next convoy was to be accompanied by the longer-range destroyers of the Home Fleet. Along with the close escort force of anti-submarine and anti-aircraft ships, the fleet destroyers could confront a sortie by German ships with the threat of a massed torpedo attack. Instead of meeting homeward-bound QP convoys near Bear Island, QP 14 was to remain in port until PQ 18 was near its destination, despite the longer journey being more demanding of the escort crews, fuel and equipment. The new
escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...
(Commander A. P. Colthurst) had arrived from the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and was added to the escort force.


Signals intelligence


Bletchley Park

The British
Government Code and Cypher School The Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) was a British signals intelligence agency set up in 1919. During the First World War, the British Army and Royal Navy had separate signals intelligence agencies, MI1b and NID25 (initially known as R ...
(GC&CS) based at
Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...
housed a small industry of code-breakers and traffic analysts. By June 1941, the German
Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York–based data-technology startup *Enigma machine, a famil ...
machine Home Waters () settings used by surface ships and U-boats could quickly be read. On 1 February 1942, the Enigma machines used in U-boats in the Atlantic and Mediterranean were changed but German ships and the U-boats in Arctic waters continued with the older (''Hydra'' from 1942, Dolphin to the British). By mid-1941, British
Y-stations The "Y" service was a network of British signals intelligence collection sites, the Y-stations. The service was established during the First World War and used again during the Second World War. The sites were operated by a range of agencies inc ...
were able to receive and read ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
'' W/T transmissions and give advance warning of ''Luftwaffe'' operations. In 1941, naval ''Headache'' personnel, with receivers to eavesdrop on ''Luftwaffe'' wireless transmissions, were embarked on warships and from May 1942, ships gained RAF Y ''computor'' parties, which sailed with cruiser admirals in command of convoy escorts, to interpret ''Luftwaffe'' W/T signals intercepted by the Headaches. The Admiralty sent details of ''Luftwaffe'' wireless frequencies, call signs and the daily local codes to the computors, which combined with their knowledge of ''Luftwaffe'' procedures, could glean fairly accurate details of German reconnaissance sorties. Sometimes computors predicted attacks twenty minutes before they were detected by radar.


B-Dienst

The rival German (, Observation Service) of the (MND, Naval Intelligence Service) had broken several Admiralty codes and cyphers by 1939, which were used to help ''Kriegsmarine'' ships elude British forces and provide opportunities for surprise attacks. From June to August 1940, six British submarines were sunk in the Skaggerak using information gleaned from British wireless signals. In 1941, read signals from the Commander in Chief Western Approaches informing convoys of areas patrolled by U-boats, enabling the submarines to move into "safe" zones. had broken Naval Cypher No 3 in February 1942 and by March was reading up to 80 per cent of the traffic, which continued until 15 December 1943. By coincidence, the British lost access to the ''Shark'' cypher and had no information to send in Cypher No 3 which might compromise Ultra. In early September, Finnish Radio Intelligence deciphered a Soviet Air Force transmission which divulged the convoy itinerary and forwarded it to the Germans.


Allied Arctic operations

As Arctic convoys passed by the North Cape of Norway into the
Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...
, they were easily within range of German aircraft, U-boats and ships based in Norway and Finland. The ships were still vulnerable while unloading at
Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...
,
Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...
and Polyarny and Hawker Hurricane fighters delivered by the first Arctic convoy, were intended for air defence against the . In Operation Dervish (21–31 August 1941), six elderly freighters sailed from Iceland for Archangelsk carrying wood, rubber, tin and fifteen crated
Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
fighters. In Operation Strength, the aircraft carrier carried 24 Hurricanes concurrent with the convoy, escorted by three cruisers with the RAF ground party. When ''Argus'' was in range of Vayenga, the Hurricanes were flown off and all reached their destination.
No. 151 Wing RAF No 151 Wing Royal Air Force was a British unit which operated with the Soviet forces on the Kola Peninsula in the northern USSR during the first months of Operation Barbarossa, in the Second World War. Operation Benedict, the 1941 expedition to ...
(Wing Commander
Neville Ramsbottom-Isherwood Wing Commander Henry Neville Gynes Ramsbottom-Isherwood (13 July 1905 – 24 April 1950) was a New Zealand born Royal Air Force test pilot and commanding officer during the Second World War and the post-war period. He was one of only four wart ...
) flew in the defence of Murmansk for five weeks and claimed 16 victories, four probables and seven aircraft damaged. The winter snows began on 22 September and the conversion of
Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...
(VVS, ) pilots and ground crews to the Hurricane Mk IID began in mid-October and in late November the RAF party returned to Britain, less various signals staff. The Allied Operation Gauntlet (25 August – 3 September 1941), Fritham (30 April 1942 – 2 July 1943) had taken place in the Svalbard Archipelago on the main island of
Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...
, midway between northern Norway the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
, to eliminate German weather stations and to stop its coal exports to Norway. In Operation Gearbox II (2–21 September 1942) two cruisers and a destroyer took of supplies and equipment to Spitsbergen. On 3 September, Force P, the oilers , and four destroyer escorts sailed for
Van Mijenfjorden Van Mijenfjorden is the third-longest fjord in Norway's Svalbard archipelago. It lies in the southern portion of Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspits ...
(Lowe Sound) in Spitsbergen and from 9 to 13 September refuelled destroyers detached from PQ 18.


German plans

Authority in the was derived from the (Supreme Naval Command) in Berlin and Arctic operations were commanded by Admiral Boehm, the Admiral Commanding Norway, from the (Naval Group North) HQ in Kiel. Three flag officers were detached to Oslo in command of minesweeping, coast defence, patrols and minelaying off the west, north and polar coasts. The large surface ships and U-boats were under the command of the Flag Officer Northern Waters at Narvik, who did not answer to Boehm but had authority over the Flag Officer Battlegroup, who commanded the ships when at sea. The Flag Officer Northern Waters also had tactical control of aircraft from (
Hans-Jürgen Stumpff Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (15 June 1889 – 9 March 1968) was a German general during World War II and was one of the signatories to Germany's unconditional surrender at the end of the war. Military career Stumpff joined the Grenadier Regiment "Pr ...
) when they operated in support of the . The Norwegian-based aircraft had tactical headquarters at Kirkenes, Trondheim and Bardufoss. The HQs were separate from the commanders except at Kirkenes, with the Flag Officer Polar Coast. On 24 June, a British minesweeper based at Kola was sunk by Ju 87 ''Stuka'' dive-bombers and on 16 August, ''Admiral Scheer'' conducted Operation Wunderland (), a sortie against Russian ships thought to be sailing along the route north of Siberia. ''Admiral Scheer'' sailed north of Novaya Zemlya and then to the east and sank a Soviet icebreaker; by 30 August ''Admiral Scheer'' was back in Narvik. signals interception and documents recovered from the crashed Hampden UB-C, revealed the crossover and escort changeover points of convoys PQ 18 and QP 14 and other details including Operation Orator. U-boats, destroyers and the minelayer ''Ulm'' sailed on Operation Zar () to sow mines at the entrance of the
White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...
and off
Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; , ; ), also spelled , is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, considered the extreme points of Europe ...
. On 25 August, Ultra revealed the itinerary of ''Ulm'' and three of the destroyers with south of Bear Island, were sent to intercept the ship; ''Ulm'' was sunk that night and sixty survivors were taken prisoner. The Germans had to press ''Admiral Hipper'' into service as a minelayer. ''Tirpitz'', the cruiser ''Lützow'' and three destroyers had been in dock for repairs since against
Convoy PQ 17 Convoy PQ 17 was an Allied Arctic convoy during the Second World War. On 27 June 1942, the ships sailed from Hvalfjörður, Iceland, for the port of Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union. The convoy was located by German forces on 1 July, shadowed ...
(2–5 July) and were not available. Twelve
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
s formed a patrol group in the
Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea (; ; ) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separate ...
against PQ 18 and the planned (Operation Double Hit) in which the cruisers ''Admiral Scheer'', ''Admiral Hipper'' and ''Köln'' with four destroyer escorts, would sail against the convoy.


(Golden Comb)

The used the lull after PQ 17 to assemble a force of 35
Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...
A-4 dive-bombers of (KG 30) and 42 torpedo-bombers of (KG 26) (I/KG 26 with 28
Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany a ...
H-6s and III/KG 26 with 14 Ju 88 A-4s) to join the reconnaissance aircraft of 5. After analysing the results of anti-shipping operations against PQ 17, in which the crews of 5 made exaggerated claims of ships sunk, including a cruiser, the anti-shipping units devised the (Golden Comb). Ju 88 bombers were to divert the defenders with medium and dive bombing attacks as the torpedo-bombers approached out of the twilight. The torpedo bombers were to fly towards the convoy in line abreast, at wave-top height to evade radar, as the convoy was silhouetted against the lighter sky, then drop their torpedoes in a
salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in many blows at once and prevent them from f ...
. When discovered that an aircraft carrier would accompany the next convoy,
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
gave orders that it must be sunk first; aircrew were told that the destruction of the convoy was the best way to help the German army at Stalingrad and in southern Russia.


Operation Orator


Plan

A Search & Strike Force (S&SF), commanded by Group Captain
Frank Hopps Air Vice Marshal Frank Linden Hopps, (3 December 1894 – 10 October 1976) was a senior officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the First World War, Hopps was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire L ...
, was to fly to north Russia and operate over the Barents Sea. The
maritime strike An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...
element comprised 16
Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...
torpedo-bombers each from 144 Squadron,
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) and 455 Squadron,
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
(RAAF). The search element comprised nine Catalinas detached from 210 Squadron RAF from
RAF Sullom Voe Royal Air Force Sullom Voe or more simply RAF Sullom Voe is a former Royal Air Force station near the village of Brae, in the Shetland Isles of Scotland. It was a Flying boat base and was closely associated with the adjacent airfield of RAF S ...
, in
Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...
, to operate from Lake Lakhta near Arkhangelsk, to keep watch on the waters north of Altafjord and a
section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...
of three RAF
1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (or 1 PRU) was a flying unit of the Royal Air Force, first formed in 1940. History On 24 September 1939, the Royal Air Force formally took over the "Heston Flight", a civilian photo reconnaissance unit ...
(1 PRU) Extra-Super-Long-Range Spitfire PR Mk IV(D) flown from
RAF Sumburgh Royal Air Force Sumburgh or more simply RAF Sumburgh is a former Royal Air Force satellite station that was located on the southern tip of the mainland island of the Shetland Islands, and was home to half of No. 404 Squadron RCAF (Royal Cana ...
in Shetland, to operate from Afrikanda to watch over ''Tirpitz''. The Spitfires and Catalinas were to keep watch on the bigger ships in Norwegian waters, including the battleship ''Tirpitz'', to attack them at the first opportunity.


Deployment of the Search & Strike Force

On 13 August, Hopps, RAF and RAAF ground staff and a medical unit sailed for Russia on the cruiser Tuscaloosa, along with three destroyers (two US and one British). Hopps was to establish an HQ at Polyarny on the
Kola Inlet Kola Bay () or Murmansk Fjord is a 57-km-long fjord of the Barents Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It is up to 7 km wide and has a depth of 200 to 300 metres. The Tuloma, Rosta and Kola Rivers discharge into t ...
, north-north-east of Murmansk. The three PRU Spitfires for the Search & Strike Force departed from Sumburgh, Shetland on 1 September on a journey of more than over the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
,
occupied Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the World War II, Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the Norwegian Campaign, German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi G ...
, Sweden (in breach of
Swedish neutrality Sweden had a policy of Neutral country, neutrality in armed conflicts from the early 19th century, until 2009, when it entered into various mutual defence treaties with the European Union (EU), and other Nordic countries.Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...
and Finland (at the time an
Axis power The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Germany, Kingdom of Italy ...
) to Afrikanda in north Russia and arrived safely after a -hour flight. The 210 Squadron Catalinas had to remain on operations until the last minute and their equipment and ground crews also had to travel by air but the distance was easily within Catalina range. On 2 September 1942, as PQ 18 departed from
Loch Ewe Loch Ewe () is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages,  the most notable of which, si ...
, the 32 Hampdens of the Search & Strike Force flew from their base at
RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northe ...
to Sumburgh. The safe range for a Hampden not carrying a torpedo or overload tanks was thought to be a maximum of . There was no time to fit long-range fuel tanks and each Hampden was to carry a member of the
ground staff In all forms of aviation, ground crew (also known as ground operations in civilian aviation) are personnel that service aircraft while on the ground, during routine turn-around; as opposed to aircrew, who operate all aspects of an aircraft whil ...
, the rest travelling to Murmansk on ''Tuscaloosa'', with the Mk XII torpedoes, munitions and other stores. If the Hampdens flew at and did not need rich mixture for manoeuvring, the range to dry tanks might be stretched to , when the safe route from Sumburgh to Vayenga was . On 3 September an attempt to send the squadrons to Russia despite an unfavourable weather report, in fear of even worse weather to come, was refused by McLaughlin and Lindeman and the squadrons waited for better weather. Late on 4 September, the Hampdens of the Leuchars Wing took off for Russia. Their route would keep the Hampdens a minimum of from German-occupied territory but was clearly too risky. A flight along the Norwegian coast would cover , parts easily in range of the . A direct route over the mountains of Norway would be only long but the fuel consumed in climbing high enough would leave little left to overcome head winds, engine trouble, navigation errors or a landing delay. The Hampden crews were to follow a route similar to that of the Spitfires, flying north to
Burrafirth Burrafirth links (Old Norse: ''Borgarfjorðr'', meaning "the fjord with a castle") is a strip of land with a few houses on the island of Unst, Shetland, Scotland. It separates the fjord Burra Firth from the Loch of Cliff. Burrafirth is said to ...
in Shetland and the fly on a course to reach Norway at 66°N, cross the mountains in the dark, overfly northern Sweden and Finland, before landing at the Soviet air base at Afrikanda, at the southern end of
Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of . Its only internal border is the Republic of Karelia to the south, and it is bor ...
. The flight to Afrikanda was expected to take five to eight hours, depending on the weather and German opposition. After refuelling, the Hampden crews were to fly the remaining to Vayenga, following the Kandalaksha–Murmansk railway northwards. Two Hampdens crashed in northern Sweden, near
Arjeplog Arjeplog (; Pite Sami: ) is a locality and the seat of Arjeplog Municipality in Norrbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,977 inhabitants in 2010. It is a popular winter test site for the Asian and European car industries and feat ...
; both crashes were thought to have been caused by atmospheric icing. Four RAAF, three
RCAF The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canad ...
and one
RAFVR The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...
crew were killed and buried at Kviberg Cemetery, Gothenburg. There were no survivors from Hampden ''P5304'' ("UB-H") of 455 Squadron, piloted by Sgt Edward Smart, when it crashed on 4/5 September by lake Arvestuottar, after passing over the larger lake Arvesjaure ( sv) to the north-west. Hampden ''AE436'' ("PL-J", 144 Squadron) piloted by
Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...
(P/O) David Evans, crashed in the
Sarek National Park Sarek National Park () is a national park in Jokkmokk Municipality, Lapland in northern Sweden. Established in 1909, the park is among the oldest national parks in Europe. It is adjacent to two other national parks, namely Stora Sjöfallet and ...
on Tsatsa, a
massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
located between the valleys of Njåtjosvagge ( sv) and Tjuoltavagge ( sv), about north of the intended route. Evans and his supernumerary, Corporal Bernard Sowerby, survived the crash and made a three-day trek to the nearest village. Under
international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
, combatant aircraft entering a
neutral country A neutral country is a sovereign state, state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, Collective Sec ...
during wartime have normally been subject to impounding and their crews to internment and these laws were being enforced. To avoid internment, Evans and Sowerby told the Swedish authorities that they had crashed in Norway and walked across the border; they were repatriated to Britain on 21 September. Four Hampdens were either shot down or forced to land in German-held territory. ''AT109'' ("UB-C") of 455 Squadron, piloted by Sqn Ldr James Catanach, landed on a beach in northern Norway after being damaged by flak from a German
submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a type of small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. They encompass designs that are now largely obsolete, but which played an important role in the wars of the first half of th ...
and the crew were taken prisoner. Hampden ''AT138'' "PL-C" of 144 Squadron, was attacked over Finland by a fighter of (JG 5); three crew and one passenger were killed. Sergeant J. C. R. (John) Bray (RAAF), the pilot, bailed out and became a prisoner of war. ''AT138'' crashed near Alakurtti. ''P1344'' "PL-K", piloted by P/O E. H. E. Perry, suffered from icing and was forced to take an alternate, lower altitude route. The Hampden flew over the base at
Petsamo Petsamo may refer to: * Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922 * Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland * Pechengsky District Pechengsky District (; ; ; ; ) is an administrative district (raion), one of the six in Mur ...
, where ''P1344'' was damaged by
FlaK Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...
; it was then attacked by two
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...
fighters of JG 5. During a crash-landing in an Axis-held part of the
Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...
, three crewmembers were killed and Perry was seriously injured; he and his passenger were taken prisoner. ''P1273'' "PL-Q", piloted by Sgt H. L. (Hank) Bertrand, was attacked by fighters from JG 5 near Petsamo; the crew and passenger bailed out and were captured. Plans for PQ 18 and QP 14 were recovered by the Germans from "UB-C" and with a decoded signal from the Soviet 95th Naval Flight Regiment, provided the Germans with the itinerary for both convoys. Poor visibility in the Afrikanda area made landings difficult and two Hampden pilots, Sqn Ldr Dennis Foster (144 Sqn) and Sqn Ldr Jack Davenport (455 Sqn), landed on a mud airstrip at
Monchegorsk Monchegorsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 52,242 (Russian Census (2002), 2002 Census); ...
, about to the north. Davenport did so after his Hampden was intercepted by VVS fighter pilots, who directed him to land. Two Hampdens ran out of fuel over Russia and were damaged in forced landings at or near Afrikanda. One pilot made a wheels-up landing in soft ground at Khibiniy, several miles north of Afrikanda and the other Hampden was written off after hitting tree stumps. A further Hampden was lost on the Afrikanda–Murmansk leg. ''AE356'', piloted by Sgt Walter Hood (144 Sqn), was caught up in a German air raid over the Kola Inlet and was attacked in error by VVS fighter pilots. Forced to ditch in a lake, the crew were
strafed Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...
in the water and the ventral gunner, Sgt Walter Tabor (RCAF) died, either from bullet wounds or drowning when the aircraft sank. The survivors got ashore and received small-arms fire from Soviet troops until they were recognised as Allies (from their shouts of ""); 23 Hampdens arrived at Soviet airfields intact or with only minor damage.


Convoy PQ 18

The German surface force at
Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...
had been alerted when PQ 18 was first sighted and on 10 September sailed north to Altafjord past the British submarines and . ''Tigris'' made an abortive torpedo attack on ''Admiral Scheer'' and erroneously reported it as ''Tirpitz''. Soon after midnight on the Admiralty supplied Enigma messages to the British escort commander that ''Admiral Hipper'' was due at Altafjord at and in the afternoon reported that ''Tirpitz'' was still at Narvik. On 13 September, Enigma showed that the ships at Altafjord had come to one hours' notice at which was relayed to the convoy escort commander at Enigma showed that ''Tirpitz'' was still in Narvik on 14 September and on 16 September, a Swedish source, A2, reported that only ''Admiral Hipper'', ''Admiral Scheer'' and ''Koln'' would operate against PQ 18. had already been called off on 13 September; Hitler, reluctant to risk the loss of any of his capital ships on an offensive operation, had refused to authorise a sortie. ''Scheer'' and its escorts remained far to the north of PQ 18 as the convoy rounded the North Cape. Operation EV, the escort operation for the forty Allied freighters in the convoy comprised an exceptionally large number of navy ships, including ''Avenger'', the first escort carrier to accompany an Arctic convoy. Detailed information on German intentions was provided by Allied code breakers, through
Ultra Ultra may refer to: Science and technology * Ultra (cryptography), the codename for cryptographic intelligence obtained from signal traffic in World War II * Adobe Ultra, a vector-keying application * Sun Ultra series, a brand of computer work ...
signals decrypts and eavesdropping on wireless communications. From 12 to 21 September, PQ 18 was attacked by bombers, torpedo-bombers, U-boats and mines, which sank thirteen ships at a cost of forty-four aircraft and four U-boats. The escort ships and the aircraft of ''Avenger'' were able to use signals intelligence from the Admiralty to provide early warning of some air attacks and to attempt evasive routeing of the convoy around concentrations of U-boats. The convoy handed over its distant escorts and ''Avenger'' to the homeward bound
Convoy QP 14 Convoy QP 14 (13–26 September 1942) was an Arctic convoy of the Arctic convoys of World War II, QP series which ran during the Second World War. The convoy was a return journey of Allies of World War II, Allied ships from the port of Archange ...
near Archangelsk on 16 September and continued with the close escort and local escorts, riding out a storm in the northern Dvina estuary and the last attacks by the , before reaching Archangelsk on 21 September.


Air operations from Russia

The Catalinas of 210 Squadron were to provide a close escort for PQ 18 at the beginning and end of its journey. The aircraft based at Shetland and Iceland carried depth charges instead of overload tanks and on 23 September, an aircraft from Shetland sank , off Cape Langanaes, Iceland. The Catalina detachment based in Russia carried overload tanks instead of depth charges and could only menace the U-boats and report their positions to Allied naval ships. The main task of the Catalinas was to maintain ten crossover patrols, AA to KK, from the Norwegian coast, from west of Narvik to east of the North Cape. It would be impossible for a sortie by the German ships in north Norway to pass through without being detected by Air to Surface Vessel (ASV) radar. As PQ 18 sailed around Norway, the patrol areas moved north-eastwards; AA to CC were flown by the Catalinas from Shetland, as were DD to EE but the aircraft flew on to Russia. EE was the furthest from both bases and five aircraft were necessary to keep continuously one aircraft in the patrol area; areas FF to KK were flown by the detachment in Russia. The flights from Shetland could take 16 hours before the first landfall and low stratus cloud often prevented
celestial navigation Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is the practice of position fixing using stars and other celestial bodies that enables a navigator to accurately determine their actual current physical position in space or on the surface ...
, the crew having to rely on
dead reckoning In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating the current position of a moving object by using a previously determined position, or fix, and incorporating estimates of speed, heading (or direction or course), and elapsed time. T ...
instead. The Catalinas detached to Russia, were based at Lake Lakhta near Archangelsk on the White Sea; using Grasnaya on the Kola Inlet as an advanced base. The communications between them were impossible; Hopps used Grasnaya instead, which was nearer to the patrol areas and equally closer to occupied Norway. Lake Lakhta became a rest area and the base for close escort of PQ 18, once it was on the final leg of the journey. The Catalinas bound for Russia left Shetland in sequence, completed the circuits of their patrol area and proceeded to Russia. From above, the Arctic tundra looked uninviting but having landed, the crews found the
Soviet Naval Aviation Soviet Naval Aviation (AV-MF, ) was the naval aviation arm of the Soviet Navy. Origins The first naval aviation units in Russia were formed in 1912–1914 as a part of the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet. During World War I, the hydro ...
() base at Lake Lakhta an idyllic setting, lying amidst woods and cliffs. Russian ground crews were found to be very efficient, impressing the British with their ability to improvise. The damaged Hampden from Khibiniy was put back into service and a Catalina damaged by a aircraft was hauled ashore within eight minutes of landing and swiftly repaired; once begun, work went on until aircraft were serviceable. The flight from Lake Lakhta to Grasnaya took about five hours and once over PQ 18, the Catalina would circle it, keeping a careful watch on aircraft nearby in case of mistaken identity. By 5 September, the serviceable Hampdens were at Vayenga, further back from the
front line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an Military, armed force's Military personnel, personnel and Military technology, equipment, usually referring to ...
than Polyarny. The airfield was bombed several times by the and a Spitfire to be written off on 9 September but there were no casualties. An Area Combined HQ was set up at Polyarny, where a Senior British Naval Officer, Rear-Admiral Douglas Fisher was already installed. The PR Spitfires at Vayenga had their RAF roundels painted out and replaced by red stars: oblique F 24 cameras were used on twelve sorties to Narvik and Altafjord, flying through foul weather to keep watch over the German ships. To replace the written off Spitfire, 1 PRU despatched another Spitfire, which arrived from Britain on 16 September, along with a
de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...
PR Mk I (''W4061''). On the night of 13/14 September, communications between PQ 18 and Lake Lakhta failed, a Catalina at Grasnaya was unable to take off until dawn and the PR sortie found Altafjord covered by cloud. If the Catalina sent a sighting report, it would come too late for the Hampdens to attack and as a precaution, Hopps ordered the 23 operational Hampdens up on 14 September, for a reconnaissance in force. Each aircraft carried an 18 inch Mark XII torpedo and the force flew to the maximum distance that ''Tirpitz'' could have reached then turned to follow the track back to Altafjord, as far as the Catalina patrol zone. After a flight of hours, the Hampdens returned at later to discover that ''Tirpitz'' had merely moved to a nearby fiord. The other German ships were photographed at Altafiord by the PR Spitfires on 14, 15 and 16 September. By late September, the S&SF was experiencing increased attention from the . The Hampdens remained dispersed around Vayenga airfield, receiving some damage during air raids. One of the PR pilots, F/O Gavin Walker, was killed on a sortie to Altafiord, when Spitfire ''BP889'' was shot down near
Lakselv ( Norwegian; ), or is the largest village and administrative centre of Porsanger Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The village lies at the southern end of the large Porsangerfjorden. The village has a population (2023) of 2,224 which g ...
, Norway between and midday on 27 September. records attributed the loss to Kurt Dobner a fighter pilot of 11./JG 5 based at Banak airfield in a
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...
. Some sources suggest that Walker was hit by ground fire near Alta airfield, on the outward leg to the fiord. Vayenga airfield was bombed the same day by two Ju 88s in a low-level raid. The pilot of a VVS
Yak The yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, hairy cattle, or domestic yak, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region, the Tibetan Plateau, Tajikistan, the Pamir Mountains ...
fighter, who had dived on the Ju 88s from approximately , was forced to bail out when the tail of his aircraft was shot off by Soviet anti-aircraft fire. The Yak crashed through the roof of a three-storey barracks assigned to S&SF
commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...
s and the building caught fire; the S&SF suffered no casualties and its members helped to put out the fire.


Aftermath


Analysis

Operation Orator was called a success by J. H. W. Lawson in his history of 455 Squadron (1951) and in 1975, Peter Smith wrote that intelligence from and documents recovered from the Hampden crash about Operation Orator may have deterred a surface attack on PQ 18 by ''Scheer'' and its escorts. In the 2005 edition of ''Arctic Airmen...'' Ernest Schofield and Roy Nesbit wrote that "it is reasonable to assume that the aircraft based in north Russia had worried the German commander". Chris Mann in a 2012 study of British wartime strategy towards Norway, called it an expensive victory and in 2017, Jan Forsgren in a book on RAF attacks on ''Tirpitz'' called the operation a success, because no Axis surface vessels approached PQ 18. PQ 18 was also judged a success by the Allies, having revived the Arctic convoy route to the USSR and because ''Tirpitz'', ''Admiral Scheer'', ''Admiral Hipper'' and ''Köln'' had been deterred by Operation Orator from attacking the convoy. In 2011, Michael Walling called the loss of nine Hampdens on the transit flight, the equivalent of the loss anticipated on an attack against a big warship, a disaster. The surviving Hampdens were to be flown back to Scotland but the crews had doubts about the prevailing west–east headwinds, which could push the aircraft beyond their maximum range. Wing Commander Grant Lindeman, the CO of 455 Squadron, called the flight "suicidal". On 1 October, Soviet authorities made a formal request for the Hampdens. The RAF agreed to donate the Hampdens and PR Spitfires to the VVS; S&SF personnel were to return to Britain by sea after helping to convert the Soviet air- and ground-crews to both types. RAAF and RAF personnel returned to Britain on 28 October in . All but one of the Catalinas was flown back to Britain, once QP 14 had passed through the danger zone.


Aircraft losses

Handley-Page Hampden TB 1 (4–5 September 1942) 144 Squadron RAF (squadron code prefix "PL") * ''AE310'' squadron code unknown, pilot unknown: fuel shortage over Afrikanda led to a forced landing, the crew was unhurt but the aircraft was damaged. (''AE310'' or ''P5323'' was repaired and returned to service.) * ''AE436'' "PL-J",
Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...
(P/O) D. I. Evans: icing affected the Hampden, an engine overheated and it crashed on the Tsatsa massif near
Kvikkjokk Kvikkjokk () (Lule Sámi: ''Huhttán'') is a small village situated in Jokkmokk Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is located 120 km northwest of Jokkmokk. Several hiking trails start in Kvikkjokk. Kungsleden passes through the villa ...
in Sweden, north of track. Evans and his supernumerary survived and walked for three days to Kvikkvok away. At risk of
internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
for violating Swedish neutrality, they claimed to have crashed in Norway and were later repatriated to the UK. * ''AE356'' "PL-?", Sergeant Walter Hood: shot down accidentally by fighters of the VVS into a lake near Murmansk, ventral gunner died of wounds and/or drowning. * ''AT138'' "PL-C", Sergeant John Bray: attacked by a fighter belonging to (JG 5) over Finland; three crew and one passenger were killed; Bray bailed out and became a prisoner of war. ''AT138'' crashed near Alakurtti. * ''P1273'' "PL-Q", Sergeant Harry Bertrand: attacked by fighters from JG 5 over Finland; the crew and their passenger bailed out and became Prisoners of war. PL-Q crashed in a swamp near
Petsamo Petsamo may refer to: * Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922 * Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland * Pechengsky District Pechengsky District (; ; ; ; ) is an administrative district (raion), one of the six in Mur ...
(later known as Pechenga). * ''P1344'' "PL-K", P/O E. H. E. Perry: damaged by flak, as it passed directly over Petsamo airfield and subsequently attacked by two
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...
s of JG 5. During a crash-landing in an Axis-held part of the
Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...
, three crewmembers were killed and Perry was seriously injured. He and his passenger were taken prisoner. 455 Squadron RAAF (squadron code prefix "UB") * ''AT109'' "UB-C",
Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...
James Catanach: strayed north of track, flak damage from
submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a type of small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. They encompass designs that are now largely obsolete, but which played an important role in the wars of the first half of th ...
UJ 1105 off the coast of Norway led to a forced landing on a beach at Molvika, near
Kiberg or is a village in Vardø Municipality in eastern Finnmark county, Norway. It is located on the eastern end of the Varanger Peninsula, along the Barents Sea. Kiberg is the second largest settlement in Vardø municipality. It is situated about ...
and the crew being taken prisoner. * ''P5304'' "UB-H", Sergeant E. J. "Sandy" Smart: shot down over Sweden near Arvestuottar lake, north of
Arjeplog Arjeplog (; Pite Sami: ) is a locality and the seat of Arjeplog Municipality in Norrbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,977 inhabitants in 2010. It is a popular winter test site for the Asian and European car industries and feat ...
, by a German fighter from Bodø; no survivors. * ''P5323'' "UB-L", P/O Rupert "Jeep" Patrick: ran out of fuel, made a wheels-up landing in an area of cut-down silver birch at
Kandalaksha Kandalaksha () is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandalaksha Gulf on the White Sea, north of the Arctic Circle. Population: 40,564 ( 2002 Census); Etymology According to the most common ...
, Russia without casualties; the aircraft was damaged. (Either ''P5323'' or ''AE310'' was repaired and returned to service.) Supermarine Spitfire PR Mk IV(D) (9–27 September 1942) 1 PRU RAF (squadron code prefix "LY") * Build number and squadron code unknown, damaged on the ground during a German air raid at Vayenga (9 September 1942) and written off. * ''BP889'', squadron code unknown,
Flying Officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...
(F/O) Gavin Walker: shot down on a sortie to Altafiord and crashed on the shores of
Lakselv ( Norwegian; ), or is the largest village and administrative centre of Porsanger Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The village lies at the southern end of the large Porsangerfjorden. The village has a population (2023) of 2,224 which g ...
, Norway, late on the morning of 27 September, killing Walker. Some sources suggest that ''BP889'' was hit by ground fire near Alta airfield on the outward leg. records suggest that Walker was shot down by Kurt Dobner (11./JG 5, Banak airfield), flying a
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...
fighter.


Notes


Footnotes


Bibliography


Books

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Websites

* * * * * *


Further reading

Books * * Websites * *


External links


Kroupnik, Vladimir, 2011, RAAF in Russia, 16 April 2018




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