RAF Fighter pilots support Red Army

12th September 1941: RAF Hurricanes fly their first operation from Vaenga airfield, ten miles from Murmansk

Hurricane Mk IIB fighters from No. 81 Squadron RAF fly over the Vaenga airfield in northern Russia. Approximately 2,700 RAF personnel sailed from Scapa Flow for Russia on August 17, 1941. More Hurricanes, shipped in crates, also arrived at this time, with many more to come.

Roosevelt and Churchill had promised Stalin that they would provide the Soviet Union with as much material support as they could to fight the Nazi invasion. Stalin had wanted Spitfires but, still fearing that an invasion of Britain was in prospect, the British felt that they could only spare Hurricanes. 151 Wing RAF was dispatched to Russia on one of the first of the Arctic convoys that would supply the Soviet Union with munitions until the end of the war. The RAF personnel were not told of their destination until they were en route. As a ruse to maintain secrecy about Operation Benefict, they were ordered to pack tropical kit, including mosquito nets, before boarding.

By the time they arrived in Russia, the weather was turning chilly, with snow flurries, but the first snow of the winter would not arrive until the end of the month. The first Hurricane aircraft flew off the Escort Carrier HMS Argus, but many more arrived in crates, soon to be flown by pilots of the Red Army Air Force. 151 Wing RAF provided direct fighter support for Soviet bomber operations and familiarised Red Army personnel, both ground crew and pilots, with the Hurricane.

Hawker Hurricane Mark IIB, Z3977 ‘FN-55’, of No. 81 Squadron RAF, stands at readiness in a waterlogged dispersal at Vaenga

Pilots of No. 134 Squadron RAF take refreshment in their dugout dispersal hut at Vaenga, between sorties

Pilots of No. 81 Squadron RAF outside their dispersal hut at Vaenga. The Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader A H Rook, is standing third from the left. Ray Holmes on extreme right.

The RAF fighters flew as escorts to Red Army bombers, including the Petlyakov Pe-2 dive bombers. It was soon discovered that the Hurricane's machine guns were inadequate, and they were eventually replaced with a combination of larger-calibre British and Soviet cannon.

The Luftwaffe pilots would soon be surprised to encounter very experienced pilots flying a relatively modern, well-armed fighter. It was not long before the Hurricane pilots were in action. In their first action in Russia, Flight Sergeant Ibby Waud¹ was scrambled to intercept five Me 109s escorting a Henschel 126 observation plane. He was flying alongside Sergeant Wag Haw:

A German Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance plane.

A great deal happened in seconds. The damned fools turned away from us instead of turning in towards us. They must have been straight out of Operational Training Unit or maybe they’d been sent to the Russian front for being continually pissed. I was flying next to Wag as he opened fire on a 109. It burst into flames immediately, an appalling great ball of flame. I found myself catching up with Wag’s 109 as it rolled over on to its back. It was an awesome sight, the 109 drifting along inverted with flames and debris pouring out of it. Black crosses, flames and smoke, one could almost smell them. The pilot must have been dead in the cockpit.