Yagodnik

Yagodnik, Arkhangelsk Oblast, north west Russia, was the site of a World War II airfield. It's located near Arkhangelsk, on the Northern Dvina river, 9 kilometres from the sea at Dvina Bay.

The airfield was used by the Royal Air Force as a temporary base in September 1944 to launch Operation "Paravane" against the German battleship Tirpitz, moored in Kåfjord in northern Norway.

Thirty-eight Avro Lancasters of 617 and 9 Squadrons , two Liberator transports and a single reconnaissance Mosquito flew off for Yagodnik on the night of 12/13 September 1944. Once there, poor visibility prevented many aircraft from finding Yagodnik airfield. Now short of fuel, some aircraft emergency landed at a small airfield on Kergostrov Island where several of the bombers crash-landed: other aircraft were scattered across the region.

On 15 September, after repairs, 27 Avro Lancasters flew with Barnes Wallis' 5-tonne Tallboy bombs and experimental 5,000-pound "Johnny Walker" underwater "walking" mines. The raid caused sufficient damage to result in the "Tirpitz" being moved south to Tromsø for repairs and into range for subsequent British based raids.

Six damaged Lancasters had been left in Russia. Of these, two were recovered and repaired. They were used in transport and reconnaissance roles by the Soviet forces.

External links

* [http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/tirpitz.html RAF account of "Tirpitz" raid]
* [http://www.467463raafsquadrons.com/TrueTales/sink_the_tirpitz.htm Attacking the Tirpitz as seen by Fl Lt Bruce Buckham, 463 Squadron RAAF]
* [http://vvs.hobbyvista.com/ModelArticles/Duffy/Lancaster/index.php Lancasters with Red Stars]