RAF 151 Wing based at Murmansk

No 151 Wing Royal Air Force was a British unit which fought alongside the Soviets on the Kola Peninsula during the first months of Operation Barbarossa during World War II.

The delay in starting the Finnish-German offensive from northern Finland gave the British an opportunity to intervene. Within days of the start of the offensive against the Soviet Union, the British and the Soviets entered into a formal military alliance. The British were anxious to offer immediate support to their new ally and British submarines, minelayers, and aircraft carriers soon appeared off the northern Finnish coast. On July 31, 1941, carrier-borne aircraft from HMS "Furious" attacked the harbour of the Finnish town of Petsamo. The British lost three aircraft and inflicted only minor damage on a small freighter and harbour facilities. In a further attempt to hinder naval traffic in the area, the Royal Navy mined the approaches to Petsamo.

The British undertook to provide air support in the Murmansk area and No. 151 Wing RAF was formed for this purpose composed of the reinforced No. 81 and No. 134 Squadrons. The first elements of 151 Wing, consisting of 24 Hawker Hurricane IIB aircraft, arrived at Murmansk-Vianga airfield, four miles northeast of Murmansk, on August 28, 1941, after flying from the carrier HMS "Argus". These were quickly reinforced by aircraft, equipment, and personnel transported by merchant ships. The 550 members of the unit were ferried from Archangel by airplane, ship, and train.

The Wing was charged with training the Soviets and providing operational support to them. The Hawker Hurricane was not the most modern aircraft by late 1941, having been designed in the 1930s with priority given to ease of maintenance and operation under arduous field conditions, but it proved well suited to conditions around Murmansk. And the British groundcrew and aircrew were highly experienced, mostly veterans of the Battle of France and Battle of Britain. They brought a modern radio and radar air-control system with them.

During the following months, the Royal Air Force provided air cover to Soviet troops trying to hold enemy forces away from Murmansk and the Murmansk railway. They also provided fighter escorts to Soviet bomber aircraft operating along the front and deep inside Finland. The RAF pilots carried out their final operational flights in November, 1941; by that time, the immediate crisis on the front had passed and the British handed their aircraft and equipment over to the Soviet Air Force and returned to Britain.

The 1941 expedition to Murmansk achieved three objectives from the point of view of the British government: it provided vital aid to the Soviets at a critical moment; it introduced the Soviets to the use of modern technology, control systems, and fighter tactics; and it showed the Finns that offensive action against the Soviets would result in direct military confrontation with the Western Allies. [RAF campaigns [http://ww2airfronts.org/Theaters/eto/rinr/rinr-0.html Murmansk, 1941] ] The delay in starting the Finnish-German offensive from Northern Finland gave the British an opportunity to intervene. Within days of the war starting, the British and the Soviets entered into a formal military alliance. Finland's Army command was disturbed by the possibilities of intelligence activities by the numerically large British military and Consular representation in Finland. Finland suggested restrictions on the British Helsinki legation in late July. [Wuorinen 1948 pp.130-133] The British were anxious to offer immediate support to their new ally and British submarines, mine layers and aircraft carriers quickly put in an appearance off the north coast of Finland. On 31 July 1941, carrier born aircraft from HMS Furious attacked the harbour at the Finnish town of Petsamo. The British lost 3 aircraft and inflicted only minor damage on a small freighter and harbour facilities. In a further attempt to hinder naval traffic in the area, the Royal Navy mined the approaches to Petsamo.

The British undertook to provide air support in the Murmansk area and to train Soviet pilots for the Hurricane fighters which were to be sent to the Soviet Union. RAF 151 Wing was formed for this purpose, composed of the reinforced 81 and 134 squadrons. The Wing was commanded by Wing Commander H.N.G. Ramsbottom-Isherwood of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The first elements of 151 Wing, consisting of 24 Hawker Hurricane IIB aircraft, arrived at Murmansk-Vaenga airfield (about 10km North-East from Murmansk [Location of Vaenga: [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/RS/49/Severomorsk.html] ] ) on 7 September 1941 after flying from the carrier HMS "Argus". These were reinforced by aircraft, equipment and personnel transported by merchant ship to Archangel and assembled there.

The remit of 151 Wing was to provide both training and operational support to the Soviets. The Hawker Hurricane was not the most modern aircraft by late 1941, having been designed in the 1930s with priority given to ease of maintenance and operation in arduous field conditions, but it proved well suited to conditions around Murmansk. Furthermore, the British, Australian and New Zealand ground crew and aircrew were mostly veterans of the Battle of France and Battle of Britain. They were highly experienced. They brought with them a modern radio and radar air control system.

During the following month, the Royal Air Force provided air cover to Soviet troops trying to hold off enemy forces from Murmansk and the Murmansk railway. In particular they provided fighter escorts to Soviet bomber aircraft operating along the front. The RAF pilots carried out their final operational flight on 8 October 1941. At that point, they started handing their aircraft and equipment over to the Soviet Air Force, which was completed by 22 October and returned to Britain by 7 December.

The main objectives of the 1941 expedition to Murmansk were to show the quality of the Hurricane aircraft if properly handled and to train Soviet pilots and their ground crews how to handle the British military equipment that would be supplied to the Soviet Union. The operation was judged to have fulfilled these objectives successfully. [RAF campaigns : [http://ww2airfronts.org/Theaters/eto/rinr/rinr-0.html Murmansk, 1941] , Chapter I, paragraphs 6-8]

On 5 July 1942, 153 Wing was raised in England with the intention of resuming RAF operations on the front. This was a force of four squadrons of Spitfires and two squadrons of ground-attack Hurricanes. This would have involved around 2,000 British and Empire personnel. However, most likely due to increased convoy casualties, the operation was called off and 153 Wing was stood down. [Lend-Lease airforce writings : [http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/sheppard/hurricanes/index.htm Mark Sheppard] , Last paragraph]

British Empire forces remained active in the Murmansk area from 1942 until 1944, but this activity was mainly maritime patrol and escort duty in support of the Arctic convoys. At various stages, RAF, RAAF and RCAF units operated Catalina, Hampden, Hudson and PhotoSpitfire aircraft out of Vaenga and Lakhta. [RAAF in Russia: [http://www.argo.net.au/andre/raaf1942ENFIN.htm Vladimir Kropunik] , paragraphs 6 and 10]

On 2 September 1942, 455 RAAF squadron and 144 RAF squadron flew about 32 Hampden bombers from Britain to Murmansk and 9 of these were lost, [RAAF in Russia, paragraph 9] mainly due to harsh Arctic weather, compass failures and enemy anti-aircraft fire. [RAAF in Russia, paragraph 7] The Hampdens operated from Vaenga air base and were used for convoy protection and were eventually given to the Soviet air force. [RAAF in Russia. In spring 1942 the Hampdens were refurbished into torpedo-carriers and soon the Australians were informed about the oncoming trip to Russia for participation in the "Orator" operation targeted to cover the convoy PQ-18. The Admiralty did not want to repeat the tragedy of the convoy PQ-17, destroyed by the U-boats and Luftwaffe. But, first of all, the British wanted to protect the convoy from the German surface fleet and, especially, from the battleship "Tirpitz" – the "King of the Ocean" which was terrifying the Allies during the whole war. : [http://www.argo.net.au/andre/raaf1942ENFIN.htm Vladimir Kropunik] ] [RAF aircraft crashed in Swedish Lapland : [http://kalevikonsult.com/tsatsa_eng.htm wreck and remains of crew recovered, 1976] ]

Later operations

No. 151 Wing was active later in the war and afterward. From March 10, 1944, to June 1, 1946, it operated as a transport wing. From October 1, 1959, to September 9, 1964, it was an air defence missile wing, probably operating Bristol Bloodhound surface-to-air missiles.

References

External links

* [http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/sheppard/hurricane_Z5252/index.htm Hawker Hurricane IIB 'Trop' Z5252]
* [http://www.rafweb.org/wings3.htm Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation]