| Yagodnik Airfield | |
|---|---|
Аэродром "Ягодник" | |
| Russia | |
  Yagodnik Airfield | |
| Coordinates | 64°24′10″N40°53′19″E / 64.402778°N 40.888611°E |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Demolished |
| Site history | |
| Events | Operation Paravane |
Yagodnik, Arkhangelsk Oblast, north west Russia, was the site of a World War II airfield. It is located near Arkhangelsk, on an island in 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, a bombing raid against the German battleship Tirpitz in Kåfjord in northern Norway.
Thirty-eight Avro Lancasters of 617 and 9 Squadrons, two Liberator transports and a weather reconnaissance Mosquito set off for Yagodnik on the night of 10 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 500-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 Lancasters were left in the marshes around Yagodnik. Of these, two were recovered and repaired. They were used in transport and reconnaissance roles by the Soviet forces.
Brickhill, Paul (1954), The Dam Busters, Pan Books
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The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same era.
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Tallboy or Bomb, Medium Capacity, 12,000 lb was an earthquake bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis and used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.
Bardufoss Air Station is a military air station located at Bardufoss in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in Northern Norway. It is the location of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) 139 Air Wing and two helicopter squadrons; the 337 Squadron operating Lynx MK 86 for the Norwegian Coast Guard and the 339 Squadron equipped with Bell 412SPs. It is also the base for the RNoAF Flight Training School. In addition, helicopter Squadron no. 334 is currently under establishment as it will be operating NH90 NFH helicopters. The delivery of the NH90 helicopters just started. 334 Squadron will only have its command post and maintenance facilities at Bardufoss, as the helicopters will be stationed on the new Fridtjof Nansen class frigates when they arrive.
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Operation Tungsten was a Second World War Royal Navy air raid that targeted the German battleship Tirpitz. The operation sought to damage or destroy Tirpitz at her base in Kaafjord in the far north of Norway before she could become fully operational again following a period of repairs.
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No. 463 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force heavy bomber squadron during World War II. The squadron was formed in the United Kingdom in late 1943 from personnel and aircraft allocated from No. 467 Squadron RAAF. The squadron was equipped with Avro Lancaster bombers and flew its first raids on Germany immediately after being formed. Operating as part of RAF Bomber Command No. 463 Squadron conducted raids against cities, industrial facilities and military targets in Germany, France and Norway throughout 1944 and until the end of the war in May 1945. Following the war, the squadron evacuated Allied prisoners of war from Europe until it was disbanded in late 1945.
Operation Paravane was a British air raid of World War II that inflicted heavy damage on the German battleship Tirpitz, at anchor in Kaafjord in the far north of German-occupied Norway. The attack was conducted on 15 September 1944 by 21 Royal Air Force heavy bombers, which flew from an airfield in the north of the Soviet Union. The battleship was struck by one bomb, and further damaged by several near misses. This damage rendered Tirpitz unfit for combat, and she could not be repaired as it was no longer possible for the Germans to sail her to a major port.
Operation Obviate was an unsuccessful British air raid of World War II which targeted the German battleship Tirpitz. It was conducted by Royal Air Force heavy bombers on 29 October 1944, and sought to destroy the damaged battleship after she moved to a new anchorage near Tromsø in northern Norway.
Operation Catechism was a British air raid of World War II that destroyed the German battleship Tirpitz. It was conducted on 12 November 1944 by 29 Royal Air Force heavy bombers that attacked the battleship at its anchorage near the Norwegian city of Tromsø. The ship capsized after being hit by at least two bombs and damaged by the explosions of others, killing between 940 and 1,204 members of the crew; the British suffered no casualties.
No. 106 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1919, throughout World War II and during the Cold War from 1959 until 1963.
Group Captain James Brian "Willie" Tait, was an officer in the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War. He conducted 101 bombing missions during the war, including the one that finally sank the German battleship Tirpitz in 1944. He succeeded Leonard Cheshire as commander of the famous 617 Squadron and with six gallantry decorations to his name, remains one of the most distinguished airmen in the history of the nations of the British Commonwealth.
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Tirpitz was the second of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine (navy) prior to and during the Second World War. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Kaiserliche Marine, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and her hull was launched two and a half years later. Work was completed in February 1941, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Like her sister ship, Bismarck, Tirpitz was armed with a main battery of eight 38-centimetre (15 in) guns in four twin turrets. After a series of wartime modifications she was 2000 tonnes heavier than Bismarck, making her the heaviest battleship ever built by a European navy.
Operation Mascot was an unsuccessful British carrier air raid conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord, Norway, on 17 July 1944. The attack was one of a series of strikes against the battleship launched from aircraft carriers between April and August 1944, and was initiated after Allied intelligence determined that the damage inflicted during the Operation Tungsten raid on 3 April had been repaired.
Operation Goodwood was a series of British carrier air raids conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord in occupied Norway during late August 1944. It was the last of several attacks made by the Home Fleet during 1944 which sought to damage or sink Tirpitz and thereby eliminate the threat it posed to Allied shipping. Previous raids on Kaafjord conducted by Fleet Air Arm aircraft had involved only one air attack; in Operation Goodwood several attacks were made in a single week. The Royal Navy hoped that these raids would wear down the formidable German defences.