Operation Benedict
| Operation Benedict | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Arctic campaign of the Second World War | |
Hurricanes of 134 Squadron RAF at Vaenga (now Severomorsk-1), 1941 | |
| Type | Reinforcement and joint RAF–VVS operations |
| Location | 67°00′00″N 36°00′00″E / 67.00000°N 36.00000°E |
| Planned by | Charles Portal |
| Objective | Protect Murmansk from Axis air attack convert Soviet personnel to British aircraft and equipment |
| Date | 29 July – 6 December 1941 |
| Executed by | No. 151 Wing RAF 78th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Soviet Naval Aviation (78 IAP VVS VMF) |
| Outcome | Allied victory |
| Casualties | 3 killed |
Vaenga on the Kola Peninsula, part of the Murmansk Oblast, USSR | |
Operation Benedict (29 July – 6 December 1941) was the establishment of Force Benedict with units of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS, Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily) in north Russia, during the Second World War. The force comprised 151 Wing, Royal Air Force (RAF), with two squadrons of Hawker Hurricane fighters. The wing flew against the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and the Suomen Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) from Vaenga airfield in the northern USSR and trained Soviet pilots and ground crews to operate the Hurricanes, after which the British pilots and ground crews returned to Britain.
Twenty-four Hurricane Mk IIB fighters were delivered by Operation Strength, flying direct to Vaenga from the aircraft carrier HMS Argus. Fifteen Hurricanes were delivered in crates by Operation Dervish, the first Arctic convoy. The convoy was unable to dock at Murmansk and was diverted to Arkhangelsk, 400 mi (640 km) further on. The fifteen crated Hurricanes were assembled at Keg Ostrov airstrip in nine days, despite primitive conditions and flown to Vaenga on 12 September.
In five weeks of operations, 151 Wing claimed 16 victories, four probables and seven aircraft damaged. The winter snows began on 22 September and converting pilots and ground crews of Soviet Naval Aviation (Aviatsiya voyenno-morskogo flota) of the VVS to Hurricanes began in mid-October. The RAF party departed for Britain in late November, less various signals staff, arrived on 7 December and 151 Wing disbanded. The British and Russian governments gave Benedict much publicity and four members of 151 Wing received the Order of Lenin.