RECOVERYRECOVERY IL-2 SHTURMOVIKIL-2 SHTURMOVIK
Planning began on August 20
when the Chief of Air Staff decided
that Luostari (now part of the
Murmansk district), should be
attacked. Luostari’s location allowed
enemy aircraft to attack the front
line and Soviet shipping in the Gulf
of Motov. It also protected German
shipping on its way to Varanger
fjord. A flight by the 818th RAP
(Reconnaissance Air Regiment)
was undertaken at lunchtime and
confirmed there were 20 Focke-
Wulf Fw 190s, 19 Messerschmitt
Bf 109s, one Heinkel He 111 and
one Fieseler Fi 156 present. Note
that Luostari was the Finnish name,
but it was referred to as Petsamo
by the Germans and is now called
Pechenga by the Russians – this area
of Finland was annexed at the end of
World War Two.
The original aim was to strike the
airfield in three waves consisting of
52 aircraft including an attacking
force of 20 Il-2s and Petlyakov
Pe-2s. Including other, secondary
airfield strikes the plan was to
have 79 aircraft in the air, which
would require maximum effort by
each squadron’s groundcrew. The
46th ShAP was based at Veanga-2,
around 65 miles in a straight line
from Luostari.
At 1430hrs (Moscow time) on
August 20, the squadron and
flight leaders of the 46th were
ordered to attend a briefing at the
headquarters of the Air Force of
the Northern Fleet (SF VVS). The
commander Mikhailov ordered
the squadron leaders to have 15
Il-2s available for the attack – four
from 1./46th, six from 2./46th
and five from 3./46th, but the
mission was postponed several
times due to dense and drifting
fog, and a low cloud base. Finally,
the skies cleared, and the sortie was
confirmed for August 22.The first group would depart at
0418 and was scheduled to attack at- Six Shturmoviks of 1./46th
were escorted by six Hawker
Hurricanes and six Yakovlev Yak-1Bs
flying at an altitude of 150m-200m
on a course taking them from
Veanga-2 via Lake Koshkayavr to
Luostari. Group two would depart
at 0420 and attack at 0447. Eight
Il-2s of 3./46th were accompanied
by eight Hurricanes and six Yak-1Bs
at between 100m and 1,200m on a
course taking them from Veanga-2
via Ura-Guba, Guba Eyna and Guba
Tito to Luostari. A further unit of
six Bell P-39 Airacobras and six
Yak-1Bs were allocated to provide
additional top cover protection to
both groups.
Unfortunately, the first gaggle of
Il-2s flew too far to the southwest of
the target and were attacked by seven
Fw 190s and Bf 109s about 7 miles
from the airfield. The escorting Yaks
and Hurricanes tried to protect the
Shturmoviks, either singularly or in
pairs, and began to inflict damage on
the attacking force. The bomb load
had to be jettisoned and the group
headed for home.
The fighters flying as top cover
were too far from the action and
failed to observe it. The group lost
two Hurricanes with one pilot
killed, although it claimed six ‘kills’
in return, one of which fell to an
Il-2 gunner.
While this unit was engaged by the
enemy, the second formation reached
the target. At a height of 1,000m
it arrived from the northeast. The
Il-2s fired 20 RS-82 (82mm) and 17
ROFS-132 (132mm) rockets at the
dispersed aircraft at the southeastern
and western edges of the airfield.
At the exit of their dive at 400m,
32 FAB-100 (100kg) bombs were
dropped. The Hurricane escort,
equipped with FAB-50 (50kg) and
AO-25 (25kg) bombs, also expended
their ordnance.
The Russians left ten German
aircraft burning on the ground,
created six to eight large fires and
also caused damage to anti-aircraft
batteries. Six Luftwaffe fighters
appeared from the northwest as they
were strafing the airfield. The escorts
managed to keep the Fw 190s and
Bf 109s at bay, but two Il-2s suffered
flak damage.
One Hurricane pilot was forced to
land, and a Yak was lost. The group
claimed five German fighters, one
from an Il-2 gunner, and another
four from the fighter escort.
The two Shturmoviks damaged by
flak were those of the 46th ShAP’s
Group Leader Mikhailov and
3./46th’s Squadron Leader Kalichev.
They managed to fly their mounts
to friendly lines where Mikhailov
landed in a swamp – he and his
gunner survived. Kalichev landed
in the middle of the lake, and after
30 minutes was rescued by boat
and survived. The Soviet Air Force
claimed 27 aircraft destroyed on this
day, 17 in aerial combat. Records
show that actual losses, though,
confirmed for August 22. equipped with FAB-50 (50kg) and seemed to be just two Bf 109s!seemed to be just two Bf 109s!Right
Members of the
recovery team in the
process of dismantling
the Shturmovik for
transportation to
Novosibirsk, for
restoration to fl ying
condition.Below
Shturmovik 1870930 as
it looked at the time of
the belly landing. JUANITA
FRANZI26 FLYPAST December 2018