Air Fronts: Theaters of Operation - European Theater of Operation: Hubert Griffith - R.A.F. in Russia - 10. Russian Methods

R.A.F. IN RUSSIA; by HUBERT GRIFFITH; DEDICATED TO WING-COMMANDER H. N. G. ISHERWOOD, D.F.C., A.F.C., Order of Lenin, and MAJOR - GENERAL KUZNETSOV, Red Air Force ; to the Fighter-Boys of No. 151 Wing, R.A.F. and to their Soviet opposite numbers. LONDON 1942.

CHAPTER X - RUSSIAN METHODS
November-December

THE question of Russian methods now comes more prominently into the foreground, though it had of course been importantly in the picture of Wing history since the moment that the Wing first landed. We had been alternately, or even simultaneously, guests and hosts, teachers and learners - and in the closest sense of all, collaborators.

A very generalized sketch will have to suffice, and it does not pretend to be all-embracing. It consists of what a certain small group of British R.A.F. thought of a small group of their Russian opposite-numbers. If any hint of "patronage" comes into it, it is unintentional. We were out in Russia, in this particular instance, in the capacity of teachers - demonstrators of a particular type of British machine, the Hurricane, that, in an earlier version of the same aircraft, had shown its efficiency in the Battle of Britain. No. 151 Wing were not out there to learn - and were probably not even shown - the latest type of Soviet fighter-aircraft.

One predominant impression remains - of the eagerness of the Russian personnel, of their almost ultra-enthusiasm. An instance : - One of them, forsaken by all his guardian angels, had somehow or other acquainted himself with the fact that the Hurricane could remain in the air for "X" hours. Perfectly true - so it can, under ideal conditions, and only if it is flown for every second of that time at its " most economical cruising-speed." (Immediately, of course, the Hurricane gets into fighting it increases speed and also its petrol-consumption for exactly as long as it remains at that speed). The "operational" endurance of the Hurricane is therefore much less. However, the word had gone round the Russians that the Hurricane was, in action, an " X-hour " aircraft - and it took more than the Wing experts could say, and more than one write-off by Russian pilots, to convince them to the contrary.

Similarly with the particular wireless-equipment fitted to the machine. They would take the set away, after having been instructed in it by our admirable wireless-officer, F/Lt. Fisher, and their experts would then proceed to add certain features to it, to take certain features of it away, and in general to try to make it do something that it was never intended or designed to do. Hence the invariable plea a couple of days later, " Meester Feesher, why won't this wireless-set give results ? What is the matter with it ? " In the end, sheer practical experience - plus a very definite word or two on the subject from the General - put both these matters in order. It came to be recognized that what the English instructors laid down for their own aircraft and its gear was the result of years of operational experience, and was made the definite Table of the Law. Initial misunderstandings had been, of course, the fruits of keenness, general enthusiasm, and intrepidity in a high form - and were quite comprehensible. After all, if English pilots and technicians were presented with a new aircraft of high performance, it is unlikely that they would not try, at least for a first start-off;, to operate it " just one degree better than the other fellow. . . ."

The following are some notes on the training part of the expedition, made by Squadron-Leader Miller, (Now W/Cdr. Miller, D.F.C., Order of Lenin.) commanding No. 134 Squadron :

" No. 134 did nearly all the training of the Russian pilots, this coming about to some extent by chance - as did much else that happened. . . . One day, in the early days, I was in the ` Kommandnii Punkt ' (the ` operations-room ' overlooking the aerodrome), when a Russian officer walked in and was introduced - Kapitan Raputsokov. He was a thick-set, solid and stolid sort of fellow with a quiet sense of humour. He was an instructor, and had a job as a sort of C.F.S. (Central Flying School) Inspector, flying round to various units and flying all types of aircraft. He mentioned that he had flown Hurricanes, and by the universally-understood gesture of ` thumbs-up ' indicated that he thought them ` horosho ' - ` the goods.'

" That evening the British pilots were entertained to dinner by the Russians, the first of the convivial parties staged between us - and believe me, it was very convivial. Next to me at table sat Raputsokov, cheerful and still solid, a rock upon whom waves of alcohol were breaking without shaking his calm. Later in the evening he - perfect instructor that he was - guided my wavering footsteps through concert-halls and dining-rooms, quietly looking after me with genial politeness.

" There seemed only one thing to do ; I made him an honorary member of the Squadron. I hoped that he would fly with us, and I felt sure he would be a good pilot.

I asked the General if he could be semiofficially attached to us, and the General agreed right away, adding that Raputsokov was to be the first instructor on Hurricanes anyway.

" Unfortunately, Raputsokov never flew with us in action. He was killed only a few days later, trying to bring back a Russian bomber which had been hit by ack-ack on a raid over the enemy lines. The bomber crashed near Vianga, he and all the crew being killed.

" In Raputsokov's place another Russian officer was detailed to us - Kapitan Safonov, (Now Lt.-Col. Safonov.) the ace fighter-pilot of the 72nd Regiment of the Red Naval Air Fleet, the " Group " to which we happened to be attached. Safonov was credited with something between twelve and twenty confirmed victories ; he had been awarded the Soviet Order of the ` Red Banner ' the night of the party, and received the highest decoration of all, ` Hero of the Soviet Union,' later on. He was obviously a more than capable pilot, a brilliant shot - as we learnt later to our own cost in impromptu revolver competitions, and was given command of the Wing of three squadrons which the Russians ultimately formed from our Hurricanes when we had handed them over.

" He was accompanied in his work by Kapitan Kuharienko, a short, lively, wiry little man with a permanent grin, who afterwards commanded one of the squadrons of the wing. The two men were as different as chalk and cheese ; Safonov was the traditional Russian, large, solid, serious, methodical and slow to learn, while Kuharienko was small, lively, always amused, and delightfully slap-dash. When Safonov took-off a Hurricane for the first time, he got everything carefully ` set ', made a good straight take-off and climbed to 1,500 feet before he turned ; his landings were the same, and he did two or three careful circuits-and-landings with his undercarriage down before he tried anything else.

Kuharienko, on the other hand, jumped in, took-off (with the rudder-bias in the wrong position) in a series of sickening swerves, and then proceeded to beat up his own aerodrome and demonstrate what a Hurricane was like doing flick-rolls. . . . He landed, laughing like anything, and pointing first to the rudder-bias, then tapping his forehead, shouted ` Plocha plocha ' (` Bad-bad ! ') evidently thinking the whole thing a tremendous joke. . . .

" Another of the Russian instructors was Yacobenko, who afterwards commanded another of the Hurricane squadrons. He was an ex-cavalry officer, who remarked that he had got bored with riding one ` horse ' when he found that he could drive so many hundred of them all at once when in the cockpit of a fighter-aircraft. . . . I remember one morning when the weather was dud, two or three of us went down to visit his squadron which had taken over our old dispersal-huts. He told us all about himself and gave us a most amusing commentary on sport in Russia - all with about fifty words of Russian and English between us, but many expressive gestures and grimaces, and pictures drawn in the snow. . . .

" His favourite gesture, after muttering ` Fascist crafts ! ' (Fascist aircraft) with extraordinary venom, was to metaphorically spit on the ground, grind in the supposed expectoration with his heel, draw his finger across his throat in ferocious pantomime, and then dance and stamp on whatever floor was available until the rafters rang and the whole building shook. . . . The pantomime was adopted by 134 Squadron as a squadron war-dance. We felt that it would go with a swing in an English pub or an English mess, as long as the carpet would stand up to it. . . . Unfortunately, Yakobenko disappeared before we left. Soon after the Russians had begun night-flying the Hurricanes, he and Kuharienko went off one night to beat up Petsamo, but only Kuharienko returned, reporting that his companion had probably been hit by ack-ack. We heard many rumours that he had got down on our side of the line, but he did not materialize, and eventually had to be given up as lost.

" The General ' - Major-General Kuznetsov - was Russian Air-Officer-Commanding, was actually the first Russian to fly one of our Hurricanes. He was given an aircraft to himself, with his own number and the Red Star painted on it. He was an ex-instructor, a most experienced pilot, with some thousands of hours flying. The next to take off was Safonov. After his first trip he had the misfortune to run through a puddle on the aerodrome when landing. This was bad luck rather than bad management, the aerodrome being waterlogged after heavy rain, but he damaged his flaps, and the General was not too pleased. It was on the whole not a bad thing really, because it made Safonov more inclined to listen to our advice on the matter of landing Hurricanes, having been a little inclined, previously, to know better himself. . . . We found, at first, that the Russian pilots in general were a little inclined to consider our advice unnecessary - after all, most of them were experienced professionals, had far more aggregate flying hours than us, and were in general considerably older. . . .

" However, one other rather amusing incident helped to put this right. One day we were proudly shown over Safonov's own Russian aircraft by Safonov himself and a group of other Russian pilots. It was one of the standard types of Soviet fighters called the ` 1.16 '-very strong, particularly as to its undercarriage and flaps, in order to stand up to the rough Soviet aerodromes. In many ways it made the Hurricane, which we consider a pretty tough and hefty aeroplane, look quite a dainty and delicate creature. Its stubby fuselage and short wings, however, made us feel that, though very manoeuverable, it might also have some vicious tricks. The pilots who were showing us over the aircraft were, moreover, keen to impress on us that this was a difficult aircraft to fly, and that ` only the very best pilots could fly the I.16.'

" We retorted that the Hurricanes on the other hand were practically viceless and that any fool could fly them. Later on, when the Russian pupils occasionally and inevitably made heavy landings in Hurricanes, damaging wing-tips and undercarriages, we would chant in chorus, ` Only the best pilots can fly the I.16. . . .' It may have been rather adding insult to injury - but it was taken and given on both sides in the friendliest spirit, and it put them in the right frame of mind to listen to our advice.

" Most of the instructing was done by Flight-Lieutenant Ross, D.F.C., and he and Kuharienko formed a great friendship. ` They are great friends,' Safonov declared, ` because they are both practically dwarfs, and have the same problems in being able to see out of a cockpit.' " (Our own ` Kapitan ' Ross, of the mantel-piece incident at Peake Moor, and one of the gayest and most unfailingly amusing of all our pilots who ever trod Soviet soil, was killed on active service shortly after his return to the United Kingdom.)

" All Soviet pilots had the Hurricane explained to them both by Ross and by Safonov or Kuharienco, and, as and when they seemed fit, they were sent off solo. A certain difficulty was experienced in getting them to put their undercarriages up for the routine of circuits-and-landings, and also in persuading them to close their hoods, as they were used to open cockpits. However, this was mentioned to the General one night quite casually, and he forthwith issued an order that pilots who did not retract their undercarriages and close their hood would be grounded indefinitely ! Thereafter the Russians used to take off, taxi, land and fly, with their hoods firmly closed, and were so keen to get their under-carriages up the instant they left the ground that we sometimes feared that there would be a premature flop... .

" They were very keen to learn to fly the Hurricanes, and would turn up and demand training in the most appalling weather. I remember one pilot doing his first solo in a snowstorm that would have shaken any of us. It took him three shots to get down, and each time he went round again and disappeared clean out of sight. I never expected to see him again ; however he ` made it.' . . .

" When they first started to turn up for training they were inclined to be a little distrustful of us, our aeroplanes and our efforts, but they gradually and rapidly thawed out. . . . They took keenly to darts, there being boards in each of our dispersal-huts ; and one man, Lieutenant Roden, became quite a good performer, quickly getting the idea of starting on a double and finishing on a double. He used to put tremendous energy into his darts, using them more like harpoons, so that they were practically buried in the darts-board. . . .

" On the whole, as pilots, we found the Russians good, experienced, and not needing much instruction to get the Hurricanes weighed up. As they got to know our pilots, they showed more and more interest in our formation and tactics, and asked innumerable questions. They were particularly interested in our close formations and our ` weavers ' " (individual aircraft who give top-protection and low-protection to the main body of the Flight). " They had apparently not thought of weavers, and when they got going we used to see them weaving away themselves. . . .

" Their method of doing ` dailies ' (daily inspections) on their guns caused us some apprehension. This was simply to get into the cockpit and press the button while the aircraft was standing in its dispersal-bay, thus putting a short burst (of several hundred rounds) over the local hillside. We persuaded them this was a bad thing, as it both blew off the gun-patches and necessitated constant cleaning of the gun-barrels. They ceased the practice ; and as a result one Russian pilot got into a fight and found to his horror that his guns would not work - his aircraft had been used for training, and he had taken off with his guns unloaded. After that, in the name of safety, he went back to his method of firing short bursts into the hillside. . . .

" All in all, the Russians had one great asset, they had guts. They thought nothing of the Hun, and were quite prepared to take on the Me. 109's in their 220-m.p.h. biplanes. They would fly in the most awful weather ; their bombers were doing three and four sorties a day from Vianga aerodrome ; and eventually they were doing bombing raids with old flying boats fitted with skis. We used to call them the ` Russki Walrus,' and they had about the same performance and armament... .

" I once asked a Russian officer, at a time when the Hun was getting very near Moscow, what would happen if the Huns captured Moscow. He shrugged his shoulders and said, ` What would it matter ? There is a lot more of Russia behind Moscow ! . .

" No mention of our expedition would be complete without a word about our Russian A.O.C., the Major-General Kuznetsov aforementioned. He was undoubtedly one of the most charming personalities I have ever met - very quiet and reserved, but with an ever present sense of humour, and a way of saying little but to the point. He always did everything that he could for us, and if he wanted us to do anything he put it to us in such a way that we felt we had suggested it. No unit could have served under a more charming and tactful military commander, and it would be a real pleasure to have the opportunity of welcoming him and entertaining him in England."

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The above are the notes of an experienced British Squadron-Leader who had played his part in the Battle of Britain, and who commanded one of the squadrons of the wing throughout its time on Soviet soil. His opinion of the Russian General is echoed both by Squadron-Leader Rook, (Now W/Cdr. Rook, D.F.C.. Order of Lenin).and by the Wing-Commander. A few further opinions by miscellaneous persons are now appended.

Russian Anti-aircraft fire. - Within a very few days of the Wing arriving, it saw Russian anti-aircraft fire in action, the occasion being the first of the many German raids on the aerodrome. The Russians put up an instantaneous barrage that was admitted by all English beholders to be astonishing for its speed, accuracy, and intensity. Incidentally there was never an anti-aircraft gun visibly to be discerned about the camp. The defences, except when in action, seemed to be quietly non-existent.

Russian Camouflage. - Arising out of the last paragraph it may be said that the Russians had nothing more to learn - though possibly something to teach - in the matter of aerodrome camouflage. The " Kommandnii Punkt " (the Operations-Room at the aerodrome where the Wing-Commander spends his days) is dug out of a hillside facing a corner of the aerodrome. It is electrically lighted, and contains charts and maps and a telephone-exchange, and is in communication with all parts of the aerodrome - but is invisible both from the air and from the earth ; one can walk straight up to within a few yards of it - and then have to be guided inside it by the sentry on duty. The Wing-Commander was taken to see certain repair-workshops of the Russians the other day. He says that he was taken to a hillside overlooking a valley, and thence looked down on certain kitchen-gardens and birch-plantations. Below the said kitchen-gardens and birch-plantations had been excavated vast repair-shops, totally invisible from anywhere. It is obvious that the Russians have singularly little to learn as regards camouflage.

Technicians' Examination.- There was recently held an examination for the Russian technicians who had been studying under our own Engineer-Officer. Our Engineer-Officer, with all his qualities, is one of the most bigoted Britons that I have ever met. He set the examination himself, and took care that there should be no easy marking on it. The Russian technicians put up a show that shook him. On the subject of the Hurricane, that they had only known a few weeks, and that through the medium of an interpreter, one of the candidates got 98 per cent., and the average of those who passed was about 8o per cent. Our Engineer-Officer (S/Ldr. Gittins, M.B.E.) stated that similar results in England would be hard to come by.

Discipline and Cleanliness (Naval). - A British Naval Commander, operating in close touch with Russian sub-marines : - " The thing that struck me most was their discipline and cleanliness. Discipline is rigid, and they're especially hot on saluting. As for cleanliness - if I could get my own submarine up to that pitch of cleanliness for her annual inspection, I'd be very pleased with myself."

Observer-Corps Work. - Has been very favourably commented on for its accuracy and rapidity. We have been given running commentaries on actions happening miles out of our sight, which reports have been later confirmed in detail by our pilots.

Aerodrome Construction. - British Air-Mission officers from Moscow gave some very surprising details of Russian aerodrome-construction - marshes having been drained, surfaces prepared, and roads and runways built, in a time that would be inconceivable by its shortness in England.

Comment from our C.O., when discussing the Russians generally.—" They learn as fast as hell - and they're flat out to do anything they can for us."

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This dictum, coming from the one officer who by his position of Command has had entire responsibility, not only for the safety of every man in his Wing, but for the carrying out on our side of the entire process of collaboration, must be accepted as the last word on the subject.