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4th September 1942. Flew from Sumburgh (Shetland) to Vaanga (Murmansk). Of the 32 aircraft that flew out from Sumburgh only 22 reached Russia. 10 aircraft were lost en route as a result of enemy action or accident. Many more lost on the ground in Russia by bombing. The object of the exercise was to attack enemy shipping. We made a mass formation sweep of the Barants Sea at just a few hundred feet over seven hours duration. No ships, enemy or otherwise were sighted. The German Pocket battleship "Tirpitz" was said to be sheltering in a northern Norwegian Fjord but it did not show itself during our two month stay in Russia. Our own Hampden was destroyed by enemy bombing only a few weeks after arrival. Bombing raids on the aircraft were quite frequent. We were based within the Artic Circle and I (my father) recalls a lot of cold clear weather. Because of prevailing winds, flying back to UK was out of the question and such as our Hampdens survived the enemy bombing were handed over to the Rusisans. I should add that the Hampdens had been adapted for torpoedo carrying. We finally left Russia on an evening at the end of October 1942. Snow was falling as we were ferried out to the cruiser HMS Argonaut, a newly commissioned ship. We were escorted by 2 destroyers as far as Iceland and then completed our journey to UK unescorted. We took turns on watch whilst on the Argonaut - a very cold job! The sea journey was uneventful and apart from the occasional German aircraft shadowing us we saw no enemy action. The mission from a military view point was insignificant and achieved little, but for me and my colleagues it was a memorable experience.

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