Secret US air base in the USSR

• Secret US air base in the USSR

Only in 1943 the Allies dropped on Germany seized the territory more than 200 thousand tons of bombs. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US President Roosevelt knew well that a well-planned air raids may completely destroy the German war machine. Unfortunately, the Allied bridgehead was not enough for large-scale operations. Thus was born the "Operation Frentik" in which secret US airport appeared directly on the territory of the Soviet Union.

Secret contract

With England's airfields and southern Italy Allied planes could not reach very many of the key centers of the enemy. Roosevelt held a series of talks with Stalin and made an unprecedented deployment of the military airport in the territory of the USSR - it was necessary for the organization of "shuttle bombing."

Construction of

From Britain to the shores of the Soviet Union sent several secret convoys. The ships transported 50,000 metal plates. Of them later formed a special airstrip near Poltava, so that she was able to take aircraft heavy aviation. Base served American soldiers trapped in the territory of the USSR via Iran.

The first mission of

At the beginning of June 1944 was the first military mission under the auspices of "Operation Frentik". 200 Flying Fortresses, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, up to the Italian airport, had a very productive bombing of the Hungarian city of Debrecen and has landed at Poltava on a secret band. Three days later, the same detachment with fighter escort guard struck the Romanian part of the Third Reich.

The wolf shows his teeth

Both the first and second operations were deemed very successful. That's only allies are not considered professionalism and training of the Luftwaffe pilots. After the second mission of the squadron "fortresses" at some distance he followed the German pilot and was able to remove the data on the existence of a secret base in Poltava.

The attack from the air

June 22 flight of 75 German bombers Heinkel appeared in Poltava sky. Both the Americans and the Russian were so confident that the database not be able to detect that it is not even equipped with radar. Allied pilots could not fight at night, anti-aircraft guns have also failed to knock out a single German plane.

Lost

One best coating Luftwaffe pilots destroyed Boeing B-64 17 Flying Fortress, some fighter planes 25 and bombed Soviet transport arms dumps. For the US, the loss of so many strategic bombers once was a terrible blow.

End of the program

Airbase intensified air defenses, but the Germans were ready to shock with this side because the base has lost its value. US Air Force carried out only 5 more combat missions, after which the program is completely closed. In addition, the promotion of Soviet troops left in the rear of the base - of course, Stalin was the least wanted to see over the Soviet Union, American planes.

Roosevelt Plan

Well, in our time, after some documents have been declassified, and it was found out the reason for such a generous offer of Roosevelt. Of course, the American president is not just picked up and delivered to the Soviet Union, an entire squadron of strategic bombers: fighter escort constantly "accidentally" stray off course and carried out detailed aerial surveys of military facilities of the USSR.