In the second half of July 1941, with the advance of the front line to the east, the fascist air raids on Moscow began. The Soviet command decided to give a worthy answer. As a result of a detailed study of the issue, the choice fell on the 1st mine and torpedo aviation regiment of the Red Banner Baltic.
Moonzund
At the suggestion of the command of the Navy, a plan was developed for the aircraft of the Baltic Fleet to deliver retaliatory bombing strikes against Berlin from airfields located on the Moonsund Islands. At the end of July, the plan developed by the Main Naval Headquarters was approved by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. The Headquarters assigned the responsibility for the operation to the People's Commissar of the Navy, Admiral N. G. Kuznetsova. The general leadership was carried out by the commander of the Navy Air Force Lieutenant General S. F. Zhavoronkov.
The geographical position of the Moonsund Islands, four large and about 500 small ones, occupying a key position at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland and Riga, determined their importance in defense and ensured the combat activity of the Baltic on the distant approaches to Leningrad. The Moonsund Islands were a bone in the throat stuck in the rear of the advancing fascist army.
The Germans, intoxicated by the first successes in the war against the Union, underestimated the importance of the Moonsund archipelago, which made it possible to plan raids on Berlin from the island of Saaremaa (Ezel).
Taking into account the experience of the First World War, Moonsund was fortified, but by the beginning of the war, the construction of defensive structures on the islands was not completed. The heroic defense of the Moonsund Islands in 1941 is a separate page in the annals of the Great Patriotic War.
In early September, in connection with the retreat of our troops on the mainland, the threat of an invasion of the islands from the east increased. Therefore, all docks, some bridges and road junctions were mined. For antiamphibious defense on the approaches to the islands, 180 mines of obstacles were set up.
Promotional video:
Cahul, located in the southern part of Saaremaa, served as a jump airfield for a raid on Berlin by DB-3 aircraft of the Baltic Fleet and long-range aviation.
Preparing airstrikes
By the time the decision was made to strike at Berlin, an experienced naval pilot, Colonel E. N., had taken over the command of the 1st mine and torpedo aviation regiment. Preobrazhensky. He led the first special group of 10 DB-3 aircraft, which early in the morning on August 4 flew from the Bezabotnoye airfield (near Leningrad) to the island of Saaremaa.
Already on the night of August 6, 1941, a test reconnaissance flight to Berlin was made by a group of five DB-3 vehicles under the command of Captain A. Ya. Efremova. All planes returned to the airfield.
The test flight showed that the tactical range of the DB-3 aircraft provides the possibility of striking Berlin from the air. But the capital of Germany could be reached mainly over the water surface of the sea and only at night. After that, the final decision was made. The detachment was increased due to the long-range aviation of the Air Force. The general leadership of the detachment was carried out by E. Preobrazhensky, and the tasks for the flight were set personally by the chief of aviation of the Navy, Lieutenant General Zhavoronkov. Ammunition and fuel, as well as spare parts for aircraft, were delivered to the island by small warships and various floating craft, first from Tallinn, and then from Kronstadt.
He was the first to put out the lights
The first raid on Berlin from the island of Saaremaa was made on the night of August 8, 1941.
On the evening of August 7, 15 maximally loaded winged aircraft took off one after another. The flagship was E. N. Preobrazhensky, the second group was led by Captain V. A. Grechishnikov, the third was headed by captain A. Ya. Efremov. On the route, the planes flew at an altitude of 7000 meters, the temperature overboard was negative. The cockpit windows and headset glasses of the flight crew members froze over, and they had to work in oxygen masks.
Five planes reached the target, which dropped 30 bombs on the city center from a height of 6000 meters. The rest of the cars dropped bombs on the approaches to Berlin and on Stettin (Szczecin).
They returned to their airfield long after midnight. The first to land was the plane of Colonel Preobrazhensky. Some sat down uncertainly, felt tension and fatigue, but all the cars returned safely. They were received personally by Lieutenant General Zhavoronkov. Having received data on the completion of the task and congratulated the crews, he sent them to rest. Subsequent flights to the German capital were coming.
The surprise of the actions of naval aviators is evidenced by the fact that on the morning of August 8, German radio stations reported an attempt by 150 British aircraft to break through to Berlin. The British denied this: - The German message about the bombing of Berlin is interesting and mysterious, since on August 7-8 British aircraft did not fly over Berlin.
The reaction of the fascist command to the first bombing of Berlin followed immediately. An addendum to the OKB directive No. 34 of August 12, 1941 prescribed: “As soon as the situation permits, the joint efforts of ground forces, aviation and naval forces should eliminate enemy naval bases on the islands of Dago and Ezel. At the same time, it is especially important to destroy enemy airfields from which air raids on Berlin are carried out …"
As they say, the Germans came to their senses. The storming of the islands began. Enemy aircraft tried to locate our airfields on Moonsund and destroy them. But flights to Berlin continued …
After the capture of Tallinn by the Germans, the situation worsened, and the supply of fuel and ammunition to the air group on the island of Saaremaa had to be stopped. In addition, enemy air reconnaissance managed to find our airfields. The weak air defense of the Moonsund Islands was unable to withstand the massive raids of enemy aircraft. On September 6, 28 enemy aircraft bombed our airfields on the island of Saaremaa.
During the entire period of hostilities, Baltic pilots and long-range aviation pilots made nine raids on the German capital, the last of which took place on September 4, 1941. At the same time, 33 aircraft reached the target and bombed Berlin. Over 36 tons of high-explosive and incendiary bombs and 34 shells with leaflets were dropped on the capital of Nazi Germany. But there is no loss without loss, and the air group lost 17 aircraft.
However, the main thing is that the Soviet air raids on Berlin had a moral impact: on the Germans - negative, on the Soviet people - positive. The newspapers wrote: “… since then the capital of Germany did not dare to turn on the lights in its streets in the evenings. Preobrazhensky's bombs were the first harbingers of inexorable defeat. He was the first to put out the lights of Berlin."
Feat
After the first raid on Berlin, an order from the USSR People's Commissar for Defense I. V. Stalin dated August 8, 1941, # 0265: “On the night of August 7-8, a group of aircraft from the Baltic Fleet flew to Germany and bombed the city of Berlin. 5 planes dropped their bombs over the center of Berlin, and the rest on the outskirts of the city …”On the surviving document, the text was edited by Stalin's hand, which underlines the significance of that historic feat of the aviators in August 1941.
It really was a feat. The Nazis have already set their sights on Moscow, in July the Battle of Smolensk unfolded. Hitler gave orders to seize our capital and raze it to the ground. Meanwhile, Soviet pilots made a heavy flight over the sea and attacked Berlin. Hitler was furious …
The first raids were followed by others. Already on August 13, the Motherland appreciated the feat of the aviators. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to the Baltic pilots: Colonel E. N. Preobrazhensky, captains V. A. Grechishnikov, A. Ya. Efremov, M. N. Plotkin and P. I. Khokhlov. And in September, the high rank was also awarded to long-range aviation pilots: majors V. I. Shchelkunov and V. I. Malygin, captains V. G. Tikhonov, N. V. Kryukov and Lieutenant V. I. Lakhonin. Their names became known throughout the country. Many participants in the unprecedented flights to Berlin in August 1941, including the ground train, were awarded high state awards.
These were the difficult years of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, and such feats laid the foundation for the future Great Victory. Then any award of the Motherland was worth its weight in gold. Then, when the victorious march of our army began, such heroic deeds were relegated to the background. And such a significant feat of Soviet aviators in the first months of the invasion of the Nazi hordes on our homeland is rarely remembered, and this is unfair …
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №13. Author: Vadim Kulinchenko, 1st Rank Captain