One of the bombers was accidentally shot down by Soviet anti-aircraft gunners
A joint search expedition by the Russian Geographical Society and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in Kamchatka ended on June 30. He had to find the crash sites of American planes during World War II, when the USSR and the US were allies and fought against Nazi Germany and militaristic Japan. Search Engines & nbsp; found fragments during the war & nbsp; five American aircraft.
Photo: Center for Contemporary History/Sergey Katkov, provided by the press service of the Russian Geographical Society
In the Pacific Operations Area, the United States fought against the main ally of the Third Reich – Japan. After the attack on the American base in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States opposed the Japanese Empire. The United States largely deployed naval and air forces during the attack on the Japanese islands. Many American aircraft decommissioned by the Japanese landed or fell on Soviet territory. Some crews were considered missing.
In 2018, the Russian-American Commission on Prisoners of War and Missing Persons raised the issue of searching for the remains of shot down American planes in eastern Russia. The National Archives and Records Administration of the United States discovered data on 47 lost bombers between 1943 and 1945.
Sergei Katkov, head of research projects at the Center for Contemporary History, explained that at the end of the war, the Americans flew combat missions to the islands. Paramušir and Šumšu, where the enemy units and the airport were located. These islands used to belong to Japan and after the war they became part of the USSR. After completing the missions, the destroyed aircraft often made a forced landing on Kamchatka.
Photo: Andrey Dmitriev, provided by the press service of the Russian Geographical Society
carried out combat missions.
As a result of the search, it was possible to find the wreckage of five aircraft. The B-24 “ Liberator & # 39; & # 39; long-range bomber, the B-25 “ Mitchell & # 39; & # 39; attack aircraft, the “ Douglas & # 39; & # 39; attack aircraft were found. A-20 Boston and two naval attack aircraft PV-1 Ventura.
The tragic fate of Mitchell is particularly remarkable. This aircraft was accidentally shot down by Soviet anti-aircraft gunners in the spring of 1945. The USSR's air defenses mistaken the ally for the enemy after leaving the air corridor established by the United States and the Soviet Union. This bomber was found near Cape Lopatka and was commanded by Lieutenant Edward Irving.
Photo: Center for Contemporary History/Sergey Katkov, se with the permission of the press service of the Russian Geographical Society
Most of the damaged aircraft successfully landed at the airport in the city of Elizovo, where Soviet technicians helped repair the aircraft. However, there have also been cases where US military planes have fallen into the sea or forced to land in the deep Kamchatka taiga.
Photo: Andrey Dmitriev, provided by the press service of the Russian Geographical Society
Russian Geographical Society with the support of the Ministry of Defense The Russian Federation studies the crash sites of American aircraft, searches for them and identifies them. In the future, search engines plan to find out the fate of the surviving crew members of the found aircraft and also publish new objective data on the interaction between the USSR and the United States during World War II.