17.09.1943. The Lavansaari bungle

The Soviet Navy Air Force had actively operated from the islands of Lavansaari and Seiskari during the open water season of 1943 against the Southern coast of Finland, Finnish bases in the islands and against supply shipping to the bases and the ships guarding the great mine barrier Rukajarvi/Seeigel.

To discourage the enemy a raid against the Lavansaari air base was ordered. Due to enemy fighters and AA artillery it was to be a night raid during full moon. There were to be one mission at 20.15 to 21.55 hrs and another after refueling and reloading at 03.00 to 04.00 hrs.

The raid, later known as the Lavansaari bungle was launched on the 17 Sept 1943. 30 Finnish bombers participated. But fog began to appear over the Gulf of Finland, and the takeoff was delayed by one hour expecting recall which never came.

LeLv 6 sent 5 SB-2 led by Capt Harmala. 2 crews found the fog-covered island of Lavansaari and bombed summarily at 21.15 hrs. All returned.

LeLv 48 sent 4 DNs led by Maj. Kepsu, who was the only one to find the target at 21.20hrs. He was fired at by AAA and 6 searchlights were seen. All DNs returned to base.

LeLv 42 sent 6 BLs in two waves. The first 3, led by Lt. Huhtala, bombed at 21.34, but due to ground fog hits could not be observed, but some fires were started. Intense and accurate AAA fire of heavy and 40mm calibers was encountered as well as 4 searchlights.

The second wave was led by Capt. Ahokas. They bombed at 21.37hrs, but due to intense AAA fire and ground fog no observations of hits. BL-163 shot down by AAA, BL-164 got lost and crashed at Lahdenpohja. Four airmen of LeLv42 were killed in this raid.

LeLv 46 sent 6 DNs led by Maj. Eskola. Three bombers got lost in the approach leg of the raid, dumped their loads and returned to base. Two a/c found Lavansaari and bombed at 21.55 and 23.00 hrs. Due to very bad visibility and intense AAA fire no results were observed. All bombers returned to base.

The last unit to raid was LeLv 44 led by Capt Lehmus with 14 JK from Utti. They took off at 2205 hrs. They found the target with the help of the searchlight columns and muzzle flashes of AAA. The JKs bombed between 22.15 to 24.00 hrs.

When LeLV 44 returned there was a thin cloud layer at 100m and navigation was extremely difficult. Most a/c got lost. The flight control was totally overwhelmed by requests for direction finding and landing instructions and the radio traffic discipline broke totally.

Only 7 of the 14 JKs landed at Utti, and one of them on its belly. Three found Malmi with two of them damaged. One was damaged in forced landing on a field in Sippola, one in Mikkeli and one in Onttola - three more damaged. One lost its way as far as Lake Onega and landed in a lake N of Petrozavodsk. It was miracle that no one of PLeLv 44 was killed or wounded. The Russian word "bardak" describes this operation perfectly. The second raid was cancelled at 22.55 hrs.

The weather was considered to be the main culprit, no one was personally made responsible for the failure. The aircrews were put on a three month navigation course.

© Written by: Ossi Juntunen

Sources:

Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari. Suomen Ilmavoimien historia, vol. 19. LeR 4 (Loviisa 2002)