Q: During WWII, Eighth Air Force bombers flying out of England flew shuttle missions to the Soviet Union. What was the purpose of that mission and were there any more missions similar to that?
—Frank Burnette, Decatur
A: Operation FRANTIC was created to bomb targets deep in Germany and Eastern Europe that were out of round-trip range of U.S. bombers and their fighter escorts. The planes left from their bases in England and southern Italy, bombed their targets and flew to three Soviet airfields in the Ukraine, where they refueled and re-armed and bombed other targets on the way home, Mark Conversino, the dean of faculty and academic affairs at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, told Q&A on the News in an email. Allied fighters flew to the Ukraine to provide cover for the return trips. The Fifteenth Air Force, based in Italy, flew the first shuttle mission on June 2, 1944, followed by an attack from the Eighth Air Force, based in England, later that month. Conversino wrote the last FRANTIC mission – FRANTIC 7 – was to drop supplies to non-communist rebels in Warsaw, but the Soviets delayed clearing the proposed drop zone and most of the supplies fell into German hands. The operation was terminated because of problems dealing with the Soviets, but the "Ukrainians maintain a museum at Poltava that features the history of FRANTIC," said Conversino, who wrote "Fighting with the Soviets: The Failure of Operation FRANTIC, 1944-1945." After FRANTIC was terminated, the U.S. kept small ground force at Poltava that helped repatriate U.S. POWs liberated by the Soviets as the war neared its end.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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