Air raid on Banak airfield 1- 2 July 1942

[Peter T]

I'm trying to find out which unit bombed the Banak airfield on 1 and 2 July 1942. Bombers were probably DB-3. Several Ju 88 of KG 30 were destroyed or damaged.
Any hint is welcome.
Peter

[Art]

A very successful raid on Banak was carried out on June 30 as part of an operation to escort the unfortunate convoy PQ-17. Complete surprise was achieved. Five "ILs" poured thirty high-explosive 100-kg bombs into the aircraft parking lots. According to the reports of the crews, the entire airfield was covered with explosions. According to photo control data, two hits on aircraft were recorded. In total, it was believed that four enemy vehicles were destroyed at the airfield, for some reason identified as Bf-109 fighters. In fact, the KG30 squadron based on Banak suffered very significant losses: four Junkers-88s burned down, one was to be written off, and another one required repair. However, if the number of burnt aircraft in different documents is the same, then the number of damaged ones is not. According to the "Diary of the leadership of the war at sea", on June 30, 14 German vehicles were damaged.

The enemy learned from the events of June 30th, so the next raid on Banak, on July 2nd, was not so successful. Two DB-3f groups flew out to bombard the airfield that day. The first five returned from the Varde region due to a malfunction of the engine of the leading aircraft. Of the four "Ilyushins" of the second group, one aircraft broke off in the clouds and also returned to the airfield. The remaining three DB-3f continued to fly towards the target, dropping thirty FAB-100s onto the airfield from a height of 5500 meters. According to German data, five aircraft were damaged on the ground, while the Germans counted four aircraft involved in the raid and eight dropped FAB-500s. At the moment our bombers left the target, a pair of Messerschmitts appeared in the air. Within a few minutes, they successively shot down the DB-3f belonging to the commander of the 35th mine-torpedo bombing regiment, Major A.A. Krylov, who had just arrived in the North and the commander of the 2nd Guards Regiment, Captain P.D. Zubkov. The third crew, despite numerous holes in their Ilyushin, managed to escape. The Germans were credited with two Soviet bombers shot down reliably and two more presumably.

https://history.wikireading.ru/199206

It is not clear from the text airplanes from which units performed the raid on 30.06/01.07.

[igorr]

Planes that attacked Banak ay 30.6.42 belongs to 2 GKAP VVS SF - there was 5 DF-3F (later they will be renamed in Il-4). According german reports 4 various planes was destroyed and 14 damaged at ground, but Generalquartimeister's lists gave 5 destroyed and one heavily damaged. Looks like other 12 have only unsignificant damaged ande were repaired very sun. Soviet forces has no losses.
Next day (1.7.42) another air raid with 6 machines from 2 GKAP and 2 from 35 MTAP was cancelled because of bad weather.
2.7.42 was conducted by 5 DF-3F from 2 GKAP and 4 from 35 MTAP, but latter regiment can't find target and bombed Vardo. Also 2 DF-3F from 2 GKAP returned via engines malfunctions. Only 3 strike Banak, damaging 4 more Ju.88. But now germans can strike back and shot down 2 DB-3F.

[Kernowgaz]

An interesting eyewitness account of the bombings can be found here. (Norewgian)

https://historier.no/historier/bombetoktene-mot-banak/