How did Churchill get to Moscow?
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Von Schadewald
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How did Churchill get to Moscow?
Churchill went to Moscow in 42, 43 and 44. How & what route did he take to get there & back? Was he at any risk of "a Yamamoto"?
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fredleander
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Re: How did Churchill get to Moscow?
To my knowledge he always went the Southern route via Gibraltar/Africa/Egypt. Taking the opportunity to visit units in Africa and the Middle East at the same time. Certainly, he was in the danger zone of a Yamamoto.Von Schadewald wrote:Churchill went to Moscow in 42, 43 and 44. How & what route did he take to get there & back? Was he at any risk of "a Yamamoto"?
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Von Schadewald
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fredleander
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Von Schadewald
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The Churchill website replied:
"Churchill made only two trips to Moscow - 1942 and 1944 (none in 1943). It is easy for us today to jump into a jet in London and be in Moscow four hours later, sitting in a comfortable armchair, eating and drinking all the way and perhaps watching a film. During WW2 there were two overlapping problems about such a trip:
1. The need to avoid flying over occupied Europe and maritime areas within reach of land-based enemy fighter aircraft (although larger aircraft might have intercepted him either by accident or by design).
2. The limited speed, range and altitude of aircraft of that date; furthermore, there were very limited navigational and radio aids en route, and minimal weather forecasts.
August 1942. Churchill flew in the back of an unheated Liberator bomber; it had no bed, but a shelf on which he was able to lie in the dark, cold and noise. It flew from UK far out into the Atlantic before turning South and eventually East, landing at Gibraltar after about 7 hours. The next leg was over Spanish Morocco and Vichy-controlled French North Africa (ignoring diplomatic niceties), and landing at Cairo after a further 10 hours. Thence to Teheran (another 7 hours) and finally to Moscow (another 10 hours). The return followed the same route; Churchill was 67.
October 1944. Two major improvements by this date: the aircraft was an Avro York rather than a Liberator; and it was now safe to fly over Western France, Southern Italy and much of the Mediterranean. The route was from London to Naples (7 hours), thence to Cairo, via Benghazi in order to avoid Crete, which was still in German hands (another 7 hours), thence to Moscow via the Aegean, Dardanelles and Crimea. The same route was followed on the way back; by the time of his return Churchill was six weeks short of his 70th birthday."
"Churchill made only two trips to Moscow - 1942 and 1944 (none in 1943). It is easy for us today to jump into a jet in London and be in Moscow four hours later, sitting in a comfortable armchair, eating and drinking all the way and perhaps watching a film. During WW2 there were two overlapping problems about such a trip:
1. The need to avoid flying over occupied Europe and maritime areas within reach of land-based enemy fighter aircraft (although larger aircraft might have intercepted him either by accident or by design).
2. The limited speed, range and altitude of aircraft of that date; furthermore, there were very limited navigational and radio aids en route, and minimal weather forecasts.
August 1942. Churchill flew in the back of an unheated Liberator bomber; it had no bed, but a shelf on which he was able to lie in the dark, cold and noise. It flew from UK far out into the Atlantic before turning South and eventually East, landing at Gibraltar after about 7 hours. The next leg was over Spanish Morocco and Vichy-controlled French North Africa (ignoring diplomatic niceties), and landing at Cairo after a further 10 hours. Thence to Teheran (another 7 hours) and finally to Moscow (another 10 hours). The return followed the same route; Churchill was 67.
October 1944. Two major improvements by this date: the aircraft was an Avro York rather than a Liberator; and it was now safe to fly over Western France, Southern Italy and much of the Mediterranean. The route was from London to Naples (7 hours), thence to Cairo, via Benghazi in order to avoid Crete, which was still in German hands (another 7 hours), thence to Moscow via the Aegean, Dardanelles and Crimea. The same route was followed on the way back; by the time of his return Churchill was six weeks short of his 70th birthday."