"He survived the perilous risks of being a pilot in the Second World War and even took part in a top-secret mission to defend Russia against invading forces from Nazi Germany. Now, the last surviving member of a crew of 38 pilots who were sent to the Soviet Union as part of a mission codenamed Force Benedict has passed away aged 101. Eric Carter, from Chaddesley Corbett, in Worcestershire, 'died of old age' earlier this week at a residential home in Birmingham, his son told The Sun.. In 1941, Mr Carter and the other Force Benedict pilots flew 365 sorties over four months to keep the north-western port of Murmansk open and protect supply routes. Part of the RAF's 81 Squadron, 151 Wing, the team were ordered by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to defend the port 'at all costs'. Piloting Hurricanes from Murmansk's Vaenga aerodrome, the team fought alongside Russian pilots and shot down 11 Messerschmitt fighters and three Junkers 88 bombers. The crack team were also there to teach Russian pilots to fly the Hurricanes, which they left in their hands when they returned to the UK. Mr Carter later retrained to fly the more famous Spitfire and finished the war in Burma, where he fought the Japanese. For his efforts, Mr Carter was awarded the Arctic Star medal by then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2013. A year earlier, when aged 91, the ace took to the skies again in a rare two-seater Spitfire, which he was able to briefly take the controls of himself." www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9838543/Last-Force-Benedict-WWII-pilot-taught-Soviet-counterparts-fly-Hurricanes-passes-away-aged-101.html