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Scotland's Forgotten "Russian Summer"

Discussion in 'WWII Today' started by GRW, Jul 20, 2020.

  1. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    Great that researchers found this forgotten episode.
    "The long summer when 2,300 Russian sailors anchored in the Firth of Forth

    They were there as part of a top secret deal to transfer British warships into Russian hands, with around 2,300 of Stalin’s sailors stationed on a vessel in the Firth of Forth in a long summer of negotiations, training and ‘culture shock’.
    HM Dockyard Rosyth became nerve centre of the handover, where a fleet that included a British battleship, six destroyers and four submarines were refitted for their new owners, with training given on how to handle the vessels and new parts forged in the workshops there.
    Accounts suggest tension underpinned the transfer, with Russians remaining armed with pistols at all times and dressed in full formal naval uniform, complete with medals. The British moaned that the Russians spent too long in the bathrooms, perhaps trying to recreate the conditions of their traditional banya steam bath.
    Research by the V and W Destroyer Association, which supports surviving veterans who served in ships of the class, has helped to illuminate this forgotten episode of World War Two after they were contacted by the grandson of a Senior Lieutenant in the Russian Navy who was one of 23 Russians killed on the long journey to Scotland in a German torpedo attack off Norway’s Bear Island."

    www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/long-summer-when-2300-russian-sailors-anchored-firth-forth-2917474

     

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