51 Sqn Comet over the Baltic
I’ve recently been able to inspect some plots of 51 Sqn Comet and Canberra operations in the Baltic during the first half of the 1960s (from an open and declassified source, in case anyone is wondering). The plots show Comet and Canberra tracks, and the Soviet fighter response. Some operations seem to have been flown unopposed, others show interceptions by Soviet fighters, most maintaining contact for a relatively short time. One exception to this pattern is the sortie by a Comet on 27 Feb 64 (believed to be Comet XK655, Cupfull 1). The Comet went up the Baltic east of Gotland and flew a racetrack off Estonia. The sortie was dogged for almost its entire length by Soviet fighters in close contact, the plot showing fighters joining and leaving the Comet as the operation progressed, apparently following it as far south as the southern tip of Oland on the way out. It looks like someone was trying to make a point. It must have been a memorable sortie. I know this is something of a long shot, but I wondered whether anyone on this forum flew on that sortie (or has recollections of similar persistent attention by Soviet fighters in the same period) and might like to recount their experiences.