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Operation Benedict was a mission where the RAF established 151 Wing at Vaenga airfield, near Murmansk. Equipped with two Hurricane fighter squadrons, the wing's role was to fight German and Finnish forces while training Soviet pilots and ground crews to operate the aircraft. Thirty-nine Hurricane Mk IIB fighters reached the USSR: 24 flown from the aircraft carrier HMS Argus and 15 transported in crates via the first Arctic convoy.

In five weeks of combat, 151 Wing claimed 16 victories, four probables, and seven aircraft damaged before converting Soviet Naval Aviation personnel to the fighters in October.

The mission resulted in three British casualties: Sergeant Pilot N. H. "Nudger" Smith was shot down and killed by German Bf 109s on 12 September; and two aircrewmen, Aircraftmen Ridley and Thomas, died in an airfield accident. They were sitting on a Hurricane's tail to weigh it down on a rough runway when Flight Lieutenant Vic Berg accidentally took off, crashed, and was severely injured, killing both ground crewmen. Berg was severely injured. Four RAF members received the Order of Lenin.

The RAF party departed in late November, arriving home on 7 December when 151 Wing disbanded.

Two men dance in a bar at Lower West Side, Buffalo, New York, 1969-1973. Original b/w by Milton Rogovin.

Identified as Johnny Lee Wines & Ezekiel "Zeke" Johnson, at Lotempio's Restaurant, Lower West Side, Buffalo, New York.

Gendarmes and F.F.I. seem to enjoy the task of holding back crowds of people as they throng the streets to see General Charles De Gaulle, Aug. 26, 1944. (AP Photo/Laurence Harris)

Private L.J. Best of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), aims an M1 Carbine fitted with a T120 (M3) Sniperscope during the Korean War.

The complete M3 system weighed 14.5 kg (32 lb), driven by a heavy 6-volt lead-acid battery housed in his canvas backpack. This battery simultaneously powered the large top-mounted infrared spotlight—which illuminated targets in total darkness invisible to the naked eye—and the optical scope below.

The Sniperscope gave 3RAR sentries a decisive edge against Chinese infiltrators, who relied on soft-soled shoes and absolute darkness to silently creep up on UN perimeters. Because the top-mounted searchlight emitted an infrared beam invisible to the naked eye, snipers could illuminate incoming targets without revealing their own positions. It was a defensive weapon, as its 125-yard range was ideal for guarding static outposts and wire entanglements, catching probes completely by surprise.

(AWM 147849, photo by Claude R. Holzheimer)

Three Boys Who Live in the Harlem Area. New York, New York. May 1943. Original b/w by Gordon Parks, LIFE.

Original black and white by Matthew Brady. 15th July 1863.