During World War II, the Red Army and Western Allied forces rarely acted in conjunction — each had their own front and tasks. One example of close cooperation was Operation “Frantic,” during which American bombers used Soviet airfields. This initiative came from the U.S. strategic bombing command. The Americans wanted their planes to take off from airfields in Britain and Italy, strike Nazi targets, and then fly to Soviet territory. There, the bombers were to refuel, load up with bombs, and fly back, bombing Germany again on the way home. These shuttle raids were intended to confuse Luftwaffe pilots, who often intercepted Allied planes on their return journey. Now they didn’t understand which direction the bombers would go after completing their mission. The USSR agreed to the Americans’ request, and at the beginning of 1944, provided them with three airfields near Poltava. On June 2, Operation “Frantic” began. American B-17 “Flying Fortresses” used the Soviet airfields, their crews wandered around Poltava, took pictures with locals, and played sports games with Red Army soldiers. On June 21, a German He-111 plane secretly followed the American bombers and discovered their base locations in the USSR. The next night, the Nazis launched a massive strike on the airfields, destroying 47 of the 73 “Fortresses” on the ground. This incident seriously strained relations between the allies. The Americans were extremely dissatisfied with the performance of the Soviet air defense forces and night fighters. After some time, the shuttle raids resumed, but their intensity and scale noticeably decreased. In September 1944, the operation was finally shut down.