There were some British troops fighting on the Eastern Front. An RAF Wing was based out of Murmansk in the autumn of 1941, flying in defence of the important port there. Murmansk was one of the major German targets in Northern Russia, being one of the few ice-free ports on Russia's northern coast. This made it an important entry point for Lend-Lease supplies and equipment. It was also comparatively easy to attack, being close to the Finnish border. As such, the RAF considered it imperative to aid the Soviets there. No 151 Wing RAF, with two squadrons of Hawker Hurricanes, began to arrive from September 1941. It had three main tasks. Firstly, they were to protect the port and the Lend-Lease convoys from German air attacks. Secondly, they were to support the Soviet troops defending the port. Finally, and most importantly, they were to train Soviet pilots and ground crews on the Hurricane and other British equipment - after just over a month in Russia, No 151 Wing began to hand over its Hurricanes to the Soviets and return to the UK. In 1942, two squadrons of RAF Hampden torpedo bombers deployed to Murmansk to cover the PQ-18 convoy against the threat of German surface attack. Once again, these aircraft would be handed over to the Soviets after a short period of operation. There was also limited cooperation between the RN and Soviet Navy during convoy runs; British observers were placed aboard Soviet ships and vice versa. The Soviets provided additional escorts during the eastern part of the route, but saw little combat compared to the Allied escorts. The Soviets provided bases for Allied sailors from the convoy routes, though these were often forbidding and unwelcoming.