Do-217 engaged in arctic anti-shipping operations intercepted Allied convoys heading for only open northern Soviet ports, namely Murmansk and Archangel. Other supply channel was via southern Soviet Union through British-controlled Middle East, which took arduous land route from Persian Gulf to Tehran-Iran, then across Caucasus mountains, and into southern Russia. Caucasus - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus_(geographic_region)

In modern era, Persia Gulf is vital strategic venue for US, Japan, and western Europe with its transport portal for Middle East oil to industrialized nations. US has fought many proxy and direct wars in region for its control, including 1979-1989 Soviet war in Afghanistan (US covert arms supply to Afghan Mujahideen), 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran War (US tacit support for Iraq), 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, 2001 War on Terror in Afghanistan, 2003 Iraq War. Persian Gulf - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_gulf

• Soviet war in Afghanistan 1979-1989 - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan

• War in Afghanistan (2001–present) - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%93present)

• Iran–Iraq War 1980-1988 - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_iraq_war

• Iraq War 2003 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_war

Inset 1 : Dornier Do-217K bomber with unique glass frame pilot / bombardier bulged nose and BMW 801D radial engines. Plane camouflaged in similar patterns to depicted model, with black underside and upper white surface interlaced with dark grey stripes. This version also mounted the R25 tail fairing which housed a Perlon braking parachute. K-versions with stiffened wing root, expanded wingspan, and carrying more fuel, was first Do-217s able to carry Henschel Hs-293 and FX1400 Fritz X radio-guided missiles, which were very effective anti-shipping missiles. Fritz X - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_X

9 Sept 1944 | famous Do-217K engagement was interception of Italian fleet sailing to join Allied forces in Mediterranean when Fascist Italy switched sides during WW2. Bombers carried FX1400 Fritz X missiles and sunk Italian battleship ROMA (although other history text stated it was a Heinkel He-177 that carried out this mission). The Sinking of the Battleship Roma - www.regiamarina.net/others/roma/roma_us.htm

• Loss of the Battleship Roma - www.bobhenneman.info/roma.htm

Dornier Do-217M/N versions had same nose / fuselage configuration, but mounted liquid-cooled DB 603A Inverted-Vee-12 in-line engines, giving it fastest speed of all Do-217 variants circa 346 mph. Its claim to fame was anti-shipping and night bombing of British cities, but one did a wheels-up crash landing (after its crew already parachuted out) near Cambridge-England on night of 23/24 Feb 1944. British RAF repaired the bomber and had it flying within weeks to testing its flight characteristics. German Military Aircraft Designations (1933-1945) - www.designation-systems.net/non-us/germany.html

By 1918, US and western Allies landed multi-national intervention force during Russian Civil War to aid pro-Western White Russian Kerensky faction against Soviet Bolsheviks, secure Russian arms and supplies stockpiled in Murmansk and Archangel ports, secure evacuation of pro-Western Czechoslovak Legions trapped in Russia between Soviet Central Asia and Siberia regions, and a long-shot hope of re-establishing eastern front against Imperial Germany and Austro-Hungarian Empire. Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_Intervention_in_Russia

• Czechoslovak Legions - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovak_Legion

• Arkhangelsk (Archangel), Russia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkhangelsk

Soviet Bolsheviks retaliated with the North Russian Campaign via several combat skirmishes along ports frontier. Winter climate and terrain were quite harsh, hence Allies hunkered down to simply hold enemy at bay, with 5,000 US forces defending Archangel. By 1920, Allied forces withdrew as Bolsheviks won major civil war battles and consolidated control. Nevertheless, US refused to recognize Soviet communist government until 1933 when President Franklin Roosevelt took office. US Expeditionary Force, North Russia - www.footnote.com/browsemore/19387125/

• North Russia Campaign - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Russia_Campaign

• Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798 - 2004 - www.history.navy.mil/library/online/forces.htm

Inset 2 : Classic WW2-era color pict of Dornier Do-217E bombers over Greece. Luftwaffe white fuselage ban indicated German Mediterranean / North Africa operations theater, yellow engine cowling indicated bomber squadron "gruppe" designation.

The E-version had tail-mounted dive brakes, but its extension sometimes disrupted air flow, thus sent rippled and yawing vibrations through the aircraft. Tail airbrake was removed from future Do-217 version. Dornier Do-17 - www.pilotfriend.com/photo_albums/timeline/ww2/Dornier%20DO17.htm

Inset 3 : Color profile Showing two Do-217 in German caption. Top is Do-217E-2 of 6/KG40 bomber squadron based at Bordeaux-Merignac / France engaged in Atlantic convoy interdiction circa 1941-1944 (squadron symbol of wing over red British Isles for Fliegerfuhrer Atlantik or Atlantic Flight Command). Bottom is Do-217E-5 of 6/KG100 bomber squadron at Istres (near Marseilles) / France engaged in Bay of Biscay interdiction circa 1943. Note both bombers only carry individual aircraft letters and not full 4-letter Luftwaffe bomber squadron codes.