 The ace taught Russian pilots to fly Sopwith Camels, Airco DH.9s, Sopwith Snipes, and Bristol F.2 Fighters at RAF Netheravon.The flying school closed after a few months.Smirnov then took ship again, joining a group of other Russian pilots bound for Novorossiysk to join the Volunteer Army of the White Russian counter-revolutionists.