At the beginning of the German-Soviet War, Safonov was based at Vaenga (now called Severomorsk) on the Murmansk Front, commanding the 4th Squadron of the 72nd Mixed Aviation Regiment, flying the Polikarpov I-16 fighter. A widely circulated photograph of Safonov showed him with an I-16 bearing the slogan "За Сталина!" (For Stalin!) on its fuselage, although this probably was not his personal machine.