seesul
Senior Master Sergeant
Don´t know if someone already posted this if so I´m sorry...
Hawker Hurricane IIB 'Trop' Z5252
Discovery recovery
The loss of the Hurricane was discovered in 2001 when a research group of the 'Federation of Aviarestoration' found a wartime report whilst going through the Naval archives. The report indicated that a Soviet pilot had undertaken an emergency landing on a small frozen lake to the west of Murmansk. A salvage team had been dispatched at the time but before they could retrieve the Hurricane it went through the ice. It was declared uneconomical to salvage and so was struck off charge.
On 17 August 2003, coincidentally 'Russian Air Force Day', the Hurricane was finally located. It had taken a couple of years to search a number of lakes as described in the report, before coming upon the right one. The lake was swept with a magnetometer and a reading was obtained. The team returned in February 2004 with a side scan sonar and the images showed the Hurricane was there, complete and apparently in very good condition.
A team member completed a dive through the ice and found the Hurricane at a depth of 18m and at an angle of 60 degrees nose down. The Hurricane was covered in silt and sat in a 1.5m bed of arctic moss, a common aquatic plant found at the bottom of tundra lakes. Video footage showed the rear fuselage and tail still covered in timber and canvas after 60 years! The video was analyzed later and the serial could clearly be seen stenciled on the underside of the tailplane. On seeing this, the decision was made to raise this historic aircraft.
It would be October 2004, with the onset of the next winter, that the salvage would finally get underway by an invited group of professional divers from the city of Voronesh. They drove three trucks 1200 miles bringing along their metal pontoons and diving equipment.
On 13 October 2004 the recovery commenced in less than ideal conditions, with a temperature of only 3-4 degrees above freezing, driving wind, snow flurries and a choppy lake surface. At the bottom of the lake in poor visibility, a lifting line was connected to the centre section. The initial lift fractured the fragile fuselage structure and the tail with all the timber structure and fabric fell away. The recovery was not going as planned and the conditions were not improving. After the initial lift, the team decided to calm the spirit of the lake by offering her a bottle of whisky! Less than three hours later they were presented with perfect diving conditions with the clouds gone, the sun out and the wind dropped to zero.
The Hurricane was raised to the surface and pulled to the shoreline. Just as the Hurricane was about to leave the water, the discovery was made that she was still fully armed with four RS-82 rockets located on rails to the underside of the wings. The rails and rockets were quickly detached and left at the waters edge. Once the tail was recovered the team could finally relax.
On 14 October the team returned to dismantle the Hurricane. All of the metalwork was in exceptionally good condition and the panels had been stenciled with Z5252. She was still fully armed with the original twelve 0.303 inch Browning machineguns.
The Hurricane was complete; with the only visible damage being a hole in the upper cowling and a hole in the port wing leading edge. The Rolls-Royce Merlin XX seemed to be in excellent condition, having been protected within the silt and moss of the lake bottom.
With the wings off and all of the cowlings removed, Z5252 was loaded onto a wooden sledge and pulled back to base camp, four miles away by Snowcat.
A few days later she was loaded onto a lorry and transported back to Moscow where the final decision on what happens to her would be decided.
Royal Air Force History
Gloster Aircraft Company at Hucclecote, Gloucestershire manufactured Hurricane IIB Z5252 during the summer of 1941. The contract B.85730/40 was for 600 aircraft comprising 150 MkI's, 33 MkIIA's and 417 MkIIB's. Z5252 was constructed as a Tropical variant in the fifth batch of IIB's in the range Z5252-Z5271.
The R-R Merlin XX recovered was No40519, AM No A218807, one of a batch of 348 built at Crewe to Order No 4700A and Contract B.67950/40. This engine was tested on 26 July and was dispatched on 31 July to an unknown destination. This engine seems to be the original one even though it appears to have been dispatched after Z5252 was reportedly completed.
Z5252 was issued to 5MU (Maintenance Unit) at Kemble, Glos., on 24 July 1941, a unit not that far from the factory before heading to the RAF Station Flt at Ayr, Scotland on 3 August 1941. The last movement recorded on the A.M. Form 78 indicates she was 'En Route to Russia' in August 1941. She was one of the initial thirty-nine Hurricanes to be sent to Russia with 81 Sqn and 134 Sqn, 151 Wing and Ayr appears to have been the collection point.
Z5252 was not one of the twenty-four Hurricanes to have been flown off of the aircraft carrier HMS Argus, but was one of fifteen to be transported to Archangel with the convoy.
151 Wing were ordered to operate from Vaenga, an airfield 4 miles NE of Murmansk and the 550 members of the unit were ferried up from Archangel by air, ship and train. Meanwhile, on 3 September, F/Lt V. Gittens and a small team had the task of assembling the crated Hurricanes at Keg-Ostrov, which was on an island 1 mile off Archangel in the River Dvina.
On 9 September P/O R. Holmes flew in an I-153 'Chaika' on a local Recce to familiarise himself with the area before later testing the first three Hurricanes. Over the next few days all were completed and air tested. P/O R. Holmes, F/Lt M. Rook, and P/O R. Woolaston did a display in front of a crowd of Russia VIP's. Z5252 itself was air tested by P/O Woolaston on 11 September.
On 12 September, the first nine Hurricanes led by F/Lt Rook, left Keg-Ostrov and headed NW on the long flight to Afrikanda, near Kandalaksha. A Russian bomber escorted them so that ground troops and Russian shipping could not mistake the formation. After arriving at Afrikanda, they were refueled, but two could not be restarted. (Only seven and the nine flew onto Vaenga on 12 September).
On 16 September the final six Hurricanes, were ready to complete the flight. Led by P/O Holmes, the route was as before and after refueling, the group flew on to Vaenga. Sgt J. Mulroy of 81 Sqn flew Z5252 to Vaenga and on arrival she was kept as a reserve aircraft.
On 25 September Major General A. A. Kuznetsov, who was the Commanding Officer, Naval Air Forces, Soviet Northern Fleet (VVS SF) arrived to test fly a Hurricane. He was an expert pilot with many thousands of hours to his credit and nobody doubted his ability to fly the Hurricane for the first time. Kuznetsov was presented with his own Hurricane and the roundals and fin flash in Z5252 were painted over, and Russian stars and the number '01' were added on the fuselage side.
Not much changed after the Kuznetsov flight, but everyone knew the Wing was to start functioning as an OTU (Operational Training Unit). Patrols would of course continue but the training of the selected pilots and ground crew by 151 Wing, was to become the number one priority.
On 11 October offensive operations for 151 Wing ceased and the last defensive flight was undertaken on 17 October against some incoming He111. For the next nine days the Squadron pilots concentrated on converting the Soviet pilots and ground crews to the Hurricane. On 20 October the order was given to hand over the remaining thirty-five airworthy Hurricanes to the VVS SF.
On 26 October a Bf110 was claimed, the first enemy aircraft shot down by a Russian Hurricane. Two days later the fighter regiment of 78IAP VVS SF was formed to became the first Soviet Hurricane squadron.
151 Wing then went to Murmansk, where they were loaded aboard a returning convoy back to the UK. Most sailed on the cruiser HMS Kenya, which arrived back in Rosyth on 7 December 1941. (For the full story of 151 Wing, see 'To Russia with love' – March/April 1997).
Hawker Hurricane IIB 'Trop' Z5252
Hawker Hurricane IIB 'Trop' Z5252
Discovery recovery
The loss of the Hurricane was discovered in 2001 when a research group of the 'Federation of Aviarestoration' found a wartime report whilst going through the Naval archives. The report indicated that a Soviet pilot had undertaken an emergency landing on a small frozen lake to the west of Murmansk. A salvage team had been dispatched at the time but before they could retrieve the Hurricane it went through the ice. It was declared uneconomical to salvage and so was struck off charge.
On 17 August 2003, coincidentally 'Russian Air Force Day', the Hurricane was finally located. It had taken a couple of years to search a number of lakes as described in the report, before coming upon the right one. The lake was swept with a magnetometer and a reading was obtained. The team returned in February 2004 with a side scan sonar and the images showed the Hurricane was there, complete and apparently in very good condition.
A team member completed a dive through the ice and found the Hurricane at a depth of 18m and at an angle of 60 degrees nose down. The Hurricane was covered in silt and sat in a 1.5m bed of arctic moss, a common aquatic plant found at the bottom of tundra lakes. Video footage showed the rear fuselage and tail still covered in timber and canvas after 60 years! The video was analyzed later and the serial could clearly be seen stenciled on the underside of the tailplane. On seeing this, the decision was made to raise this historic aircraft.
It would be October 2004, with the onset of the next winter, that the salvage would finally get underway by an invited group of professional divers from the city of Voronesh. They drove three trucks 1200 miles bringing along their metal pontoons and diving equipment.
On 13 October 2004 the recovery commenced in less than ideal conditions, with a temperature of only 3-4 degrees above freezing, driving wind, snow flurries and a choppy lake surface. At the bottom of the lake in poor visibility, a lifting line was connected to the centre section. The initial lift fractured the fragile fuselage structure and the tail with all the timber structure and fabric fell away. The recovery was not going as planned and the conditions were not improving. After the initial lift, the team decided to calm the spirit of the lake by offering her a bottle of whisky! Less than three hours later they were presented with perfect diving conditions with the clouds gone, the sun out and the wind dropped to zero.
The Hurricane was raised to the surface and pulled to the shoreline. Just as the Hurricane was about to leave the water, the discovery was made that she was still fully armed with four RS-82 rockets located on rails to the underside of the wings. The rails and rockets were quickly detached and left at the waters edge. Once the tail was recovered the team could finally relax.
On 14 October the team returned to dismantle the Hurricane. All of the metalwork was in exceptionally good condition and the panels had been stenciled with Z5252. She was still fully armed with the original twelve 0.303 inch Browning machineguns.
The Hurricane was complete; with the only visible damage being a hole in the upper cowling and a hole in the port wing leading edge. The Rolls-Royce Merlin XX seemed to be in excellent condition, having been protected within the silt and moss of the lake bottom.
With the wings off and all of the cowlings removed, Z5252 was loaded onto a wooden sledge and pulled back to base camp, four miles away by Snowcat.
A few days later she was loaded onto a lorry and transported back to Moscow where the final decision on what happens to her would be decided.
Royal Air Force History
Gloster Aircraft Company at Hucclecote, Gloucestershire manufactured Hurricane IIB Z5252 during the summer of 1941. The contract B.85730/40 was for 600 aircraft comprising 150 MkI's, 33 MkIIA's and 417 MkIIB's. Z5252 was constructed as a Tropical variant in the fifth batch of IIB's in the range Z5252-Z5271.
The R-R Merlin XX recovered was No40519, AM No A218807, one of a batch of 348 built at Crewe to Order No 4700A and Contract B.67950/40. This engine was tested on 26 July and was dispatched on 31 July to an unknown destination. This engine seems to be the original one even though it appears to have been dispatched after Z5252 was reportedly completed.
Z5252 was issued to 5MU (Maintenance Unit) at Kemble, Glos., on 24 July 1941, a unit not that far from the factory before heading to the RAF Station Flt at Ayr, Scotland on 3 August 1941. The last movement recorded on the A.M. Form 78 indicates she was 'En Route to Russia' in August 1941. She was one of the initial thirty-nine Hurricanes to be sent to Russia with 81 Sqn and 134 Sqn, 151 Wing and Ayr appears to have been the collection point.
Z5252 was not one of the twenty-four Hurricanes to have been flown off of the aircraft carrier HMS Argus, but was one of fifteen to be transported to Archangel with the convoy.
151 Wing were ordered to operate from Vaenga, an airfield 4 miles NE of Murmansk and the 550 members of the unit were ferried up from Archangel by air, ship and train. Meanwhile, on 3 September, F/Lt V. Gittens and a small team had the task of assembling the crated Hurricanes at Keg-Ostrov, which was on an island 1 mile off Archangel in the River Dvina.
On 9 September P/O R. Holmes flew in an I-153 'Chaika' on a local Recce to familiarise himself with the area before later testing the first three Hurricanes. Over the next few days all were completed and air tested. P/O R. Holmes, F/Lt M. Rook, and P/O R. Woolaston did a display in front of a crowd of Russia VIP's. Z5252 itself was air tested by P/O Woolaston on 11 September.
On 12 September, the first nine Hurricanes led by F/Lt Rook, left Keg-Ostrov and headed NW on the long flight to Afrikanda, near Kandalaksha. A Russian bomber escorted them so that ground troops and Russian shipping could not mistake the formation. After arriving at Afrikanda, they were refueled, but two could not be restarted. (Only seven and the nine flew onto Vaenga on 12 September).
On 16 September the final six Hurricanes, were ready to complete the flight. Led by P/O Holmes, the route was as before and after refueling, the group flew on to Vaenga. Sgt J. Mulroy of 81 Sqn flew Z5252 to Vaenga and on arrival she was kept as a reserve aircraft.
On 25 September Major General A. A. Kuznetsov, who was the Commanding Officer, Naval Air Forces, Soviet Northern Fleet (VVS SF) arrived to test fly a Hurricane. He was an expert pilot with many thousands of hours to his credit and nobody doubted his ability to fly the Hurricane for the first time. Kuznetsov was presented with his own Hurricane and the roundals and fin flash in Z5252 were painted over, and Russian stars and the number '01' were added on the fuselage side.
Not much changed after the Kuznetsov flight, but everyone knew the Wing was to start functioning as an OTU (Operational Training Unit). Patrols would of course continue but the training of the selected pilots and ground crew by 151 Wing, was to become the number one priority.
On 11 October offensive operations for 151 Wing ceased and the last defensive flight was undertaken on 17 October against some incoming He111. For the next nine days the Squadron pilots concentrated on converting the Soviet pilots and ground crews to the Hurricane. On 20 October the order was given to hand over the remaining thirty-five airworthy Hurricanes to the VVS SF.
On 26 October a Bf110 was claimed, the first enemy aircraft shot down by a Russian Hurricane. Two days later the fighter regiment of 78IAP VVS SF was formed to became the first Soviet Hurricane squadron.
151 Wing then went to Murmansk, where they were loaded aboard a returning convoy back to the UK. Most sailed on the cruiser HMS Kenya, which arrived back in Rosyth on 7 December 1941. (For the full story of 151 Wing, see 'To Russia with love' – March/April 1997).
Hawker Hurricane IIB 'Trop' Z5252
