Eight British WW2 Hurricane planes found buried in forest outside Kyiv
The relevant statement was made by BBC, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
The aircraft were sent to the Soviet Union by Britain after Nazi Germany invaded the country in 1941.
They were part of a package of allied military support for the USSR, paid for by the United States under the so-called Lend-Lease scheme.
Similar legislation is being used by the U.S. government today to send military aid to Ukraine as it seeks to expel Russian forces from the country.
Aviation experts say this is the first time the remains of so many Hurricanes have been found in Ukraine.
“It is very rare to find this aircraft in Ukraine. It’s very important for our aviation history because no Lend-Lease aircraft have been found here before,” says Oleks Shtan, a former airline pilot who is leading the excavation.
In total, about 3,000 Hurricanes were sent to the USSR between 1941 and 1944 to support the Soviet war effort. Most of them were either destroyed in combat or dismantled later for parts.
However, some Hurricanes were deliberately broken up and buried after the war so the Soviets did not have to pay back the United States. Under the Lend-Lease legislation, the USSR was required to pay for any donated military equipment that remained intact after hostilities ended.
This was the fate of the eight Hurricanes found buried in woodland south of Kyiv – now the capital of independent Ukraine.
Photo: STATE AVIATION MUSEUM, KYIV
They had been stripped of their instruments, radios, machine guns and any useful scrap metal. They were then dragged by tractors from a nearby airfield, broken up and dropped without ceremony into a shallow ravine. It is thought they were then covered with earth by bulldozers.
The remains were discovered recently after an unexploded bomb dating from the war was found nearby. The rest of the ravine was checked using metal detectors and the Hurricanes were found.
The National Aviation Museum of Ukraine is now in the process of painstakingly excavating the site by hand. Staff there aim to identify as much of the aircraft as possible so they can be reassembled and put on display.
Valerii Romanenko, head of research at the museum, says the Hurricanes played an important part in Ukraine’s history.
“The Hurricanes are a symbol of British assistance during the years of World War 2, just as we are very appreciative of British assistance nowadays,” Romanenko noted.
Currently, the United Kingdom is one of the largest suppliers of military equipment to Ukraine.
Photo: bbc.co.uk
