Operation Dervish '91 – Hurricane i/d puzzle

This is Z5207 at Thruxton a couple of weeks ago

Z5227 is safely stored in California.

Excellent, Mark– that explains much. So it is Z5227 in the USA, then… fascinating.

Hurricane Z5252 was on of 15 assembled in Archangel. It was a spare and never coded either with squadron code/id letter or soviet number. It has been gifted to the state and as far as I am aware it is still in storage in Russia. Other 151 Wing Hurricanes survive – but only 81 Sqn. Z5207 in thruxton and Z5227 in the States. Z5252 was also flown by Safanov.

http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=39533

http://www.lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/sheppard/hurricane_Z5252/index.htm

regards

Mark

As far as I am aware Z5252 is still in Russia, it was not sold to the USA. I also thought it was a reserve aircraft and did not carry RAF unit codes.

Mark 12 has kindly supplied me with a very nice selection of photos of various Russian Hurricane recoveries, the only problem is he is not sure of the identities of the airframes in question!

Throwing this open to all – does anyone have any information regarding the serial, the provenance or the subsequent disposal of this one, which was temporarily assembled on the quayside in Archangel during “Operation Dervish ’91” which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the original arrival of No. 151 Wing at Vaenga in 1941?

See post #18 in previous thread http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?118320-Flying-Soviet-Huricane-Spitfire-Please! Same machine, but you have probably already spotted that. Odd that Mark12 mentions the Z2587 panel found on it but not the actual id of the machine itself. If the one on the quayside is P3353/DR393 then there is the link.

Hurricane IIb Z5252 (see photo of “White 01”, above) is the main point of interest, to my mind. I have yet to work out what code it carried while serving with 151 Wing, but thereafter the aircraft became the personal mount of Hero of the Soviet Union Lt.General A.A. Kuznetsov, Commander of the Navy’s entire Northern Fleet Air Force. He is widely alleged to have conducted ~30-50 combat sorties in this aircraft, and similarly that he surreptitiously scored two victories in it [by regulation, he was banned from combat flight, but undertook such missions anyway].

As a collectable historic airframe, I cannot imagine any other Hurricane in existence surpassing this one. Why it has never been snapped up by a wealthy UK owner, I will never understand….

Be that as it may, to my knowledge this airframe is still located in the USA. I hope one day it finds itself restored to its authentic wartime livery.

“B-GO”, painted as “Z5252” was eventually shipped to the UK but it’s identity got muddled with that of Z5053. I have seen the wings of Z5053 … they are now little more than scrap but useful for parts recovery. I’m trying to confirm what happened to the rest of the airframe(s). The genuine Z5252 was recovered in October 2004 from a lake near Kola Bay … photos arrived from Boris Osetinskiy over night 🙂

Mark 12 didn’t take the photos. He passed copies to me, I’d be very interested in any information regarding Russian recoveries to make sure I get the book right … The Canadians are bad enough!

Dervish 91

I am surprised to read that Mk 12 was in Murmansk (not Arkhangelsk ) taking pics., in 1991. I was there (in Murmansk) and met most of the guys celebrating the Arctic convoy reunion with the Russians. HMS London was moored off shore and I was lucky enough to get inside the naval base to find a hanger full of wartime aeroplanes locked away in darkness. Right next to the hanger was a small house painted with stars, moons and space objects originally gifted to Uri Gagarin after his famous first space flight.(see pics). The Hurricane shown is definitely not the one on a plinth outside a Russian airbase. That was still a memorial when I was there, but was removed a couple of years later as far as I know.
I was there too early to have any success with the Russian mafia. Everything was priced at a million dollars, and those that came later were able to calm the market into sensible dealings. There were many would be buyers who lost all their money to mafia scams and false bank accounts. The main problem in those early days, was proof of ownership. Everything ostensibly belonged to the state, and many a deposit was paid and those Russians involved were never seen again.
Russia did however eventually produce some amazing aircraft from the bundi & fresh water lakes etc. Whether they proved profitable recoveries we will probably never know.
I have many more pics of 87’s,109’s. Hurricanes, 110’s, American wrecks…..too many for for here I think.
Here are some. B-GO was in Obninsk in 1993.

G-ORDY
DR393/P3351 might well be the correct id, but have you seen the photos used in Bonhams sale brochure for the aircraft which show a collection of very fragmented Hurricane sections? Maybe they were intended as ‘examples of the type of wreckage recovered’ – interestingly one shows a Polish insignia on one of the fuselage side panels. See pm.

Confirmed by a Norwegian friend who was there and took similar photos.

Remember seeing these photos a long time ago.

This is DR393, P3351, engine Merlin XX Serial 94573(/A349034) now flying in France.

regards

Mark

Excellent news – thanks Mark!

Confirmed by a Norwegian friend who was there and took similar photos.

Remember seeing these photos a long time ago.

This is DR393, P3351, engine Merlin XX Serial 94573(/A349034) now flying in France.

regards

Mark

That was my first thought too.

Isn’t there an ex-RAF one preserved on a plinth in that area somewhere? I wonder if it is the same airframe.