https://sputnikglobe.com/20230702/ukraine-finds-wwii-era-brit-fighters-in-aircraft-graveyard-near-kiev-1111620585.html
Ukraine Finds WWII-Era Brit Fighters in Aircraft Graveyard Near Kiev
Ukraine Finds WWII-Era Brit Fighters in Aircraft Graveyard Near Kiev
Sputnik International
Nearly 3,000 British and Canadian-built Hawker Hurricanes were sent to the USSR in 1941-1944 to help Moscow fight the Nazis. Today, the UK is providing another sort of "aid", fueling a NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.
2023-07-02T11:52+0000
2023-07-02T11:52+0000
2023-07-02T13:17+0000
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The remnants of eight British Hawker Hurricane fighter planes delivered to the USSR during the Second World War as Lend-Lease support have been discovered in a forest outside Kiev, UK media have reported.The aircraft, paid for by the US and built in Britain, were reportedly found in a search using metal detectors after an unexploded World War II-era bomb was discovered nearby.Moscow eagerly accepted Britain’s offer to provide Hurricane fighters to help the USSR slow down the initial Nazi assault in the summer of 1941, with the planes earlier credited with helping London survive the Luftwaffe’s massed air raids on southern England during the 1940 Battle of Britain.The first Hurricanes sent to the Soviet Union were flown by British pilots directly to Murmansk, with subsequent parties delivered and assembled in Arkhangelsk by British specialists, who helped train Soviet pilots and even took part in joint patrols providing cover for convoys delivering wartime aid.But Lend-Lease aid wasn’t free, with the USSR sending billions of dollars in gold, precious metals, wood, and other resources to the US and the UK during the war, and Russia paying off the remainder of the balance owing only in 2006. Most Soviet Army Air Force Hurricanes which survived World War II were deliberately broken up to avoid paying hefty fees to the US. The eight Hurricanes found near Kiev had their radios, guns, and instruments removed and were broken up before being buried.It’s estimated that as few as 16 restored Hurricanes are left in airworthy condition in the world today. Two Hurricanes are on display in Russia – one at a war memorial outside Murmansk, and a second at an aircraft museum near Moscow.Mixing Sacred War With Modern DisasterNational Aviation Museum of Ukraine lead researcher Valerii Romanenko couldn’t help but attempt to mix the discovery of the WWII-vintage planes with contemporary politics, calling the Hurricanes "a symbol of British assistance during the years of the Second World War, just as we are very appreciative of British assistance nowadays.""In 1941, Britain was the first who supplied fighter aircraft to the Soviet Union in mass scale. Now the UK is the first country which gives Storm Shadow cruise missiles to our armed forces," he added.The United Kingdom is second only behind the United States in terms of military assistance provided to Kiev in the West's ongoing proxy war against Russia, sending over 5.5 billion pounds sterling ($7 billion US) in weapons over the past year. London also proved instrumental in frustrating peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, with now ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveling to Ukraine in the spring of 2022 to foil an imminent peace deal.
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ukraine, world war ii, hurricane, fighter plane, wwii, lend lease, united kingdom, britain, assistance, aid, support
ukraine, world war ii, hurricane, fighter plane, wwii, lend lease, united kingdom, britain, assistance, aid, support
Ukraine Finds WWII-Era Brit Fighters in Aircraft Graveyard Near Kiev
11:52 GMT 02.07.2023 (Updated: 13:17 GMT 02.07.2023) Nearly 3,000 British and Canadian-built Hawker Hurricanes of various modifications including fighters, interceptors, and fighter-bombers were sent to the USSR as Lend-Lease aid from 1941-1944 to help the Soviets fight the Nazis. Today, London is providing a very different sort of aid that's fueling the NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.
The remnants of eight British Hawker Hurricane fighter planes delivered to the USSR during the Second World War as Lend-Lease support have been discovered in a forest outside Kiev, UK media have reported.
The aircraft, paid for by the US and built in Britain, were reportedly found in a search using metal detectors after an unexploded World War II-era bomb was discovered nearby.
Moscow eagerly accepted Britain’s offer to provide Hurricane fighters to help the USSR slow down the initial Nazi assault in the summer of 1941, with the planes earlier credited with helping London survive the Luftwaffe’s massed air raids on southern England during the 1940 Battle of Britain.
The first Hurricanes sent to the Soviet Union were flown by British pilots directly to Murmansk, with subsequent parties delivered and assembled in Arkhangelsk by British specialists, who helped train Soviet pilots and even took part in joint patrols providing cover for convoys delivering wartime aid.
Soviet engineers and mechanics tinkered with the aircraft to improve their characteristics against the latest German aircraft, improving their armor, equipping them with heavier machineguns (like 12.7 mm Soviet machineguns replacing the standard 7.62 mm Brownings), and adding hardpoints for up to six unguided RS-82 rockets. Changes were also made to simplify the planes’ engines’ cooling systems, and improve their characteristics in the long and cold Russian winters.
But
Lend-Lease aid wasn’t free, with the
USSR sending billions of dollars in gold, precious metals, wood, and other resources to the US and the UK during the war, and Russia paying off the remainder of the balance owing only in 2006. Most Soviet Army Air Force Hurricanes which survived World War II were deliberately broken up to avoid paying hefty fees to the US. The eight Hurricanes found near Kiev had their radios, guns, and instruments removed and were broken up before being buried.
It’s estimated that as few as 16 restored Hurricanes are left in airworthy condition in the world today. Two Hurricanes are on display in Russia – one at a war memorial outside Murmansk, and a second at an aircraft museum near Moscow.
Mixing Sacred War With Modern Disaster
National Aviation Museum of Ukraine lead researcher Valerii Romanenko couldn’t help but attempt to mix the discovery of the WWII-vintage planes with contemporary politics, calling the Hurricanes "a symbol of British assistance during the years of the Second World War, just as we are very appreciative of British assistance nowadays."
"In 1941, Britain was the first who supplied fighter aircraft to the
Soviet Union in mass scale. Now the UK is the first country which gives Storm Shadow cruise missiles to our armed forces," he added.
What Romanenko didn't mention was that the Nazis’ wartime allies – the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) militias portrayed as heroes by Ukraine's current government, fought against the Soviets during the Second World War, and carried out war crimes against Ukrainians, Russians, Poles, and Jews. It also apparently slipped his mind that Kiev today is using its British missiles to target Donbass settlements populated by the descendants of those who once fought against the Nazi menace together - but have now been made to fight one another in the West’s proxy war against Russia.
The United Kingdom is second only behind the United States in terms of military assistance provided to Kiev in the West's ongoing proxy war against Russia, sending over 5.5 billion pounds sterling ($7 billion US) in weapons over the past year. London also proved instrumental in
frustrating peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, with now ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson
traveling to Ukraine in the spring of 2022 to foil an imminent
peace deal.
