Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...-Kyiv.html

INTRO: Ukraine has made a 'rare' discovery of rusting British World War Two fighter planes buried in a forest outside Kyiv.  The planes were transported to the Soviet Union by Britain after Nazi Germany invaded in 1941.

According to the BBC, the aircraft were part of a package of allied military support for the USSR. It was reportedly paid for by the US under the supposed Lend-Lease scheme.

This is the first time the remains of such a large number of Hurricanes have been discovered in Ukraine, according to aviation experts.  Oleks Shtan, a former airline pilot leading the excavation, said: '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.'

About 3,000 Hurricanes were sent to the USSR between 1941 and 1944 to assist in the Soviet war effort. Most of them were either demolished in combat or taken apart later for their parts. Mr Shtan said: 'The Hurricane was a strong, easy to fly machine.'

Some Hurricanes were purposely taken apart and buried after the war so that the Soviets did not have to pay back the US... (MORE - details)

(BBC News) Ukraine finds British WW2 Hurricane planes outside Kyiv ... https://youtu.be/D38SXIO6ejA

Hasn't Ukraine been complaining that they need fighter planes and haven't they been demanding F-16's??

Well, here's the answer! Watch out Russia! Just wait until Ukraine gets these things flying again! You are so doomed!!

Actually, I don't expect them to ever restore these planes to flying condition. They are probably in pretty bad shape after being buried for so long. But aircraft restorers can do wonders with old planes, so it's conceivable that they might be restored to a state where they can be displayed in Ukraine's aviation museum. I suppose that they would have to be disassembled piece-by-piece, everything thoroughly cleaned, perhaps some fatally-corroded parts replaced by custom-manufactured replacements (stuff like seats almost certainly), missing parts like instruments replaced, then the bare metal repainted in a period paint-scheme. I would guess that getting the 80 year old engines running again might be impossible at this point, after a couple of generations buried in the ground.