Buried Hurricanes in or around Murmansk? Another speculative question

[Mysticpuma]

Well here goes nothing.

I was recently talking to Eric Carter who flew Hurricanes with 81 Squadron for and with the Russians at Murmansk.

In our conversation he told me that Stalin was keen for the Russian people not to know that there had been outside help and so scores of Hurricanes were buried in mines around the area to cover up what had happened.

And that's about the long and short of it.

Personally I would suggest if they were going to be destroyed, a big fire would have worked?

However as I had this conversation with him, I just thought I would ask here if this had ever been the subject of speculation or mentioned here before?

Cheers, MP

[Graham Boak]

Hurricanes were continued to be delivered to Russia well after Eric Carter left the area. They saw considerable service in the front line, and presumably as fighter trainers later, but not in the Murmansk area. Postwar they continued in use as weather aircraft, and one example was even placed on a plinth outside Murmansk, although I don't know the date it was first erected and this may well not have been in Stalin's time.

This sounds to me more like a postwar "black propaganda" story rather than anything he could have personally witnessed or had direct knowledge of.

[markjsheppard]

The first four squadrons were based at Veanga, right by Murmansk. A number of other units were operating the Hurricane around Murmansk in 1942 as well and probably into 1943. The Hurricane swere operated by the Naval Air Arm more than the Air Force.

The Hurricane IIC in Revda is on the plinth. It was erected in 1990 I recall - first piece of non soviet hardware dedicated in a memorail. Never managed to ID it though had lots of plates. This featured in a Times Suppliment in 1990/91 or so and kick started the whole recovery process as the article mentioned dozens of airframes peppered around the tundra.

regards

Mark