Hurricane wreck with pilot recovery. Northern Russia

[ssnnss]

Canuck63
I have been thinking about what you said aabout the items found on the pilots body. is it possible that he got german coins and ammo incase of if he survives from a plane crash on a German controlled area he would say he is a volunteer joined to Germans and spying the Russians ? and maybe he would escape from an execution ? I wonder if they found some German documents with him

[swiss76]

I've taken a second look at the pictures;what is a "Notabwurf.." plate found inside the cockpits of Luftwaffe aircraft doing amongst the remains?And the German coins)And the Knives?Hope these things,including the jewelry hasn't been looted from the wreckage of a German aircraft downed by Lazerev or else that would be like a cold shower...a VERY cold shower!
Don't want to p#ss on the parade by any means neither-less than less-playing the Devil's advocate but as I was touched by the small mushroom at the same time I couldn't help asking myself what several pieces of German-made stuff were doing there!The knives and the plate may have been souvenirs but the rest?I still want to stay with my first thoughts about the jewelry because I don't want to be unfair towards a fallen young man.
As I'm writing I'm looking at the pictures I've saved and many details pop out....there are rounds of ammo that look like German 8x57 cartridges....could it be that there's more in that swamp?Can we say with 100% certainty that another plane,a German one,hasn' crashed there after Lazarev's?
Cheers
Manny

I just thought about the pig - and wondered if it's sign of luck in other countries(except Islam, lol) as well:

In fact it is not, wiki says in eastern Europe(Ukraine) it's associated with something negative.

A Russian would have carried a fish instead.

Taking a trophy from a shot down airplane is ok and right - looting a body is not.

... and I highly doubt he had a German girlfriend who gave him the pig.

[Berthier92]

Most of the body appears well preserved, (except for his missing legs). was that the position he was in when the hurricane crashed? reminds me very much of Pompei

[frauline nie]

hello, that is the most amazing photo ive seen since ive had an interest in ww11. god bless that man, what a historical find. with all respect to family and loved ones.

[ssg keay]

The reason he lost his feet is that the rudder pedals upon impact would have slammed back with such force as to have ripped of the feet. I saw the same effect on the body of an American airman I recovered in 2005. Danny

[Bassington]

I recently joined this forum, after beign directed to it by a contact of mine on Flickr who is part of a group of aviation arcehology enthusisat, who travel to crash sites and photograph the sites and research the causes etc... The photographs are indeed graphic and in some cases could be viewed as pampering to the morbid curiosity of some. They are though a factual and very important part of historical research and shoudl be treated as such. If I was a relative of the pilot I am not sure I would like to see him like this.... the fact that he was recovered and gven a proper and fitting funeral is wonderul. As many have said before there must be 1000's of such combatants still to be found and granted the same diginity in death. There will be arguments for years as to the rights and wrongs of this process by interested groups.. funny that most countries have as part of their armed forces specialist recovery groups that do the same. The overiding fact should always be.. recovey under strict and authorised procedures... no looting by souvenier hunters. At least there is one more of "The Missing in Action" found and buried with full diginity and his relatives can now have closure. I recently provided a photograph I took of a Lancaster for a lady writing abook on researching her lost cousin, lost on operations, flying in a Lancaster that was shot down by a JU88 over Denmark. She attended the crash site to find him and his 7 crew mates all still in the aircraft some 30 feet down in a bog. Various attempts have been made to recover over the years and now it is officially classed as a war grave and will be left undisturbed. So the debate goes on.... Super sight for anyone interested in WW2 conflict and more importantly the people involved.

[Berthier92]

Bassington: I completely agree with you, unless its the next of kins wish for the bodies to be recovered, the wrecks and their remains should remain as a war grave and treated with respect like other sites, for example the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbour.

[mustang51]

I have just come across this site whilst looking into Hurricanes delivered to Russia as part of 151 Wing RAF. The pictures are amazing, you really do have a scence of the final moments of this brave pilot, and many others like him. I'm sure any family members still surviving will take great comfort from knowing his ultimate fate, and the fact he can now rest in peace. I have the utmost respect for him and his comrades.

[norton65ca]

From what I understand, it has been for some time now, a priority of the Russian government to recover as many of the missing as possible in order that they be laid to rest in a proper and respectful way. there are tens if not hundreds of thousands of missing within the borders of the Russian state and many more elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Each local government is responsible to form a committee to enable this programme to take place on a local level. When sites are found, A team of investigators is sent out and much of the excavation work is done by local troubled youth and juvenile delinquents as a part of their rehabilitation and to create within them a spirit of community service and involvement, not to mention to instill in these youth a sense of gratitude for the sacrifices of their forefathers. I have spent a good deal of time on Russian sites to do with this recovery, there are many pictures such as these to do with vehicles, ordnance, aircraft and of course, human remains. Mass graves have been found and I think the area around Leningrad alone accounts for some 20,000 recoveries in the last 20 years alone. Astounding.
Provided the work is done respectfully and with the appropriate level of care, I see nothing wrong, in fact I believe the work is admirable as if I was a father of a missing soldier, I would want to bring his remains home, not have them lost in some sad and miserable condition.
RIP.

[Bassington]

I agree with all you say... Russia has since the War attached a huge importance to the respect of the millions of Russian losses... they hold this loss in such a high regard it was one of the reasons they built up and maintained their armed forces vowing never to be put under threat ever again by a foreign nation. The fact that they have continued this process of recovering their lost servicemen and women is not unique to Russia but Russia appears to seemingly put more importance`on this than perhaps the West. The idea of using badly behaved youth and young offenders is a fabulous idea for all the reasons you state. At the end of the day, I believe and always will believe that they deserve a final respectful place to interred..near family and allowed a religious service, if the family and or surviving friends so wish. The people carrying out these recoveries are to be praised and thanked for their diligent and respectful approach to these events. I wonder as the living witnesses pass away if this will pass also... I doubt it, there are young people interested in history and holding strong feelings to remember and not to forget these "lost" people. To bring them home is the least we can do. How many in their final moments, possibly alone in death, wished this more than anything... as you say

R.I.P.