Hurricane wreck with pilot recovery. Northern Russia

[sebfrench76]

hi everybody!Does someone knows if this poor pilot had childs(I think ,22 years old even in 1943 was a bit young...) or family?In this case,I would really know how they reacted because this body is so well conserved that you cannot figure out 66 years have passed,and it must be frightening for them.

[airwarrior]

At least two good things have come from this the remains of a ww2 aircraft have been recovered for preservation and the end of the war and a a chapter in history for a brave young pilot at least he can be put to rest in a decent way rather than sitting in that mangled mess for eternity.God bless him

[canadianpatriot]

Do not know the location but if it was in the far north then permafrost is a great preserver.

[KjellSon]

That is truly fascinating. Certainly makes things seem more "real" for us some sixty years later huh?

Glad his body was recovered and laid to rest. Wish we could do the same for all fallen during WWII (and every war for that matter).

Thanks for posting and sharing.

[wildman]

I find the whole story festinating, It makes History come to life, as were just another tick in time. Was this part of the nazi onslaught or retreat when it happened?

[MarcM]

Amazing photos and story. Thanks for posting!

[colt45]

War is hell, its a shame young boys join up today and don't know what they are getting into

[Mickzilla]

Amazing that he stayed in that condition after all those years. Wow!

/Mick

[Dean1962]

Hello. I am new to this forum, but I can give a bit of insight with this case. The pilot in question fell into a peat bog, and this is what preserved him. Peat bogs have certain chemicals which act as an extremely effective preservative. In fact, there have been sacrificed human corpses from the Iron Age found in beat bogs in Scandinavia, and in spite of the fact that they were 1000s of years old, it was possible to see the expressions on their faces, what killed them, their final meals, their hair colours, everything. The only condition of which I am aware that must be followed is that the body must be completely buried in the peat. I guess crashing in a Hurricane will do that.
Ironically, permafrost is not all that great of a preservative. Two things happen. The upper layer of soil in tundra goes through the thaw/freeze cycle and lighter objects are pushed upwards. Therefore many bodies are found on the surface, and either eroded or eaten. Another problem is that the bodies are surrounded by water, which then freezed. Slowly over the years, the bodies are crushed and deformed by the ice.

[Brazos Gunner]

I hope some of this pilot's family are still alive and were able to give him a proper family burial. At least they would finally know what became of him and have some sort of peace. RIP to him and the untold thousands of Russian MIA.