The story of Hurricane Z2389
The Hawker Hurricane that is part of the Brooklands Museum was from the fifth production batch of these aircraft built between August 1940 and July 1941. This makes Hurricane Z2389 one of the earlier MkIIA models supplied to the Royal Air Force and it was assembled and test flown at Brooklands or Langley (sadly vital records are missing) before it went into service.
This particular Hurricane served with five RAF squadrons
throughout 1941, including the American volunteer 71 (Eagle) Squadron and the restored aircraft is now finished in these colours. While flying with 71 Squadron, Z2389 was based at Martlesham Heath to the east of Ipswich, Suffolk. Here, it may have served alongside Spitfires, as well as Bristol Blenheim bombers.
Then, as part of emergency war supplies to Russia, Z2389 was crated up and loaded on to merchant ship SS S85 that formed part of the largest Russian convoy up to that point during the Second World War. Convoy PQ16 sailed for Murmansk on 21 May, 1942 with 35 ships, though seven cargo vessels were lost to enemy fire before they reached their destination.
When it arrived, Z2389 was put into service with 767 Regiment of the Red Air Force on the Kola Peninsula in the far northwest of Russia close to the Finnish border. On 20 June, 1942, the Hurricane engaged with two Messerschmitt Bf109Fs and five Bf110s over remote territory near Murmansk. Flight Lieutenant Ivan Kalashnikov was at the controls of Z2389 and the aircraft was seriously damaged, requiring a forced landing. Two other Hurricanes were shot down during the same engagement.
The Hurricane lay undisturbed for 50 years until it was
rediscovered by Russian historians who removed it to a base in St Petersburg in 1996. Some minor work was carried out to preserve the remains and it was put up for sale at the beginning of 1997. After it had been reported to Second World War recovery expert Jim Pearce, he soon viewed it and informed Brooklands Museum’s Curator of Aviation Julian Temple. The latter then inspected it with consultant engineer Geoff Rodwell before the Museum purchased the airframe and brought it back to Brooklands on 14 October, 1997 to begin its long restoration back to the condition it is in today. Z2389 gained further distinction in becoming the first aircraft ever purchased with a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.
18 BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2020 New aluminium skins had to be carefully applied to the wings to replace the originals.
Restoring the wings was a lengthy job and required more than 33,000 rivets to finish the job
had to be rebuilt by first removing the original skins. Although some of the spars underneath had been bent when the aircraft crashed in Russia, they could be straightened and a new skin was put on. Sounds easy, but this work took around five years and 33,000 rivets.
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