The skeletal shell of a Second World War aircraft salvaged from a frozen lake in the Arctic Circle could prove a financial windfall for a group of volunteer aviation conservationists.

Members of the Medway Aircraft Preservation Society have been tasked with restoring the 1941-built Hawker Hurricane which arrived at their workshop in bits on a low loader in an ”extremely fragile state”.

The owner of the iconic fighter plane, which played a key part in the Battle of Britain, has now gifted the plane to the society to sell on once the painstaking project is finished.

And with the going rate for a complete craft estimated to be up to £2.5 million, a partially-restored plane could raise thousands of pounds, according to long-standing MAPS volunteer Robin Brooks.

Since arriving at its base at Rochester Airport from an aviation museum on the Isle of Wight six months ago, the group’s highly-skilled engineers have manufactured a tailplane and fin.

They are now working on the assembly of the fuselage before considering whether to take on building the wings which could take up to a year.

Mr Brooks said: “It is an extremely complex task as, unlike Spitfires, the Hurricanes were part metal, part wood and part fabric which meant they could take more punishment.

“How long will it take? How long’s a piece of string?”

The Hawker Hurricane BH238 was among a batch of craft sent to Russia to play an important part in the country’s air defence and was allocated to the Soviet Navy.

During a fierce dogfight on June 2, 1942, it was shot down and crashed just outside the port of Murmansk, Russia.

It remained there until 2004 when a Russian aircraft recovery group retrieved it and sent it to the Isle of Wight to display at a museum in Sandown.

It was bought by a Kent-based businessman and aviation enthusiast who placed it in the capable hands of the MAPS experts to piece it together.

Mr Brooks said: “It was in an extremely fragile state. The initial job was to clean up all the parts that were recovered and remarkably that included the pilot’s seat which was still intact and some of the instruments.

“We cannot say who the businessman is, but we are extremely grateful.

“The money will help us take on more projects.”

Meanwhile, after years of discussion, the group has come up with a lasting memorial to the world-famous Short Brothers aviation manufacturers, once based at Rochester’s Esplanade.

They rescued a dilapidated float plane - one of only two known to have survived in the world - which had been falling into disrepair in a hangar.

They have spent five years so far restoring the craft, including the delicate job of building new wings, and they plan to install the plane at the airport.

Mr Brooks said the tribute to the famous Short’s factory was “a long time coming”.

MAPS, has recently moved into a new purpose-built workshop, which means it can take on more work restoring historic aircraft and artefacts.

Patron Queen Camilla, who holds the honorary title of “MAPS Chap”, has a strong interest in aviation history and has visited the base several times.

It is open to the public on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday from 9.30am to noon.