 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Hawker Hurricane Mk I In 1933, Hawker's chief designer, Sydney Camm, decided to design an aircraft which would fulfill a British Air Ministry specification calling for a new monoplane fighter. His prototype, powered by a 990hp Rolls Royce Merlin 'C' engine, first flew on 6 November 1935, and quickly surpassed expectations and performance estimates. |
 |
Official trials began three months later, and in June 1936, Hawker received an initial order for 600 aircraft from the Royal Air Force. The first aircraft had fabric wings. |
 |
To power the new aircraft (now officially designated the "Hurricane,") the RAF ordered the new 1,030hp Merlin II engine. |
 |
The first production Hurricane flew on 12 October 1937, and was delivered to the 111 Squadron at RAF Northolt two months later. A year later, around 200 had been delivered, and demand for the airplane had increased enough that Hawker contracted with the Gloster Aircraft company to build them also. During the production run, the fabric-covered wing was replaced by an all-metal one, a bullet-proof windscreen was added, and the engine was upgraded to the Merlin III. Before WWII, production locations expanded to include Yugoslavia, Belgium and in 1940, Canada, where it was undertaken by the Canadian Car and Foundry Company. |
 |
August 1940 brought what has become the Hurricane's shining moment in history: The Battle of Britain. RAF Hurricanes accounted for more enemy aircraft kills than all other defenses combined, including all aircraft and ground defenses. Later in the war, the Hurricane served admirably in North Africa, Burma, Malta, and nearly every other theater in which the RAF participated. |
 |
The Hurricane underwent many modifications during its life, resulting in many major variants, including the Mk IIA, with a Merlin XX engine; the Mk IIB, with interchangeable wings housing twelve 7.7mm (0.303in) guns and carrying two 500lb bombs; the Mk IID, a tankbuster with two 40mm anti-tank guns plus two 7.7mm guns; the Mk IV, with a universal, multi-purpose wing, and powered by a 1,620hp Merlin 24/27 engine; and the Canadian-built Mk XII, with a 1,300hp Packard Merlin 29 engine. During the war, Hurricanes were sold to Egypt, Finland, India, the Irish Air Corps, Persia, Turkey, and the USSR. |
 |
The Hurricane was undoubtedly one of the greatest and most versatile fighter aircraft of WWII, and it remained in service with the RAF until January 1947. |
 |
Nicknames: Hurry; Hurribomber (Malta-based Hurricanes) |
 |
Specifications (Mk IIB): Engine: 1,280hp Rolls-Royce Merlin XX 12-cylinder V piston engine Weight: Empty 5,500 lbs., Max Takeoff 7,300 lbs. Wing Span: 40ft. 0in. Length: 32ft. 2.5in. Height: 13ft. 1in. |
 |
Performance: Maximum Speed at 22,000 ft: 342 mph Cruising Speed at 20,000 ft: 296 mph Ceiling: 36,500 ft Range: 480 miles Armament: Twelve 7.7mm (0.303in.) wing-mounted machine guns Two 250 or 500-lb bombs Number Built: 14,231 Number Still Airworthy: 6 Link |
 |
Hawker Hurricane Mk I JRLucariny FS2002/2004 model PANEL JRLucariny With Custom Panel Designer Version 2.5 - ABACUS DRAWINGS ”HURRICANE in action” Squadron/sirnal publications AIRCRAFT NO. 72 Canopy Open SHIFT+E Close SHIFT+E |
 |
”HURRICANE in action” |
 |
Hawker Hurricane Mk IA Hawker Aircraft Ltd. had a long history of producing single-engine warplanes with origins that reached back to the famous Sopwith Camel. Hiring Sydney Camm as their chief designer proved to be a stroke of good luck that resulted in the production of Hawkerís most famous plane - the Hurricane. |
 |
Immediately upon assuming the role of chief designer in 1925, Sydney Camm started work on a monoplane design. While it was never built, Camm never let the idea drop from his mind and in 1933 he directed the company to begin work on a monoplane based around the Rolls Royce Goshawk steam-cooled engine and using lessons learned from the Hawker Fury biplane. Working with Rolls Royce, Camm found out that they were working on an even more powerful engine, known at the time as the PV-12. |
 |
While the new design incorporated many advanced features, it used the standard Hawker construction techniques that they used on their biplanes, namely a tubular frame construction covered by doped fabric. The biggest impediment to development was the lack of reliability in the new Rolls Royce powerplant, but finally in February 1936 the first prototype was delivered to the RAF for official trials. |
 |
So confident were they that the Air Ministry would accept the plane, Hawker's directors, including T.O.M. Sopwith, decided to start a large-scale production program. This proved to be a fortuitous move as they were able to deliver over 500 planes by the time the war started on September 3, 1939. |
 |
The first half of the production order of 600 planes was powered by the Merlin II fitted with a two-blade, fixed pitch Watts wooden prop. However, the second half of the production run was equipped with the newer Merlin III engine and either a Rotol or deHavilland three-bladed, multi-pitch metal prop. The fabric-covered wings were also giving way to metal covered versions and earlier versions of the Mk.I were usually retrofitted with the newer engine, prop and wing when they underwent depot level repairs and refits. |
 |
At the beginning of the Battle of Britain RAF Fighter Command had 30 squadrons of Hurricanes and 19 squadrons of Spitfires, which meant that the Hurricanes bore the brunt of the fighting. Because the Spitfire was faster and more agile, it was targeted towards fighters while the slower but more durable Hurricanes were sent after the bombers. However, despite the greater notoriety of the Spitfire and its pilots, it was a Hurricane pilot of No. 249 Squadron, Flt. Lt. J.B. Nicholson, who won the only Victoria Cross awarded to a member of Fighter Command. |
 |
Weaknesses Ground Attack: Lacking an ordnance carrying capacity of any kind and equipped only with .303 machine guns, the Hurricane is incapable of doing any anti-ground work. Firepower: Even with a brace of eight, the .303 Browning just didn't have enough punch to make it a viable fighter weapon. |
 |
Strengths Durability: The tubular steel skeleton of the Hurricane gave it a remarkable durability for a plane of its era. |
 |
Historical Statistics Service Date: March 1938 |
 |
Primary Guns: 4x Browning 0.303" (7.7mm) machine guns with 334 rpg in wings Secondary Guns: 4x Browning 0.303" (7.7mm) machine guns with 334 rpg in wings Ordnance: none |
 |
Engine(s): 1x Rolls-Royce Merlin III in-line rated for 1,030 hp at sea level (1,080 hp with WEP) |
 |
Int Fuel Capacity: 698 lbs (317 kg) Ext Fuel Capacity: none |
 |
Maximum Speeds: 245 mph (394 kph) at sea level, 324 mph (521 kph) at 16,240 ft (4,949 m) Ceiling: 34,200 ft (10,424 m) Loaded Weight: 6,600 lbs (2,994 kg) Wing Area: 257.4 sq ft (24 sq m) Wing Loading: 25.6 lbs/sq ft (124.8 kg/sq m) Link |
 |
PANEL JRLucariny Custom Panel Designer Version 2.5 - ABACUS |
 |
Hurricane Mk IA JRLucariny FS2002/2004 model |
 |
Canopy Open SHIFT+E Close SHIFT+E |
 |
”HURRICANE in action” Squadron/sirnal publications AIRCRAFT NO. 72 |