The Battle of Britain (10 July 1940 – 31 October 1941) was World War II’s aerial war between the British and Nazi Germany. One of the important British fighters which defended Great Britain against German aircraft was the Hawker Hurricane.
The Hawker Hurricane was designed by Sir Syndney Camm (1893-1966). The Hurricane was a monoplane derived from the earlier Hawker Fury biplane. The prototype of the Hurricane first flew in 1935 and went into production in 1936.
The Hawker Hurricane had several innovations which would prove vital to World II aircraft. While the emergence of aerial warfare in World War I was based on biplanes, the Hurricane was a monoplane (some people were skeptical about the utility of military monoplanes). In addition, it had retractable landing gear and used the powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.
The Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington has a Hawker Hurricane Mk.XIIA on display. According to the Museum:
“The Hurricane made use of construction methods from its biplane predecessors, including a fabric-covered tail. Because of its simplicity and adaptability, the Hurricane would serve in every major theater of air warfare in World War II.”
The aircraft on display was manufactured by the Canadian Car and Foundry Company in Ontario and was delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942. According to the Museum:
“This aircraft was manufactured as a Sea Hurricane—designed to be launched from merchant ships on a one-way mission to protect a convoy.”
It was later converted to a Mk.XIIA. This aircraft has a top speed of 330 mph, a cruising speed of 206 mph, a range of 468 miles, and a ceiling of 36,500 feet.
Note: museum mechanics were working on this aircraft when it was photographed. It does fly. The Merlin engines in the Canadian-built Hawkers were made by Packard in the U.S.
Note: These photos were taken on July 11, 2024.
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