In 1933, Hawker's chief designer, Sydney Camm, decided to design an aircraft which would fulfil 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 defences combined, including all aircraft and ground defences. Later in the war, the Hurricane served admirably in North Africa, Burma, Malta, and nearly every other theatre 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 tank buster 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.
When I was in the UK I lived next to a WWII Hurricane and spitfire pilot .I only found out by chance a Hurricane he flew in Malta was found and restored some time back the RAF flew him out he was looked after by the government of Malta . The end of trip he was shown the restored aircraft and allowed to sit in .He told me that he could do nothing but cry as he rememberd all his friends who did not make it
I always liked the looks of the Hurricane. The Tempest is also another favorite of mine and in MS Combat Flight Simulator, it is one of the few planes I do well with. I guess I was never meant to be a combat pilot. Oh well...
Something that made the Hurricane tough was the tubular frame construction with fabric stretched over the gaps.....rather in the manner of the Wellington, but not a geodosic frame.... The "Hurri" could take hits that would break a "Spit" in two. But all that metal came at a price. Maneuvering a Hurricane took some strength, whereas the "Spit" was much lighter on the controls.... The Russians appreciated the toughness of the Hawker Hurricane, too. It made a great ground attack aircraft before specialized aircraft replaced it. I'm told that maintenence of Hurricanes was less severe. Their role in the Desert Air force is well known. A "Spit" was a much more tempremental aircraft....and it's Rolls royce engine only lasted 25 flying hours before needing an overhaul..... Squadron Leader Stanford Tuck swore by the Hurricane's ruggedness, crediting it's tough construction standards with saving more than a few pilots during the Battle of Britain. Shortage of pilots was always going to be a problem. Truly, they were "The Few"
The Yugoslav Government ordered twenty-four Hurricane I from Hawker. The first batch of 12 being delivered from December 1938, the second twelve being shipped in February 1940. In addition the Yugoslav Government placed orders for forty Hurricanes to be built under license at the Rogozarski and Zmaj factories. A monthly delivery rate of eight machines was anticipated but by the time of the German invasion less than twenty Yugoslav built Hurricanes had been completed. On April 6, 1941 the Yugoslav Air Force possessed thirty-eight Hurricanes (18 with No.51 Squadron, 14 with No.33 Squadron and 6 with No.34 Squadron). These saw considerable action against the advancing German columns over Zagreb and Bosnia, before eventually being destroyed by their pilots to stop them falling into German hands. After the war the Hurricanes of the Royal Air Forces No. 351 (Yugoslav) Sqquadron were handed over to the Yugoslav Partisan Air Force with which they operated for a short period.
Finland took delivery of a dozen Hurricane Mk.1s in February 1940 but these had not been reassermbled and placed in service by the time that the armistice was signed ending the Winter War. During the Continuation War, eleven of these aircraft saw some limited service, although they were sevely hampered by a shortage of spare parts.
