Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>Hawker Hurricane>HA8601

General Background

The Hawker Hurricane was the first British single-engine fighter and the first single wing aircraft with retractable landing gear as well as an enclosed cockpit and 8 machine guns. The Hurricane went into operational service in December 1937 with the RAF 111 Squadron. The Hurricane is usually over looked as a major player in the BoB because of the Spitfire but 80% of the 1,792 German aircraft shot down were because of the Hurricane. There were 14,533 Hurricanes produced in all variants.

The Aircraft

Josef František was born in Czechoslovakia joining the Air Force in 1934. When Czechoslovakia was given to Germany František fled to Poland, then to France and eventually to England where he was assigned to the No. 303 (Polish) Squadron flying the Hawker Hurricane I. His first victory came on September 2, while his last was on September 30, 1940 when he failed to return. He shot down 17 aircraft and was the highest scoring Allied pilot during the Battle of Britain. Seven of his victories were scored flying R4175.

Specifications :

Manufacturer :	Hawker Industries
Country :	UK
First Year of Service :	1937
Production:	14,583
Crew:	1
Dimensions
Length :	31.4 ft (9.57 m)
Wingspan:	39.99 ft (12.19 m)
Height:	13.12 ft (4.0 m)
Weight:
Empty:	4,982 lb (2,260 kg)
Maximum Takeoff:	6,446 lb (2,924 kg)
Performance:
Power plant:	1 x Rolls-Royce Merlin III 12-cylinder Liquid-cooled Producing 1,030 hp
2 Bladed Propeller
Later Production Power plant:	3,164 x Merlin III producing 1,029 hp with a Three-Blade Propeller
Maximum Speed :	318 mph (511 kmh / 276 kts)
Maximum Range :	460 miles (740 km)
Service Ceiling :	35,991 ft (10,970 m)
Rate of Climb :	2,520 ft/min (768 m/min)
Armament :
Early Production :	Hard points – 2
	Machine Guns – 8 x 7.7 mm Colt-Browning in Wings
Later production :	Machine Guns – 8 or 12 x 7.7 mm Colt-Browning in Wings
	Hispano Canons – 4 x 20 mm in the Wings
Optional:	Bombs Under-Wings
	2 x 250 lb
	or
	500 lb
	8 x Unguided Rockets Under-Wings
	2 x 40 mm Canons Under-Wings