Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>Hawker Hurricane>HA8606
Hawker Hurricane I LE-D, flown by Sqn Ldr Douglas Bader, No 242 Sqn., Coltishall, Sept 1940
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
Although Douglas Bader had lost both legs and wore artificial limbs he became an outstanding
RAF pilot. In February 1940 Bader joined the No. 19 Squadron and later transferred to No. 222
Squadron as Flight Commander and scored his first victory on June 1, 1940. In July 1940 he was
given command of the No. 242 Canadian Squadron. In September he became a Flight Lieutenant
with the DSO and by the end of the Battle of Britain Bader had scored 12 victories and ended
WWII with a total of 23 victories.
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 |