Hawker Hurricane
The workhorse that actually won the Battle of Britain.
Though the Spitfire got the glory, it was the Hurricane that shot down more enemy aircraft in the Battle of Britain than all other defences combined. Its steel-tube-and-fabric construction was old-fashioned but tough, easy to repair in the field, and surprisingly battle-tolerant — holes in fabric panels could be patched in minutes.
01Designed by Sydney Camm as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Fury biplane. Entered service in December 1937 — the RAF's first modern monoplane fighter and its first aircraft capable of 300 mph in level flight.
02During the Battle of Britain, Hurricane squadrons were typically directed against German bomber formations while Spitfires engaged the fighter escort. Its stable gun platform and eight-Browning armament were devastating against the Do 17, He 111, and Ju 88.
03Later marks adapted the airframe for nearly every role imaginable: ground-attack Hurribombers, tropical versions for North Africa, naval Sea Hurricanes launched from catapult-equipped merchantmen, and the remarkable Mk.IID tank-buster with 40 mm Vickers S cannons slung under the wings.
Theatres of operation
- ·Western Europe
- ·Mediterranean
- ·North Africa
- ·Eastern Front
- ·Burma
Principal operators
- ·RAF
- ·Soviet VVS
- ·Royal Canadian Air Force
- ·Fleet Air Arm
Others in the same fight.
Supermarine Spitfire
Mk.I — Mk.24
Avro Lancaster
B.I / B.III / B.X
de Havilland Mosquito
Mk.I — Mk.41
Hawker Typhoon
Mk.IB