Hawker Hurricane

The aircraft handling qualities during take-off and landings were excellent due to a wide-track undercarriage with relatively wide low-pressure tyres.

Because of this wide, stable platform the Hurricane was an easier aircraft to land, without fear of nose-overs or "ground-loops", than its [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] counterpart the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

During its operational life the Hurricane was able to operate from all sorts of adverse airfield surfaces with ease.

In flight the large, thick wing meant that the fighter proved to be a stable gun platform.

It was armed with eight [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (7.7 mm) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The armament was arranged in two lots of four in large gunbays incorporated into the outer wing panels.

In 1937 this firepower was enough to outgun the early marks of German [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], which were
equipped with only four light machine guns.

By the time of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], however, it was recognised that this relatively small-calibre armament was more suited to shooting down the wood/canvas machines of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] than the armoured, metal machines of the early 1940s.

It was relatively common during the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] for [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] aircraft to survive numerous hits from .303 in
(7.7 mm) bullets and still return safely to base.

Later versions of the Hurricane were equipped with a more powerful arms package, initially 12 .303 in (7.7 mm) Brownings, and later four 20 mm (.79 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Hurricanes built under license by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in Belgium featured four 12.7 mm (.50 in) FN-Browning guns instead of the .303 inch armament.

Hurricane MkI (Mid-late production)


In 1939, several changes were made to the Hurricane. The powerplant was changed to the Merlin III driving a
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] or [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] constant speed metal propeller.

Ejector exhaust stacks were fitted for added thrust.

The fabric covered wings were replaced by re-stressed metal-covered wings.

An armour-glass panel was incorporated on the front of the windscreen.
The "rod" aerial mast was replaced by a streamlined, tapered design.

From about May 1940 70 pounds of armour plate protection was added in the form of head and back armour.

Starting in September 1940,[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] equipment was installed.

This weighed about 40 lb (18 kg) and could be identified by wire aerials strung between the tailplane tips and rear fuselage.

Although the added weight and the aerials reduced maximum speed by about 2 mph (3 km/h), it allowed the
aircraft to be identified as "friendly" on radar: lack of such equipment was a factor leading to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

At about the same time new [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] T/R Type 1133 radios started replacing the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] TR9 sets.

The pilots enjoyed a much clearer reception which was a big advantage with the adoption of Wing formations throughout the RAF in 1941.

The new installation meant that the wire running between the aerial mast and rudder could be removed, as could the
triangular "prong" on the mast.

At the start of the war the engine ran on the then-standard 87 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

From March 1940 increasing quantities of 100 octane fuel, imported from the U.S., became available.

This meant that during the defensive battles over [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] the Hurricane Is benefited from an allowable increase in supercharger "boost" from 6 lb to 12 lb without damaging the engine.

With the 12 lb "emergency boost", the Merlin III was able to generate 1,305 hp (973 kW) in a five minute burst.

If the pilot resorted to emergency boost, he had to report this on landing and it had to be noted in the engine log book.

In 1939, the RAF had taken on about 500 of this later design to form the backbone of the fighter squadrons
during the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and into the Battle of Britain.

The first RAF ace of the war, a young New Zealander known as [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], flew a Hurricane with No. 73 Squadron.

In June 1940, another wartime ace, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], was promoted to Squadron Leader and took command of No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron flying Hurricane Mk Is.

The famous children's author [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] also flew Hurricanes with No. 80 Squadron in Greece and later in Syria,
against the Germans and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Although some of the basic design elements of the aircraft were from an earlier generation, the Hurricane proved to be a match, to an extent, for the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]E.

In his book, Duel of Eagles, British ace [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], who flew Hurricanes with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] during the Battle of Britain, provides examples demonstrating how the Hurricane's superior turning ability could offset the Bf 109's higher speed.

This small turning circle often allowed a well flown Hurricane to get onto the tail of a 109 even more quickly than a Spitfire, assuming a 109 pilot was unwise enough to be lured into a turning match.

Against the Hurricane was the aircraft's relatively slow acceleration and a top speed some 10-30 mph (16–48 km/h) slower, depending on altitude.

This mean that the 109 pilot often held the initiative when it came to breaking off or attacking during combat.

At higher altitudes especially, the Hurricane was hard-pressed to keep up with a well flown 109, or even a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Lower down the situation was a little more even.

The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] gave more power at low altitude than the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] used in the Bf 109, on account of a different supercharger design.

The DB601A-1 did not start to outperform the Merlin III and XII until above 15,000 ft (4,572 m).

The Merlin's only major drawback was a tendency to cut out during negative-g manoeuvres and inverted flight, on account of fuel starvation from the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. This was temporarily fixed with "[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]", a simple modification.

A direct- injection carburettor later solved the problem and eventually some versions of the Merlin used direct [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Un Rolls Royce Merlin exposé dans le Yorkshire

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When attacking Luftwaffe bombers, it was discovered that the Hurricane's fuel tanks were vulnerable to defensive machine gun fire.

The greatest hazard was with the unprotected gravity-feed fuel tank in front of the cockpit which could rupture when hit, allowing a jet of flame to penetrate the cockpit through the instrument panel, causing serious burn injuries to the pilot.

The wooden and fabric rear fuselage was also far more likely to catch fire than the metal fuselages of its
contemporaries.

This issue was of such concern to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] that he had Hawker retrofit the fuselage tanks of Hurricanes with a fire-resistant material called "Linatex" as a matter of priority.

The wing tanks had already been fitted with a covering of this sealant, but the fuselage tank was considered to be too small a target.

Hurricanes were soon being modified at the rate of 75 per month.

In one month of combat, 10 July 1940 to 11 August, defensive fire from bombers hit 25 Hurricanes and 25 Spitfires; as a result 11 Hurricanes were shot down compared with two Spitfires.

The biggest advantages of the Hurricane were that it was a relatively easy aircraft to fly, which was a boon when it came to squadrons being flooded with inexperienced pilots, and it was a steady gun platform.

The closely grouped .303 in (7.7 mm) Brownings created a superior pattern of fire to those of the Spitfire, which
were spaced out along the wings, and the armament was more quickly serviced.

In spite of its vulnerabilities during the Battle of Britain, the Hurricane shot down the majority of the planes claimed by the RAF (1,593 out of 2,739 in total).

Hurricane fighters were sometimes directed against slower bombers whilst the Spitfires attacked German fighters.

By the close of the Battle of Britain in late 1940, production of the Spitfire had increased to the point where all squadrons could be supplied with them.

In June 1940, the first Hurricane Mk I "Tropical" versions appeared.

These featured a Volkes air filter in a large "chin" fairing under the engine cowling.

Many of these aircraft were ferried to North Africa and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] via [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] using fixed, cylindrical 40 gallon fuel tanks under each wing to extend the range.

The tropical filter and fuel tanks were to be used on later variants of the Hurricane.

Hurricane Mk II



The improved Merlin XX (Mk.20) engine appeared in 1940 featuring a new two-speed [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] that could have its impeller speed changed by the pilot depending on the outside air pressure (altitude).

At about 18,000 ft/5,486 m (effective), it would be switched to a higher speed gearing ("FS ratio" – Full Supercharge) for added compression, while below that, at its lower speed gearing, ("MS ratio" – Moderate Supercharge), it "robbed" less power from the engine.

The result was more power at both lower and higher altitudes, dramatically increasing the overall performance of the engine, peaking at 1,280 hp (954 kW).

Because of the new engine the bay immediately in front of the cockpit was lengthened by 4 in (10 cm).

The carburettor air intake under the forward centre-section was redesigned and moved back 3 in (7.6 cm).

The more powerful engine was cooled by a 70% to 30% water [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] mix, rather than pure glycol used for earlier
Merlin versions.

This and the increased cooling requirements required a larger radiator and a redesigned, circular oil cooler housed in a deeper, slightly wider "bath".

Hurricane IIA Series 1

Although, by this time, production of the Spitfire had started to increase, a Merlin XX powered Hurricane Mk I was built and first flew on 11 June 1940.

The initial Mark II, later known as the Mark IIA Series 1, went into squadron service in September 1940 at the peak of the Battle of Britain.

Hawker had long experimented with improving the armament of the fighter by fitting cannons.

Their first experiments used two 20 mm (.79 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in pods, one under each wing, (one aircraft was tested during 1940 with 151 Squadron) but the extra weight and drag seriously compromised the aircraft's performance and manoeuvreability, and the limited amount of ammunition carried coupled with the frequent stoppages suffered by the drum-fed guns, meant the arrangement was unsatisfactory.

MK II sur airwar.ru :

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A more reliable fit was made with four 20 mm (.79 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], two in each wing, but the weight was enough to seriously reduce performance.

The Hispanos were designed for a rigid, engine based mounting and it was quickly found that the wings flexing in flight led to problems with the weapons twisting in their mounts as they fired, which caused gun jamming through
misaligned shells.

Changes made both to the Hispanos and to their mountings cured this problem.

Small blisters on the upper wing surfaces were needed to clear the Hispano breeches and feed motors.

The first sets of Hispano wings were modified from standard Mark I eight gun wings.

MK II sur airwar.ru :

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