Hawker Hurricane

Hurricane IIA Series 2 (Hurricane IIB)

With the new Merlin XX, performance was good enough to keep the ageing Hurricane in production.

Hawker soon introduced the new Mark IIA Series 2 with either of two wings; one mounting 12 Brownings, the other with four Hispano cannon in the original gun-bays.

The first Series 2s, armed with 12 .303 in (7.7 mm) Brownings (four per wing in the original gun-bays and two more in new gun-bays outboard of the landing lights) arrived in October.

These Mk IIA Series IIs also featured a new longer propeller spinner and later become the Mark IIB in April 1941.

The tailwheel recess on the ventral keel was changed in shape and the tailwheel leg became a levered-suspension unit with a small torque link.

Hurricane IIB Trop.

For use in North Africa; the Hawker Hurricane IIB, (and other aircraft), were tropicalized, or "trop".

They were given engine dust filters and the pilots were issued a desert survival kit.

Hurricane IIC

The Hurricane IIA Series 2s armed with four 20 mm (.79 in) Hispanos become the Mark IIC in June 1941, using a
slightly modified wing.

The new wings also included a hardpoint for a 500 lb (227 kg) or 250 lb (113 kg) bomb, and later in 1941, fixed 40 gal
(182 l) fuel tanks.

By then performance was inferior to the latest German fighters, and the Hurricane changed to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] role, sometimes referred to as the Hurribomber.

The mark also served as a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and "intruder."

II D :

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Hurricane IID

Mk IIs were used in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] where it was quickly learned that destroying German tanks was difficult, the cannons did not have the performance needed while bombing the tanks was almost impossible.

The solution was to equip the aircraft with a 40 mm cannon in a pod under each wing, reducing the other armament to a single Browning in each wing loaded with tracers for aiming purposes.

Hurricanes so equipped were quickly nicknamed "Flying Can Openers", perhaps a play on the No. 6 Squadron's logo which flew the Hurricane starting in 1941, and was equipped with the Hurricane II starting in December 1942.

The layout was originally tested on a converted Mk IIB and flew on 18 September 1941.

A new-build version of what was known as the Mk IID started in 1942, including additional armour for the pilot, radiator and engine.

The aircraft were initially supplied with a Rolls-Royce gun and carried 12 rounds, but soon changed to the 40 mm (1.57 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] with 15 rounds.

The weight of guns and armour protection marginally impacted the aircraft's performance.

The IID undertook an anti-tank role in limited numbers during the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] where, provided enemy [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and fighters were absent, they proved accurate and highly effective, not only against armoured vehicles but all motor transport.

Hurricane IIE

Another wing modification was introduced in the Mk IIE, but the changes soon became extensive enough that it was renamed the Mk IV after the first 250 had been delivered.

Hurricane T.IIC

The T Mk IIC was a two-seat training version of the Mk. IIC. Only two aircraft were built for the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Air Force.

Hurricane Mk III


The Mk III was a Mk II equipped with a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-built Merlin engine, intending to provide supplies of the British-built engines for other designs.

By the time production was to have started, Merlin production had increased to the point where the idea was abandoned.

Hurricane Mk IV


The last major change to the Hurricane was to "rationalize" the wing, configuring it with a single design able to mount two bombs, two 40 mm (1.57 in) Vickers S guns, or eight [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] rockets.

The new design also mounted the improved Merlin 24 or 27 engines of 1,620 hp (1,208 kW), equipped with dust filters for desert operations.

An additional 350 lb (159 kg) of armour plating was added to the radiator housing, cockpit and fuel tanks.

The Mk IV was used in ground-attack missions in the European theatre until the early days of 1944, before being replaced by the more modern [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

French ace [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] recalls in his book, The Big Show, that RP-3-equipped Hurricanes were limited to
205 mph (330 km/h) top speed due to the rockets' drag, and that Hurricane casualty rates against the lethal German [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] were extremely high.

In particular, Clostermann describes a rocket attack by Hurricanes from No. 184 Squadron RAF against a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] launch-site on the French coast on 20 December 1943, in which three of the four aircraft were shot down before they could attack.

MK IV sur airwar.ru :

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Hurricane Mk V


Two Hurricane Mk Vs were built as conversions of Mk IVs, and featured a Merlin 32 engine driving a four-bladed propeller.

As the ground attack role moved to the more capable [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], production of the Hurricane ended, and only a handful were delivered with the Merlin 32.

By this time, the Hurricane was no longer a frontline fighter in the United Kingdom.

However, it still saw extensive service overseas as a fighter, playing a prominent role in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

It was also critical to the defence of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] during 1941 and early 1942.

Canadian Variants


Some production of the Hurricane was carried out in Canada by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].


Hurricane Mk X

Single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber. Powered by a 1,300 hp (969 kW) Packard Merlin 28.

The propeller unit was changed to a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] "Hydromatic" constant-speed unit; often these aircraft lacked
spinners. Eight 0.303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns mounted in the wings.
In total, 490 were built.


Hurricane Mk XI

150 were built.


Hurricane Mk XII

Single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber. Powered by a 1,300 hp (969 kW) Packard Merlin 29.

Initially armed with 12 0.303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns, but this was later changed to four 20 mm (.79 in) cannons.


Hurricane Mk XIIA

Single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber. Powered by a 1,300 hp (969 kW) Packard Merlin 29, armed with eight
0.303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns.

Sea Hurricanes


Sea Hurricane Mk IA

The Sea Hurricane Mk IA was a Hurricane Mk I modified by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

They were modified to be carried by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] armed [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]).

These were cargo ships equipped with a catapult for launching an aircraft, but without facilities to recover them.

Thus, if the aircraft were not in range of a land base, pilots were forced to bail out and be picked up by the ship. They were informally known as "Hurricats".

The majority of the aircraft modified had suffered wear-and-tear from serving with front line squadrons, so much so that at least one example used during trials broke-up under the stress of a catapult launching. 50 aircraft were converted from Hurricane Mk Is.

The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] preferred the lighter de Havilland propellers over the Rotol types; it was found during tests that the Rotol unit could lead to the nose dipping during arrested landings, causing the propeller blades to "peck" the carrier deck.

The lighter de Havilland units avoided this problem.

Sea Hurricane Mk IB

Hurricane Mk IIA Series 2 version equipped with catapult spools plus an arrester hook.

From October 1941, they were used on [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (MAC ships), which were large cargo vessels with a flight deck enabling aircraft to be launched and recovered. 340 aircraft were converted.


Sea Hurricane Mk IC

Hurricane Mk IIB and Mk IIC version equipped with catapult spools, an arrester hook and the four-cannon wing.
From February 1942 400 aircraft were converted.


Sea Hurricane Mk IIC

Hurricane Mk IIC version equipped with naval radio gear. 400 aircraft were converted and used on fleet carriers.


Sea Hurricane Mk XIIA

Canadian-built Hurricane Mk XIIA converted into Sea Hurricanes.

Survivors

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Of the more than 14,500 Hurricanes that were built, only 12 survive in airworthy condition worldwide, although other non-flying examples survive in various air museums worldwide.