| Warbirds: The Hawker Hurricane |
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Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane was designed by Sydney Cam in 1934. A prototype was flown on the 6th November 1935.
The first squadron to equip with Hurricanes was no.111 at Northolt in December 1937 and by the outbreak of war,
32 squadrons were flying the type. The Hurricane was the first monoplane fighter to be equipped with eight .303
machine guns and able to fly over 300 mph in level flight in RAF service. |
![]() Hurricane Mk.IIc (PZ865) of the BBMF. |
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During the Battle of Britain it shot down more enemy aircraft then the rest of the air defences put together. It was a
rugged, damage tolerant, and stable gun platform with a wide-track undercarriage for easy landings. It didn't have
the power of the Spitfire but it did have a better turning performance. The Hurricane complemented the Spitfire very well. Click here to listen to the Merlin engine. |
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| Hurricanes flying in the UK: | |
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Hurricane XII Z7381 'XR T'
This Hurricane is owned by the Historic Aircraft Collection.
She is an ex-RCAF(Royal Canadian Air Force) aircraft that was brought to the UK in 1983 and was
eventually transported and rebuilt at Duxford. She was flown on the 1st september 1989 after her 6 year rebuild. The paint scheme is of an aircraft of No.71 squadron, the first 'Eagle' squadron of American volunteers who fought for the RAF before the USA entered the war. |
| Sea Hurricane IB Z7015 '7L' This Hurricane is owned by the Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden, Bedfordshire. It has recently been restored by the Shuttleworth collection, and the Imperial War museum at Duxford. The Sea Hurricane was converted from a standard Hurricane which is why it hasn't got folding wings. They were operated from carriers, and merchant ships using a catapult. They were useful for engaging FW200 Condors that guided U-boats to the allied convoys in the north Atlantic and Mediterranean sea. | ![]() |
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Hurricane II PZ865 'J'
This Hurricane is part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which is operated by the
Royal Air Force, and is based at RAF Coningsby,Lincolnshire. She was the last of 14,533
Hurricanes built at Langley in 1944 and was used by Hawkers for a communication and
test aircraft. The current marking of this aircraft are of No.5 squadron 'Q'. |
| Hurricane II LF363 'US C' This Hurricane is also part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. She first flew in 1944, and is believed to be the last Hurricane to enter service. On September 11th 1991, during a flight from Coningsby to Jersey, she suffered engine trouble and crash-landed at RAF Wittering. Since then, after a 6 year rebuild, she took to the air again in the autumn of 1998. The current markings of this aircraft are of No.56(F) squadron 'US C' | ![]() |
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Hurricane XII BE417 'A LK ' This Hurricane is operated by the Real Aeroplane Company and is based at Breighton Airfield, N. Yorkshire. It is an ex-RCAF aircraft which suffered two landing accidents in service with a coastal defence sqn and a training unit. Due to the remoteness of the location (N. Quebec Province) the aircraft was not recovered and remained there for 25 years before being rediscovered and eventually coming to England in 1987. The current markings of this aircraft are of a No.87 squadron night fighter. |
| Sea Hurricane X AE977 Sea Hurricane AE977/G-TWTD was rebuilt by Hawker Restorations during the late 1990s. It has now been shipped to its new owners, Tom Friedkin's Cinema Air Organisation at Chino, CA, USA. The photograph was taken at the Duxford 'Flying Legends Display' in July 2001 when it was still in the UK. | ![]() |
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Hurricane IV KZ321 'N JV ' Hawker Restorations Ltd, under restoration to fly for The Fighter Collection at Duxford. |
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Hawker Hurricane 1 R4118
Hawker Restorations Ltd have recently restored a Hurricane Mk.1 (R4118 / G-HUPW), which made its first post-restoration flight on 23rd December 2004.
This Hurricane was found in India by Peter Vacher who managed to to bring it to the UK for restoration. The serial number, R4118 showed it
to be originally a Hurricane Mk.1 which had flown in the Battle of Britain.
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Hurricane Z5140 |
| A list of Airworthy Hurricanes that have been seen at UK Airshows: | |||
| serial number | Civilian Reg. | Mark | Collection and where based. |
| PZ865 | - | Mk.II | Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, RAF Coningsby, Lincs. |
| LF363 | - | Mk.II | Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, RAF Coningsby, Lincs. |
| Z7381 | G-HURI | Mk.XII |
Historic Aircraft Collection, Audley End. |
| Z7015 | G-BKTH | Sea Hurricane | Shuttleworth Collection/Imperial War Museum, Duxford. |
| BE417 | G-HURR | Mk.XII | Real Aeroplane Company, Breighton Airfield, N.Yorkshire. Fatal Crash at Shoreham airshow on 15/9/07 |
| AE977 | G-TWTD | Sea Hurricane |
Hawker Restorations Ltd, Milden, Suffolk. New owners are Tom Friedkin's Cinema Air Organisation at Chino, CA. USA |
| KZ321 | G-HURY | Mk.IV |
Hawker Restorations Ltd, Milden, Suffolk. Sold by The Fighter Collection at Duxford, de-registered and transferred to Canada. |
| R4118 | G-HUPW | Mk.I |
Hawker Restorations Ltd, Milden, Suffolk. First post-restoration flight - 23rd December 2004. |
| Z5140 | - | - |
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