This year is the Royal Air Force’s centenary. To begin our series of associated features we profile the first monoplane fighter to enter RAF service, the redoubtable Hawker Hurricane…
A new breed
During the early 1930s the Royal Air Force was equipped with small numbers of biplane fighter aircraft that were slow and lightly armed - in many ways they weren’t very different in design from the aircraft that had fought above the trenches in the First World War.
Bomber technology had however moved on, and concern was growing within the Air Staff that the RAF would not be capable of successfully intercepting enemy raiders if Britain came under attack.
The need to develop new and more potent fighter aircraft became ever more pressing as the political situation in Europe deteriorated, bringing the very real prospect of another war with Germany.
A number of British aircraft manufacturers submitted designs for new fighters in response to Air Ministry specifications, but it was Hawker and Supermarine that eventually won contracts to produce eight gun monoplanes with maximum speeds in excess of 300 mph, both types powered by the new Rolls Royce Merlin engine.
The Hawker prototype first took to the skies on November 6 1935, at Brooklands, Surrey.
Reports from initial trials were encouraging. By the end of June 1936 the aircraft had been named ‘Hurricane’ and the Air Ministry placed an initial order for 600 that same month. In late 1937, the Hurricane entered service with 111 Squadron, based at Northolt, just outside London.
Early development
Hawker’s chief designer Sydney Camm had evolved the Hurricane from the successful Fury biplane, and manufacture utilised traditional construction techniques, making it relatively easy and cheap to build and repair.
In its very earliest form the Hurricane experienced a spin recovery problem, but this was resolved by fitting a larger rudder and a ventral fuselage fillet from 1938.
Initially the wings were fabric covered, like much of the fuselage, but an all metal, stressed skin wing was introduced from April 1939 allowing a higher safe diving speed. Further performance enhancements were achieved in due course by fitting a three bladed constant-speed propeller.
Into battle
By the outbreak of the Second World War, 16 RAF Squadrons were fully equipped with Hurricanes. The type’s first combat success occurred on 21st October 1939, when aircraft from No.46 squadron shot down four Heinkel HE 115B floatplanes over the North Sea. The
Hurricane acquitted itself well in the confusion and chaos of the Battle of France, although combat losses were high. Furthermore, a significant number of Hurricanes had to be abandoned as the allies rapidly retreated in the face of the German onslaught.
But some valuable tactical lessons had been learned ahead of what would become the Hurricane’s defining moment - the Battle of Britain.
Although the sleek and graceful Supermarine Spitfire caught the public’s imagination and came to symbolise the spirit of British resistance in 1940, it was the more rugged Hurricane that was the mainstay of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain.
At the beginning of the battle, the RAF had 31 squadrons of Hurricanes, and only 19 squadrons of Spitfires. A steady and manoeuvrable gun platform that could be manufactured and repaired quickly, the Hurricane proved itself a key asset in what became a long battle of attrition.
Indeed, Hurricanes shot down more enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain than all other air defences combined.
New roles
The Hurricane was slower and generally inferior to a key adversary, the Messerschmitt 109, although in a dog fight it could outturn the German machine. Unlike the Spitfire, the Hurricane lacked potential for further development as an air superiority fighter, its thick wing being a particular impediment to significantly improved performance.
So after the Battle of Britain, a great deal of emphasis was placed on developing the Hurricane for the ground attack and intruder roles, to which its rugged airframe was well-suited. Hurricanes (often referred to as ‘Hurribombers’) were fitted with bomb racks and/or cannon, giving them considerable punch.
The Hurricane continued to serve with great distinction for the remainder of the war in a variety of roles, operating in every major theatre of combat.
Production continued in both Britain and Canada, until mid-1944, by which time just under 14,500 Hurricanes (and Sea Hurricanes) had been manufactured. Amongst British military aircraft, only the Spitfire was produced in greater quantity.
Hawker Hurricane key facts
- On 10 February 1938 a Hurricane Mk 1, assisted by a very strong tailwind, flew from Turnhouse, Edinburgh to Northolt in 48 minutes at an average indicated air speed of 408.75 mph, earning its pilot Squadron Leader John W Gillan the soubriquet ‘Downwind Gillan’.
- To accommodate the larger Merlin XX engine, the Mark II Hurricane was 4.5 inches longer than the Mark I - the longer, heavier nose had the effect of making the Hurricane more stable.
- Much of the Hurricane’s fuselage structure was composed of wood and doped Irish linen; cannon shells would often pass through without exploding.
- For convoy protection purposes, some Sea Hurricanes were mounted on catapults fitted to ships, the pilot having to bail out or ditch these ‘Hurricats’ once the mission was over if he was too far from land.
- The last Hurricane to be built (the Mk IIc PZ865) is now operated by the Battle of Britain Memorial flight.
- A memorial to Sir Sydney Camm - featuring a full size replica Hurricane - is located at Alexandra Gardens Windsor, Berkshire, near his childhood home in Alma Road. Many Hurricanes were manufactured at a plant in nearby Langley.
For more information, check out these Haynes publications: Hawker Hurricane Owners Workshop Manual and Royal Air Force 100 Technical Innovations Manual.