The
hurricane was designed by Sydney Camm and his team to meet
Air Ministry specification F.36/34. The contract for the
prototype was signed with Hawker on 21 February 1935 and
the prototype K5083 first flew on 6 November 1935 at Brooklands,
four months before the first Spitfire. The test pilot for
this historic flight was P.W.S ('George') Bulman and reached
a maximum air speed of 300mph (483kph)
The
first production Hurricane MK I flew in October 1936 and
by the outbreak of war in September 1939 a total of 497
MK I units had been built and 18 squadrons had been equipped.
Originally the plane was to be fitted with the Rolls-Royce
Goshawk steam-cooled engine however when Camm heard of the
new, more powerful PV-12 engine he redesigned the Hurricane
to incorporate the new engine. This proved to be a significant
decision as the PV-12 engine was later renamed the Merlin
The
Hurricane specification differed from that of the Spitfire
in that it favoured the traditional tubular metal construction
with fabric covering. This enabled it to take a great deal
of damage from the enemy and still get its pilot safely
home. Although
the Hawker Hurricane is always viewed as the poor cousin
to the Spitfire, it was responsible for over 70 percent
of the kills. One of the major reasons for this was due
to the fact that Hurricanes made up over two thirds of fighter
numbers
More than 15,000 Hurricanes were built and saw service in
many different air forces around the world including almost
3,000 that were sent to the Soviet Union to fight the Germans
on the Eastern Front. The last Hurricane rolled off the
production line in September 1944 but continued in service
around the world until 1955. The
Hurricane went through at least seven marks, with two marks
as Sea Hurricanes and one special 'Hooked' Hurricane II
|
| Description
|
Item |
Mark
No |
| Type
: |
Single
Seat Fighter |
------------------ |
| Wingspan
: |
40 ft 0 inches ( 12.2 m ) |
------------------ |
| Length
: |
31 ft 11 inches ( 9.7 m ) |
------------------ |
| Height
: |
13 ft 1 1/2 inches ( 4.0 m ) |
------------------ |
| Wing
Area : |
257.5 sq feet ( 23.9 m sq ) |
------------------ |
| Engine
: |
Rolls Royce Merlin II, III and XX - with two speed supercharger.
21, 22, 27, 28, 29 or 32 |
Various |
| B.H.P.
: |
1030
to 1,185 bhp |
MK
I to MK IIA through to IIC |
| Max
Armament : |
12
wing mounted 0.303 Browning machine guns |
MK
IIB |
| Lowest
Max Weight Loaded : |
6,666lb (3024 kg) |
MK
I |
| Highest
Max Weight Loaded : |
8,710lb (3951 kg) |
MK
IIC Fighter Bomber |
| Max
Speed : |
340
mph (547 kph ) at 21,500 ft ( 6553 m ) |
MKIIA
and MKIIB |
| Initial
Climb Rate : |
3,150 ft per min (960 m per min ) |
MKIIA |
| Max
Service Ceiling : |
41,000 ft ( 12,497 m ) |
MKIIA |
| Range
: |
495 miles ( 790 km ) * |
MK
IV |
| Service
- First Flight : |
6
November 1935 |
Prototype |
| Service
- First production: |
12
October 1937 |
MK
I |
| *
Not confirmed as Max value |
Please note: ft - Feet
|
Type
& MK No |
Engine |
Max
Power Rating BHP |
ft |
Fully
loaded weight lb |
Max
level speed MPH |
At
(ft) |
Max
rate of climb ft/min |
Service
ceiling ft |
|
Hurricane
I |
Merlin
II or III |
1,030 |
16,250 |
6,666 |
330 |
17,500 |
2,520 |
36,000 |
|
Hurricane
I Tropical |
Merlin
II or III |
1,030 |
16,250 |
6,850 |
317 |
16,000 |
2,400 |
33,000 |
|
Sea
Hurricane IA |
Merlin
II or III |
1,030 |
16,250 |
6,780 |
302 |
16,400 |
2,000 |
31,000 |
|
Sea
Hurricane IB |
Merlin
II or III |
1,030 |
16,250 |
6,800 |
296 |
16,300 |
1,950 |
30,000 |
|
Hurricane
IIA |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
7,014 |
340 |
21,500 |
3,150 |
41,000 |
|
Hurricane
IIB |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
7,440 |
340 |
21,500 |
2,950 |
40,000 |
|
Hurricane
IIB Fighter Bomber (2-250lb) |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
7,970 |
320 |
19,700 |
2,530 |
33,000 |
|
Hurricane
IIB Fighter Bomber (2-500lb) |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
8,470 |
307 |
19,500 |
2,280 |
30,000 |
|
Hurricane
IIC |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
7,670 |
334 |
21,500 |
2,780 |
36,000 |
|
Hurricane
IIC Fighter Bomber (2-250lb) |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
8,210 |
314 |
19,500 |
2,400 |
32,500 |
|
Hurricane
IIC Fighter Bomber (2-500lb) |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
8,710 |
301 |
19,300 |
2,160 |
29,500 |
|
Hurricane
IIB Tropical |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
7,540 |
334 |
18,200 |
2,850 |
35,500 |
|
Hurricane
IIC Tropical |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
7,780 |
328 |
18,000 |
2,650 |
34,000 |
|
Hurricane
IIB Tropical, long range |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
8,290 |
312 |
18,000 |
2,400 |
33,000 |
|
Hurricane
IIC Tropical, long range |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
8,530 |
306 |
18,000 |
2,280 |
31,500 |
|
Sea
Hurricane IIB |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
7,510 |
320 |
19,700 |
2,780 |
35,500 |
|
Sea
Hurricane IIC |
Merlin
XX |
1,185 |
21,000 |
7,740 |
314 |
19,500 |
2,670 |
34,500 |
| *
Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of WWII ISBN 0-517-67964-7
|
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