Hawker Hurricane

Military fact sheets
Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIc PZ865/JX-E No.1 (F) Squadron, BoBMF RAF
Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIc PZ865/JX-E No.1 (F) Squadron, BoBMF RAF

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the Supermarine Spitfire’s role during the Battle of Britain in 1940, but the Hurricane inflicted 60 percent of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe in the engagement, and fought in all the major theatres of the Second World War.

Role Fighter aircraft
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Hawker Aircraft
Designer Sydney Camm
Built by
  • Austin Motor Company
  • Avions Fairey
  • Canadian Car and Foundry
  • Gloster Aircraft Company
  • Rogožarski
  • Zmaj
First flight 6 November 1935
Introduction 25 December 1937
Primary users Royal Air Force
  • Royal Canadian Air Force
  • Royal Navy
  • Soviet Air Forces
Produced 1937–1944
Number built 14,487 (UK and Canada)
Variant Hawker Sea Hurricane
Developed into Hawker Henley

Operators

  • Australia
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • Egypt
  • Finland
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • British Raj
  • Iran
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • South Africa
  • Soviet Union
  • Turkey
  • United Kingdom
  • Kingdom of Yugoslavia
  • Yugoslavia

Specifications (Hurricane Mk.IIc)

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
  • Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
  • Height: 13 ft 1.5 in (4.001 m)
  • Wing area: 257.5 sq ft (23.92 m2)
  • Airfoil: root: Clark YH (19%); tip: Clark YH (12.2%)
  • Empty weight: 5,745 lb (2,606 kg)
  • Gross weight: 7,670 lb (3,479 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 8,710 lb (3,951 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Merlin XX V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,185 hp (884 kW) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 340 mph (550 km/h, 300 kn) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
  • Range: 600 mi (970 km, 520 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 36,000 ft (11,000 m)
  • Rate of climb: 2,780 ft/min (14.1 m/s)
  • Wing loading: 29.8 lb/sq ft (145 kg/m2)
  • Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (0.25 kW/kg)

Armament

  • Guns: 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk II cannon
  • Bombs: 2 × 250 or 500 lb (110 or 230 kg) bombs

Photos Rob Vogelaar and Marcel van Leeuwen