A Brief History
On November 6, 1935, the Hawker Hurricane, the first modern British fighter plane, made its first flight. Although destined to live hidden in the glow of the Supermarine Spitfire, almost 15,000 Hurricanes were built from 1937 to 1944, and this rugged warrior was the primary British fighter during the Battle of Britain, accounting for 60% of the air-to-air kills.
Digging Deeper
The Spitfire, utilizing the same famous Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 engine and armed with the same 8 x .303 caliber machine guns as the Hurricane, made its first flight only a few months after the Hurricane’s maiden flight. Whereas the Hurricane was built with fabric-covered wings until 1939, the Spitfire was made with aluminum skinned wings right from the start.
The Hurricane used improved versions of the Merlin engine as its career progressed; the Spitfire likewise was made with increasingly more powerful engines such as the Rolls-Royce Griffon. The Spitfire, however, stayed on cutting edge of performance while the Hurricane eventually became outdated by improvements in German fighters. From the onset of the World War II, at 340 mph, the Hurricane was not quite as fast as either the Spitfire or the German Bf-109, though a switch to 100 octane gasoline (from 87 octane) boosted its performance, as did improved propellers and engines. Surprisingly, considering all the favoritism accorded the highly maneuverable Spitfires and Bf-109s, the Hurricane could actually outturn both of them.
Little credit is given to the Hurricane for saving Britain during the Battle of Britain, with the Spitfire getting most of the attention. The Hurricane did continue to make major contributions to the war effort as a fighter bomber and in its support of Allied troops in the ground attack role, proving quite adept at these tasks. It was also adapted to be able to fly off convoy escort aircraft carriers and merchant ships with catapults.
The Hurricane was also a formidable bomber interceptor and was eventually equipped for use as a night fighter. Later armed with 12 x .303 caliber machine guns or 4 x 20mm cannons, it was a fearsome foe to enemy bombers and vehicles on the ground. (By contrast, the American P-51 Mustang was armed with only 6 x .50 caliber machine guns, better armament than the Hurricane‘s original 8 machine guns, but less than the firepower of 12 machine guns or 4 cannons.) For the ground attack role, Hurricanes were adapted to carry 2 x 500-pound bombs or air-to-ground rockets or even 40mm cannons.
One of the key factors that made the Hurricane so valuable was that it required only about 10,000 man hours to build, while 15,000 man hours were required to build one Spitfire, a massive difference that helped the British as the Germans pulled attrition warfare on them by attempting to wear them down to the point of collapse during the Air Battle for Britain. History and Headlines Fact: The top Hurricane Ace was Squadran Leader Marmaduke Battle (his actual name) who shot down 35 enemy planes while flying a Hurricane (and 15 others flying other aircraft.)
Question for students (and subscribers): Do you agree with this assessment of the Hurricane being one of the most underrated planes of World War II, or do you have a different favorite underdog? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Airfix Hawker Hurricane MkI Model Kit (1:72 Scale). Hornby, 2014.
Caruana, Richard J. Hawker Hurricane – Famous Aircraft of the World No. 2 (6002). Squadron/Signal Publications, 2007.
Hiscock, Melvyn. Hawker Hurricane: Inside and Out. The Crowood Press, 2003.
Mason, Francis. The Hawker Hurricane. Crecy Publishing, 2010.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6352 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=6352">6 Comments
The Hurricane is definitely the most underrated fighter of WWII. I would also give honorable mention to the Mosquito and the Typhoon. While the Mossie was technically a multi-role aircraft it was very effective at shooting down bombers in a night-fighter role. The Typhoon was conceived as a replacement for the Hurricane but technical problems forced the RAF to continue with the Hurricane. The Typhoon, however, was given new roles as a low-altitude interceptor and a ground-attack aircraft. In fact, the Typhoon was one of the most successful ground-attack aircraft of the war.
For many people in the West who have only ever heard about the war from an American or Western European perspective, the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-3 would probably be the most underrated fighter of WWII. It should be as famous as the P-51D Mustang or the Spitfire.
I do not have a favorite underdog, but it amazing to me that it took 10,000 hours to build one of these things. I would not want to be the one chosen to fly one of these machines. That makes me wonder what the rate of death was, based on malfunction of the planes.
I do agree that the Hurricane is very underrated. Not only does it take less time to build, but it can outrun the other machines. It seems that this aircraft was not appreciated for its contributions to the war.
I always considered the Boulton-Paul Defiant to be the most underrated fighter of that war,then again,it was quite awful,so it was uderrated for a reason…but it looked kind of neat…oh nvm
Anyone who ordered the BP Defiant into combat against real fighter planes should have a Golden Ticket to Jail or an Insane Asylum!