The Hurricane was designed to Air Ministry
Specification F.36/34, the prototype making it's first flight on November 6th, 1935. Put
into production in 1936, the first production Hurricane I flew in October, 1937. Although it was no longer in production when the war ended the Hurricane was still in service as a first-line aircraft. It served on seventeen battle fronts - in the British Isles, France, Norway, North Africa, Sicily, Italy, The Middle East, The Far East, Russia, in the Battles of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Northern Convoys, to mention the most important - as a fighter, fighter-bomber, an R.P. fighter, a "tank buster", a catapault fighter, and a carrier fighter. In 1944-45, equipped with rocket projectiles (R.P.), the Hurricane was used with great effect against enemy shipping in the Adriatic, and as a fighter-bomber it served with distinction in Burma. Well over 14,000 Hurricanes were built, the last one being delivered from the Hawker factory in September, 1944.
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Airframe Construction Data Type :- Single-seat fighter ,and fighter bomber. Wings :- Low-wing cantilever monoplane. Centre-section of parallel chord and thickness and two tapering outer sections. Centre section in one piece has girder spars, tubular strut drag bracing and a non-stressed metal covering. Outer wings, which are pin-jointed to the centre-section, have two spars with double webs at the inboard ends and single webs toward the tips. The gun bay at the inboard end is diagonally braced but outboard of this the wing is of the fully stressed-skin type with two light auxiliary spars in addition to the main spars. Remainder of the framework consists of flanged plate ribs and lateral stringers, the whole being covered with a stressed-metal skin, which is flush riveted over the leading-edge. Fabric-covered ailerons. Hydraulically operated split flaps between ailerons and fuselage. Fuselage :- Rectangular rigidly braced structure of steel and aluminium-alloy square-ended tubing assembled by flat-plate fittings and hollow rivets, faired to an oval section and covered forward with detachable metal panels and aft with fabric over light wooden formers. Tail Unit :- Cantilever monoplane type. Fin attached to fuselage by two fin posts. Fixed tail plane with adjustable ttrimming-tabs in each aerodynamically-balanced elevator. Aerodynamically and statically-balanced rudder. All metal framework with fabric covering. Landing Gear :- Retractable type. Two Vickers shock-abossorber struts hinged at the extremities of the centre section front spar and retracted inwards and slightly backwards by Dowty hydraulic rams to bring wheel between spars when raised. The slight backward motion is imparted by a hinged back strut which slides onn a guide at right angles to the span of the wing. Dunlop wheels and pneumatic brakes. Dowty or Lockheed non-retractable tail-wheel unit. Power Plant :- One Rolls-Royce Merlin 12 cylinder Vee liquid cooled engine. Rotol or De-Havilland three-blade constant-speed airscrew. Main fuel tanks (two) in centre-section between spars with gravity tank in fuselage. Tanks are protected with self-sealing rubber. Ducted radiator under fuselage below cockpit. Oil tank in leading edge of centre-section on port side. Oil-cooler incorporated in main radiator. Accommodation :- Enclosed pilot's cockpit over wing. Sliding canopy with quick-release for emergency exit. Further emergency escape panel in side of fuselage between upper longeron and canopy. Front and rear armour protection, and bullet-proof windshield. Armament and Equipment :- Either eight Browning .303in machine guns; twelve Browning .303in machine guns; four 20mm Hispano cannon; or two 40mm guns and two .303in maching guns, all wing mounted. Wing racks for two 250lb or 500lb bombs or auxiliary fuel tanks, or rails for eight rocket projectiles. Night flying equipment with landing lights in leading edge of outer wing sections, navigation lights, oxygen equipment, radios, etc. Dimensions :- Span 40ft; Length 32ft 3in; Height (on wheels) 13ft 1.5in; Wing area 257.5 sq ft; Track 7ft 10in. |
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Leading Particulars Main Dimensions - Complete Aircraft - (Datum line horizontal except where otherwise stated).
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Hawker Hurricane - "Defender Of The Empire" |
© - 1997 - Colin James Pratt-Hooson |
Last Updated : Saturday, July 20, 2002 01:43:03 PM |
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