Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane, though less famous than the Spitfire it fought alongside, actually shot down more enemy aircraft than any other Allied fighter during the Battle of Britain in 1940. Its fabric-covered rear fuselage and simpler, more conventional construction made it easier and faster to repair after battle damage than the Spitfire's more advanced all-metal stressed-skin structure. That ease of repair kept more Hurricanes flying and available for combat during the intense, sustained fighting of 1940 than a harder-to-fix design would have allowed. Fewer Hurricanes survive today than Spitfires, making it a comparatively rarer sight at airshows despite its equally significant role in the battle.
Did you know?
Less famous than the Spitfire it fought beside, the Hurricane actually shot down more enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain.
Specifications
| Length | 9.8 m (32 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 12.2 m (40 ft) |
| Height | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Persons on board | 1 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 3.4 t |
| Range | 460 NM (852 km) |
| Maximum speed | 292 kt (541 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 36,000 ft (10,973 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 22,000 ft (6,706 m) |
| Rate of climb | 2,780 ft/min (14.1 m/s) |
| Engines | 1x Rolls-Royce Merlin |
| Units built | 14,487 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Hawker Hurricane starts as a Rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Hawker, the Hurricane family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
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