The Hawker Hurricane, often overshadowed by the sleek and slender Spitfire, it was in many ways Britain's greatest fighter of World War II. While most of the glory went to the Spitfire, the robust and dependable Hurricane did most of the work. Never considered a world-beater, it had that remarkable quality of being just good enough, and sometimes better. At the time of Britain's greatest crisis, hurricanes withstood the onslaughts from Germany, Italy and Japan. Like the American B-39, B-40 and F-4F Wildcat, it was one of the early fighters that manned the ramparts and turned the enemy aside. precarious years, it held the line and bought the Allies valuable time. Without it, Britain would certainly have lost the war. Indeed, the Hurricane flew and fought in more campaigns, on more fronts and in more countries than any other aircraft of World War II. From the first day to the last, the Hurricane was there. This is the story of the remarkable Hawker Hurricane. Germany, 1933. Hitler and his group of thugs take power. The armament soon follows. Hitler orders new fighters and bombers for the newly formed Luftwaffe. Tanks, submarines and battleships soon follow. Europe, fearing another war, reacts cautiously. In Britain, calls for a massive rearmament program are shouted down by those seeking appeasement. Just as Hitler begins to consolidate his grip on power, Sidney Camm, Hawker's chief designer, opens discussions with the Air Ministry for a new monoplane fighter, developed from the Fury biplane. Official support proves elusive, but Hawker's board backs their chief designer and approves development of the Fury monoplane as a private venture. Estimated to have a top speed of just 280 miles per hour, the Fury monoplane is soon abandoned. In October 1934, Rolls-Royce announces the development of the PV-12 liquid-cooled engine, the Merlin prototype. Sydney Cam is forced to abandon the Fury and creates a new aircraft capable of handling 1,000 horsepower. The Hawker Interceptor monoplane is born. 1934. The RAF is still largely equipped with fabric-covered biplane fighters and bombers. Steel and aluminium have replaced wood, but the fabric, struts and open cockpits remain. German rearmament accelerates. In response, the British government votes to triple the number of frontline combat aircraft. The move to the modern all-metal monoplane aircraft is however slow. February 21st, 1935. The Air Ministry places an order with Hawker for the first hurricane prototype. For Hawker's designers, the temptation to embrace the new stressed skin construction technique is tempered by the need to produce the fighter in great numbers. The methods that have served them since World War I would have to be used. As a result, the new Hurricane is constructed using established concepts, modified to suit the new requirement. Mike Potter, founder of Vintage Wings, an organisation dedicated to the preservation and restoration of historic aircraft, sees a link between the Hurricane and Hawker's earlier biplanes. We also have under restoration a Hawker Fury of the early 30s era. And they're not on the same hangar at the present time, but the Fury under restoration, fuselage and the hurricane, if we put them side by side, you'd be hard-pressed, except for the 50% difference in size, to see which airplane it belonged to. So the hurricane fuselage really does hark back to a post-First World War construction technique. The decision to go with the old-style biplane construction was to hasten mass production, and in that sense it was probably a good choice. They needed to get the contract and they needed to produce fighters. One of the advantages is that the airplane is very inspectable and maintainable. You can almost take the sides off this fuselage with a screwdriver and getting inside of it is a lot easier than it is with a conventional monocoque airplane that's built like an egg. But it is also labor-intensive. The interior steel structure is surrounded by wooden structure, which is surrounded by fabric over most of the airplane, and that takes a lot of different materials and skill sets. Work on Hawker's monoplane fighter is swift. Nine months later, on November 6th, the first hurricane takes flight. Three months later, a top speed of 328 miles per hour is attained, making it the world's first fighter to exceed 300 miles per hour in level flight. On June 3rd 1936, the Air Ministry orders 600 hurricanes. 1937, the RAF's last biplane fighter enters service, two years after the first flight of the hurricane. As a biplane fighter, the Gloster Gladiator is well equipped, with an enclosed cockpit and four.303 inch Browning machine guns. Its overall performance, however, is well below that of the Hurricane. Fortunately for the RAF, there were more Hurricanes in service than Gladiators at the outbreak of the war. Northolt, 1938. Number 111 squadron is the first RAF unit to receive the new hurricane. Here we see them showing off their new mounts for the cameras. Though excited to take them into the air, new pilots still had to be vigilant during their first flights. The hurricane's not the easiest aeroplane to fly. It requires a little bit of technique and I was surprised at how much work there is. Perhaps easiest to start on the ground because it almost misleads you. On the ground, the Hurricane is a very well-behaved airplane. The gear is wide, the field of view over the nose is good enough that you can almost see where you're going. You still S-turn as you always do in a tailwheel airplane, but the sense of the airplane at first is very forgiving and conventional, and I had pretty high expectations. When you first get it into the air, the hurricane requires a fair amount of attention. The controls are a little bit stiff in terms of friction. It certainly doesn't give you the impression of being a terribly stable airplane, and I was surprised that it's almost impossible to trim the airplane off so that you can release your hands from the controls in a So the result was that it felt a little wobbly. The first Hurricane Mark 1s were equipped with the two-bladed, fixed-pitch Watts propeller and fabric-covered wings. This caused some early problems. During high-speed dives, the wing gun panels would partially blow out. Gun heating was also a problem, with guns freezing at heights above 15,000 feet. By 1939 the old Watts propeller was replaced by the de Havilland or Rotor Constant Speed Units. Stressed skin metal wings were also being manufactured. These wings would replace the original fabric models on both the production line and all existing Hurricanes. Hurricane designer Cam and Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell took vastly different directions when designing the wings of their respective aircraft. The Spitfire and the Hurricane came from different design precedents, where the parts that were used and the design philosophy in the Hurricane came from the old Hawker biplanes. In fact, the interior wing construction is very similar to the way they were on the Fury and those. The Spitfire on the other hand, Mitchell came to that design from the Schneider Cup racing seaplanes and his aerodynamic mantra was about designing a razor thin wing. In those days he felt that the fastest airplane would have the thinnest wing and so everything about the Spitfire was trying to keep the profile drag of the wing and the thickness to a minimum. His design compromise was there was barely enough room for the wheels in the Spitfire's wing. There was no room for fuel and even mounting guns proved problematic. In the case of the Hurricane, the wing is thick as a conscious design choice to try to reduce weight. If you built a wing and decided that it needed to sustain, say, 8 The weight of that wing panel would be lighter as the wing got thicker. Imagine a piece of paper. As it becomes thinner, it becomes much easier to flex the piece of paper. It loses its bending rigidity. And so one of the primary design considerations in CAM's mind was the empty weight of the airplane. A thick wing was to his advantage in terms of weight, not so much in terms of speed. Design, it's all about compromises. September 1st, 1939. Germany invades Poland. Britain and France quickly declare war, but do little to assist their Polish ally. As war rages in Poland, RAF Fighter Command readies for battle. 497 Hurricanes in 18 squadrons stand ready, with more on the way. Germany's early victory over Poland is followed by an 8-month period known as the Sitzkrieg, or Phony War. Britain uses this time to prepare for the inevitable onslaught. Four squadrons of Hurricanes are sent to France to help bolster the British Expeditionary Force. Blitzkrieg. May 10, 1940. German forces invade France, Belgium and Holland. France, the Luftwaffe targets over 50 airfields with great success. British government reaction is swift. Three more Hurricane squadrons are sent to France. During the Battle of France, the Hurricane's first assignment was to target German bombs. Here, they proved very successful. But it also meant tackling the Luftwaffe's twin-engine fighter, the Messerschmitt Bf 110. The Bf 110 was a long-range strategic zerstörer, destroyer. Its job, clear a path through the enemy's defensive fighter screens and keep the bombers safe. As a fighter, the Bf 110 was ill-equipped to dogfight the Hurricane. For a fighter to be successful in aerial combat, speed, acceleration and manoeuvrability were key. The Bf 110 possessed the first two, but was not nearly as nimble and could not accelerate as quickly as the hurricane. For the hurricane, the Battle of France was a short and frustrating affair. By the end of May, British troops were evacuating through Dunkirk and much of northern France was in German hands. By midnight, June 2nd and 3rd, Operation Dynamo was completed. Of the 452 Hurricanes sent to France, just 66 returned to Britain. Not all of these were victims of combat, however. Many were destroyed on the ground, lost in accidents, or simply abandoned during the retreat. Hampered by outdated tactics, squadrons entered battle in rigid sections of three aircraft, forcing hurricane pilots to fight at a distinct disadvantage. Despite all that, hurricane pilots claimed at least 499 kills. Post-war German records would show 299 aircraft destroyed and 65 seriously damaged by hurricanes. Rest for the hurricane pilots would be short. Flush with victory over France and the Low Countries, Hitler soon set his sights on Britain. By August 1940, the Luftwaffe moved 934 Bf 109Es to the Channel Coast. This would be supplemented by 237 Bf 110s, along with 1600 bombers. To meet this threat, the RAF had 29 squadrons of Hurricanes and 19 with Spitfires, for a total of 660 serviceable fighters. During the Battle of France, the Hurricane's main opponent had been the BF 110. In the upcoming Battle of Britain, it would face the more deadly BF 109E. As a single-seat fighter, the BF 109 was all business. Swift and heavily armed with two 20mm cannon and two 7.92mm machine guns, it outperformed the Hurricane in almost every category. BF 109 seems to have been all about performance. It has a very small wing on a very small fuselage and it is as close to a dart as they could get in the early fighter design. And in terms of speed they certainly succeeded. It was faster than the Hurricane and even the early model Spitfires by a margin, but it came at the cost of maneuverability. Certainly sustained turn performance was was much inferior to either British fighter. But even with the Bf 109's advantages, the hurricane managed to hold its own. Day after day, scramble after scramble, hurricanes rose to meet the Luftwaffe. After three months of instant combat, the battle was coming to an end. Unable to destroy the RAF in the air and on the ground, Hitler turned his attention to London. September 15th, 1940. 1,200 Luftwaffe fighters and bombers begin a day-long attack on London. The RAF fighters, the British managed to shoot down 57 with Glocker aircraft. While the loss ratio was 2 to 1 in the British favor, it was not the RAF's great performance. By the end of September the battle was all but over. Hitler's attempt to destroy the RAF had all but failed, ending any thought of invasion. For the hurricane and the pilots who flew her, it was a triumph. Without the hurricane, the Battle of Britain would have been lost. For the hurricane, the numbers were impressive. Of the 1,185 Luftwaffe aircraft credited to RAF fighters, 656 were accounted for by hurricanes, BF 109s. Hurricane pilots would also face another foe. Eager to share in the spoils of victory, Mussolini dispatched 75 bombers and 50 CR 42 and G 50 fighters to take part in the Battle of Britain. Ten BR 20s, escorted by 40 CR 42s, were intercepted by the Hurricanes of No. 46 and 257 squadrons. It was a one-sided battle. Three BR-20s and three CR-42s were shot down. Two Hurricanes were slightly damaged. During the Battle of Britain, both Hawker factories at Brooklands and Langley were targeted by the Luftwaffe, with minor results. To further protect production facilities, a number of plants were moved underground. As part of the shadow factory scheme, hurricane production was moved underground at Longbridge. Here we see a newly completed hurricane on a motorised ramp rising to the airfield above ground. How did the hurricane compare to the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain? As a gun platform, the Hurricane was superior. The four Browning machine guns in each wing were grouped tightly together, giving it a better concentration of fire. It was also rugged and able to absorb more battle damage. But even with all that, the Spitfire was the clear superior. Faster, with a higher rate of climb and ceiling, it could outdive the Hurricane with ease. One of the reasons the Spitfire is so satisfying to fly is that when it does come to putting it in a turn, whether for aerobatic reasons or because you're trying to feel out what its combat maneuvering capability would be, it doesn't take a lot of muscle to put a lot of G on the aircraft. The hurricane is the mirror image of that. The flight controls are quite stiff. There's a few pounds of breakout force to move the stick, and so doing anything precisely through friction is always a little bit more work than you'd like. As well, the Spitfire's stability is conventional and positive. For example, if you put the nose down in the Spitfire and accelerate, it will want to return to trim and you'll feel yourself easing the stick forward as a consequence of its stability. The Hurricane doesn't seem to have that. If you point the nose down, the airplane will accelerate a little bit, but the stick doesn't tend to migrate because the airplane doesn't tend to return to trim. And then the last notable difference between Spitfire and Hurricane when you're maneuvering is attributable to that beautiful elliptical ring on a spitfire, which was designed to minimize induced drag. The pilot sees that when he pulls G, turns, and maneuvers as a tendency for the airplane to slow down. In the spitfire's case, it's negligible. You can go into a maneuver at 240 indicated, pull lots of G, make a turn, come back out at your 240-knot entry speed, didn't cost you a thing. The big fat wing on the Hurricane isn't quite as elegant, and when you maneuver, it costs you speed. In terms of combat effectiveness, the Spitfire was better. According to John Alcorn's statistical study of the Battle of Britain, which appeared in the July 2000 issue of Aeroplane Monthly, the Spitfire was 1.25 times more effective. The Spitfire also had the advantage of growth and design development. After the Battle of Britain, it was clear the Hurricane could no longer be improved. It would, however, soldier on in other roles. During the German Blitz of 1941, the Hurricane would be pressed into service as a night fighter, with marvellous results. Without airborne radar, intercepting a German bomber at night was extremely difficult. In the months following the Battle of Britain, the Hurricanes Mark II A and B were introduced. Powered by the Merlin 20 engine, the new Hurricanes were equipped with 12.303 inch Browning machine guns. The Mark II B was the first to carry bombs and was capable of carrying two 250-pounders. Nicknamed Hurry Bombers, RAF Fighter Command could now take the fight to the Germans. Fighter bomber suites were now the order of the day. Targets included airfields, trains and coastal shipping. But these low-level missions proved hazardous. Light flak and machine gun fire took a heavy toll. For the Germans, these raids proved more a nuisance than destructive. By the summer of 1942, 24 squadrons were flying Hurricane II As or II Bs. The Bf 109F. Introduced in the late fall of 1940, it would prove vastly superior to both the Hurricane and the Spitfire Mark I. The days of the Hurricane as a fighter over Europe were clearly over. But unfortunately for the Germans, the art of aeronautics, began with the dreamers, inventors and daredevils who dared to defy gravity. The journey of aviation was nurtured by pioneers like the Wright brothers, whose first flight marked a historic milestone. The role of aircrafts in world wars was groundbreaking, dramatically changing warfare strategies. This initiated a technological evolution in aviation, transforming the simplistic wings of a biplane into the thunderous roar of jet engines. Let's journey through the ages of aviation. Behind every great aircraft, there were great minds. These visionaries, like Sir Frank Whittle, the innovator of the turbojet engine, redefined air travel. Then there's Skunk Works' Kelly Johnson, the genius behind the SR-71 Blackbird. His designs combined speed, stealth and power, crafting machines that dominated the heavens. The contributions of these pioneers have left an indelible mark on the canvas of aviation, shaping the course of history and inspiring generations of engineers and aviators. Each epoch in aviation history gave birth to extraordinary aircrafts, each with their own unique features and roles. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a marvel of speed and stealth. The F-105 Thunderchief, a supersonic fighter bomber, was vital in the Vietnam War. The P-51 Mustang, a long-range fighter, was critical in World War II. The P-47 Thunderbolt II, the Warthog, is a close air support icon. The Messerschmitt ME-262 marked a leap forward in aviation technology. Each of these game changers were instrumental in their eras, and their legacies still resonate today. Beyond the game changers, there are those that have transcended their practical roles to become icons. The Concorde was not just an aircraft, it was a supersonic symbol of luxury and speed. The B-52 Stratofortress, a strategic bomber, is an icon of power and resilience. These magnificent machines and others like them have become much more than just aircrafts. They are enduring icons that encapsulate the audacious spirit, the relentless innovation and the boundless ambition that define the world of aviation. For more amazing aerial footage and to join us in this incredible journey, check out the Dronescapes YouTube channel. If you enjoyed this video, please remember to like and subscribe. And as always, thank you for watching. So So you
