It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the supermarine spitfires role during 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. Presenter jules hudson is on the south coast to witness the recovery of a ww2 hurricane fighter that crashed during the battle of britain. The avro lancaster bomber was one of the most effective aircraft of world war ii. The images, taken from a new book, show the incredible hawker hurricane, the aircraft responsible for 60 per cent of the total victories in the battle of britain in world war two. The hawker hurricane is a british singleseat fighter aircraft of the 1930s40s that was designed and predominantly built by hawker aircraft ltd. They were used by the british royal air force to carry 6,350kg 14,000lb of bombs to germany and even further. British wwii bombers wwii bomber planes dk find out. Find highquality hawker hurricane stock photos and editorial news pictures from getty images. The 1938 replacement design for the hawker hurricane was the typhoon, probably the heaviest and potentially the most powerful singleseat fighter proposed until that. The unsung plane that really won the battle of britain. It was manufactured from 193744, in service for almost the duration of the war.
Hurricane plane used in second world war photographed. A hurricane was the first raf plane to destroy a luftwaffe plane in october 1939 when pilot officer mould shot down a dornier do17 over france. The hurricane was crucial to airborne fighting, especially early on in the war during such conflicts as the battle of britain. In the german attack on france in the spring of 1940, 25% of all hurricanes were destroyed by the luftwaffe some 200 planes. During the battle of britain, between july and september 1940, 19 squadrons of supermarine spitfires 372 aircraft at peak on august 30 and 33 squadrons of hawker hurricanes 709 aircraft on august 30 faced the luftwaffe from airports throughout southern england. As the typhoon reached squadrons in larger numbers, the hurricane was phased out. A new book shoots that myth down and gives the hurricane its rightful place in history. Ultimately, the british forces were successful in destroying 1,887 aircraft to british losses of 1,547 planes over the threemonth period. In honor of our current shirt over at anglotees, spitfire jack, we present 14 facts and figures you probably didnt know about the supermarine spitfire. Hawker hurricane stock pictures, royaltyfree photos. The final flying hurricane fighter planes that helped defeat the germans in the second world war have been recorded in all their glory for a new book. Known as the workhorse of world war two, the hawker hurricane was part of the reason allied forces were able to gain victory. During the battle of britain in july 1940, the raf had a total of 527 hurricanes and 321 spitfires to face the luftwaffes 2,700 planes. The hurricane continued as a key groundattack aircraft with the raf until the arrival of the hawker typhoon in 1944.