Aeroplane Heaven Hawker Hurricane MK1

Often regarded as 'the poor relation' to the Supermarine Spitfire, the Hawker Hurricane was in fact, a very capable fighting machine and again in fact, was responsible for 60% of Luftwaffe losses during the Battle of Britain. As a fighter, the Hurricane was no match for the maneuverability of the Messerschmitt BF109 but if a skilled pilot could bring those eight guns to bear, more often than not, the opposition was doomed amid a hail of concentrated fire. Those thick profile wings provided an extremely stable gun platform from which to shoot too. As the Battle developed, Hurricanes were assigned the primary role of destroying the waves of enemy bombers heading for British shores - Spitfires taking over the role of fighter interception and hence the more glamorous image.

During the Battle, the Hawker Hurricane made 'aces' of many of the young pilots flying daily to defend the shores of Great Britain. It fought in all the theatres of WW2, inflicting a massive amount of damage not only to enemy forces in the air but on the ground and at sea.

Much of this success was owed to its incredibly durable construction, enabling the aircraft to sustain huge amounts of punishment and still keep going. Cannon rounds would pass harmlessly, straight through the fabric of the rear fuselage structure without exploding, and substantial armor plating behind the seat would protect the pilot from rear attack.

There is little doubt, that without this iconic aircraft's rugged durability and the dogged determination of the RAF's Hurricane pilots, Britain's 'Finest Hour' might have lasted a lot longer than it did. In this tribute package, you will find not only the Battle of Britain Mk1 but also the Tropicalized version with a Vokes filter under the nose and a Sea Hurricane equipped with a fully functional tail hook for carrier landings.

AUTHENTIC LIVERIES

V7467 LE-D Flown by Squadron Leader Douglas Bader 242 Squadron RAF Coltishall 1940.

V7357 SD-F Flown by FltSgt J.H. 'Ginger' Lacy 501 Squadron RAF Gravesend September 1940.

P3576 GN-A Flown by Flight Lieutenant James Brindley Nicolson, 249 Squadron RAF Leconfield, Yorkshire August 1940.

P3675 UF-S Flown by Flight Lieutenant Michael 'Mike' Robinson 601 Squadron RAF Exeter 1940.

V6864 DT-A Flown by Squadron Leader Robert 'Bob' Stanford-Tuck, commanding 57 Squadron RAF Coltishall, 1940.

P2921 GZ-L Flown by (then) acting Flight Leader 'Pete' Brothers, 32 Squadron RAFBiggin Hill 1940.

R4175 RF-R Flown by Polish pilot Josef Frantisek RAFVR 303 Squadron (Warsaw) RAF September 1940.

P2725 TM-B Flown by Flight Lieutenant Raymond T Holmes 504 Squadron RAF.

R4118 UP-W Flown by Various pilots of 605 Squadron RAF Drem 17th August 1940. (available in wartime and restored versions)

P3114 M A Sea Hurricane serving with 800 Squadron Fleet Air Arm out of RNAS Gosport in 1940.

Z4936 KE-M A Sea Hurricane of the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit 1942.

V7478 The only Hurricane to be delivered directly to Australia. A tropicalized Mk1.

284 J was flown by Lt. Bob Kershaw of 3 Squadron SAAF in East Africa in March 1941.

Z4615 was a Tropicalized Hurricane flown by Free French pilots in the Middle East. This aircraft began its flying career with No.80 Squadron RAF in June of 1941.

A "clay" unmarked and unpainted texture is included and a "paint kit" containing "A" and "B" RAF camouflage schemes without markings.