https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the
1930s-1940s that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for
the Royal Air Force (RAF). Although overshadowed by the Supermarine Spitfire,
the aircraft became renowned during the Battle of Britain, accounting for 60% of
the RAF's air victories in the battle, and served in all the major theatres of
the Second World War.
Though faster and more advanced than the RAF's current front line biplane
fighters, the Hurricane's constructional design was already outdated when
introduced.
Some 14,000 Hurricanes and Sea Hurricanes were produced with the first 50
Hurricanes had reaching squadrons by the middle of 1938.
Battle of Britain
At the end of June 1940, following the fall of France, the majority of the RAF's
36 fighter squadrons were equipped with Hurricanes. The Battle of Britain
officially lasted from 10 July until 31 October 1940, but the heaviest fighting
took place between 8 August and 21 September. Both the Supermarine Spitfire and
the Hurricane are renowned for their part in defending Britain against the
Luftwaffe; generally, the Spitfire would intercept the German fighters, leaving
Hurricanes to concentrate on the bombers, but despite the undoubted abilities of
the "thoroughbred" Spitfire, it was the "workhorse" Hurricane that scored the
higher number of RAF victories during this period, accounting for 55 percent of
the 2,739 German losses, according to Fighter Command, compared with 42 per cent
by Spitfires
Specifications (Hurricane Mk.IIC)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.84 m)
Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
Empty weight: 5,745 lb (2,605 kg)
Loaded weight: 7,670 lb (3,480 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,710 lb (3,950 kg)
21,000 ft (6,400 m)
Performance
Maximum speed: 340 mph (547 km/h) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m) [N 12]
Range: 600 mi (965 km)
Service ceiling: 36,000 ft (10,970 m)
Rate of climb: 2,780 ft/min (14.1 m/s)
Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (0.25 kW/kg)
Armament
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