https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Fury
The Hawker Fury was a British biplane fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air
Force in the 1930s. It was a fast, agile aircraft, and holds the distinction of
being the first interceptor in RAF service to be capable of more than 200 MPH.
The Fury is the fighter counterpart to the Hawker Hart light bomber.
The Hawker Fury was a development of the earlier Hawker F.20/27 prototype
fighter, replacing the F.20/27's radial engine with the new Rolls-Royce F.XI
V-12 engine (later known as the Rolls-Royce Kestrel), which was also used by
Hawker's new light bomber, the Hawker Hart. The new fighter prototype, known as
the Hawker Hornet, first flew at Brooklands, Surrey, in March 1929. The Hornet
was a single-engined biplane, with single bay wings, initially powered by a 420
hp (313 kW) Rolls-Royce F.XIC engine enclosed by a smooth, streamlined cowling,
but was quickly re-engined with a 480 hp (358 kW) Kestrel IS. It was evaluated
against the similarly powered Fairey Firefly II, being preferred because of its
better handling and its all metal structure compared with the mainly wooden
construction of the Firefly.
The Hornet was purchased by the Air Ministry at the start of 1930, and was
subject to further evaluation, with a small initial production order for 21
names that "reflected ferocity") placed during 1930. The Fury I made its maiden
flight at Brooklands with chief test pilot George Bulman at the controls on 25
March 1931.
The Fury was the RAF's first operational fighter aircraft to be able to exceed
200 mph (322 km/h) in level flight. It had highly sensitive controls which gave
it superb aerobatic performance. It was designed partly for the fast
interception of bombers and to that end it had a climb rate of almost 2,400
ft/min (730 m/min, powered by a 525 hp/391 kW Kestrel engine).
Role
Fighter
Manufacturer
Hawker Aircraft
First flight
25 March 1931
Introduction
1931
Retired
1949 Iranian Air Force
Primary users
Royal Air Force
South African Air Force
Spanish Air Force
Royal Yugoslav Air Force
Number built
275
The Fury I entered squadron service with the RAF in May 1931, re-equipping No.
43 Squadron. Owing to finance cuts in the Great Depression, only relatively
small numbers of Fury Is were ordered, the type equipping 1 and 25 squadrons. At
the same time, the slower Bristol Bulldog equipped ten fighter squadrons. The
six. Furies remained with RAF Fighter Command until January 1939, replaced
primarily with Gloster Gladiators and other types, such as Hawker Hurricane.
After their front line service ended, they continued to be used for training.
The Fury was exported to several customers, being supplied with a variety of
engines, including Kestrels, Hispano Suiza and Lorraine Petrel vee-type engines,
Armstrong Siddeley Panther, Pratt & Whitney Hornet and Bristol Mercury radials.
Although phased out from RAF squadrons, the Fury was still used by some foreign
air forces in the early 1940s; Yugoslav Furies saw action against Axis forces in
the German invasion of 1941. On 6 April 1941, a squadron of Furies took off to
defend their country against the invading German Messerschmitt Bf 109Es and
Messerschmitt Bf 110s. In the resulting air battle 10 Furies were destroyed,
almost the entire squadron. The commanding officer of the 36 LG was Major Franjo
biplanes. In an unequal battle against superior adversaries, five aircraft were
Bf-109s and two Bf-110s failed to return, though most were non-combat losses, at
least one was lost when rammed by a Fury.
A total of 262 Furies were produced, of which 22 served in Persia, 3 in
Portugal, at least 30 in South Africa, 3 in Spain, at least 30 in Yugoslavia,
and the remainder in the United Kingdom.
Specifications (Hawker Fury Mk II)
General characteristics
Crew: One
Length: 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
Height: 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)
Empty weight: 2,734 lb (1,240 kg)
Loaded weight: 3,609 lb (1,637 kg)
Performance
Maximum speed: 223 mph at 16,500 ft (360 km/h at 5,030 m)
Range: 270 mi (435 km)
Service ceiling: 29,500 ft (8,990 m)
Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13.2 m/s)
Power/mass: 0.177 hp/lb (0.291kW/kg)
Armament
*
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