Hawker Hurricane - The first British monoplane fighter

Video from the channel Mundo de Aviación about Hawker Hurricane, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 10:21. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.

Brief history of the Hawker Hurricane, Britain's first monoplane fighter, from its development in the mid-1930s to its service in the Second World War.

When Hawker developed the aircraft, RAF Fighter Command flew biplanes such as the Hawker Fury, the Hawker Demon and the Bristol Bulldog. In 1934 the Air Ministry called for a new generation of fighters, while Rolls-Royce was privately developing the PV-12 engine, the future Merlin. The prototype flew on 6 November 1935, and the first production Hurricane I on 12 October 1937, fitted with a Merlin II. The traditional fabric construction gave way in April 1939 to an all-metal wing.

The video gives a maximum take-off weight of 3,833 kg, a range of 965 km on internal fuel, a top speed of 531 km/h and two hardpoints for 500 kg. Depending on the version, it was armed with Browning machine guns or four 20 mm Hispano cannons. It required 10,300 man-hours of manufacture against the Spitfire's 15,200. In the Battle of Britain the RAF had 36 squadrons of Hurricane Mk I, which concentrated on the bombers. 14,487 Hurricanes and Sea Hurricanes were produced. Yugoslavia built around twenty with Daimler-Benz DB 601 engines, and the Soviet Union received 2,952 under Lend-Lease.