The first modern monoplane fighter of the RAF was the Hawker Hurricane. Hawker had been the mainstay of the RAF when it came to fighters since WWI. Initially, the company was Sopwith, but after that endeavour went into bankruptcy following WWI, it re-emerged with pretty much the same people as Hawker. Producing some of the fastest aircraft of the interwar period such as the Hart bomber and Fury fighter, the Hurricane was a logical progression from the biplane fighters.

Still built pretty much like the earlier biplanes with a tube frame covered in fabric except for the engine section, the Hurricane had an enclosed hood, retractable landing gear, and was powered by the new Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. It also had a heavy gun armament of eight license built Browning machine guns. This was the first time guns were placed in the wings. Previous guns used by the RAF, the Lewis, was prone to jamming so had to be close to the pilot where the jam could be cleared. Thanks to the superiority of the Browning, jamming was almost a thing of the past and this gun found its way into the Spitfire and other follow-on fighters.

Overshadowed in the PR department by the Spitfire, it was the Hurricane that bore the brunt of the fighting in France for the RAF, It also played a big part in the Battle of Britain, where there were a lot more Hurricanes than Spitfires. It was the Hurricane that fought in the desert and in the Far East. Much of this was not only due to availability, but also to its simple, but rugged construction. It made it an ideal Lend Lease plane for the Soviets, who flew quite a few of these aircraft in the Northern Fleet. While not as fast, it was quite maneuverable and 109 pilots soon learned not to dog-fight against it.

As in other books in this series, the author, Martyn Chorlon, covers the background and the development of the aircraft. We see how it is used in various theathers of operation and how the aircraft improved over the years. Unlike the Spitfire, the last Hurricane was nearly identical in looks from the first Hurricane. All of the various marks are covered and there are several pages of nice full color profiles. In addition, the back cover is a two page cutaway of the Hurricane.

In all, it is another superb title in the Air Vanguard series. A superb reference and a fine read as well. One I can easily recommend to you.

March 2013

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