| Hawker Hurricane |
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| Written by Sp. | |||
| Saturday, 10 October 2009 12:31 | |||
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* A strengthened canopy, the result of complaints from Bulman that the canopy flexed in flight. Since the canopy had also proven hard to open at high speeds, making escape from the aircraft in an emergency troublesome, the canopy design was also tweaked to make it easier to open, though it would take an iteration or two to get it right. * Simplified and stronger main landing gear covers. * A non-retractable tailwheel, and (from early 1938) fit of a strake fore and aft of the tailwheel. The A&AEE evaluation had shown that the aircraft's rudder was ineffective during a spin, and the non-retractable tailwheel and strakes helped ensure better airflow around the rudder, providing better handling all around. The rudder was also slightly lengthened. * Elimination of strut bracing for the tailplane. * Fit of a bigger radiator "bath" intake on the belly under the wing center section, which led to splitting in two a flap that had run across the belly. * Replacement of the obnoxious hand-driven pump for flap and landing gear hydraulics with an engine-driven pump. Initial service deliveries were to RAF Number 111 Squadron at Northolt near London on 17 December 1937, with Numbers 3 and 56 Squadrons receiving their Hurricanes during 1938. It was the first monoplane fighter to go into formal RAF service, as well as the RAF's first operational fighter with a retractable undercarriage, an enclosed cockpit, and a speed greater than 480 KPH (300 MPH) in level flight. * By the end of 1938, about 200 Hurricanes were in service, and the RAF had upped the original order of 600 to 1,000 in November, following the Munich Crisis in late September. There were some problems with losses due to accidents. Although the Hurricane's handling was good, it was still much faster than the biplane fighters RAF pilots were familiar with, and some pilots had trouble making the transition. One pilot from 111 Squadron commented that after the "ladylike Gauntlet, the Hurricane was, by comparison, a large, powerful, high-performance modern fighter." Those who did make the transition found the Hurricane impressive. On 10 February 1938, Number 111 Squadron Leader John W. Gillan flew his Hurricane from Turnhouse, Scotland, to Northolt, covering 526 kilometers (327 miles) in 48 minutes. This gave an average speed of 658 KPH (409 MPH), and introduced the Hurricane to the British public with a splash of publicity. Such a high speed was a good margin above the Hurricane's normal limits of performance, but there had been a strong tailwind, not mentioned in the newspaper articles. Gillan would known as "Downwind" Gillan from then on. The RAF was facing war and needed as many Hurricanes as they could get their hands on, with the total order being raised again, this time to 1,500 machines. The Gloster company was enlisted to also build the fighter, tooling up their factory at Hucclecote, Gloucestershire to build Hurricanes. Gloster turned out their first example on 27 October 1939.
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