Hurricane MKII-B Aircraft

On November 6, 1935, the first Hawker Hurricane designed by Sydney Camm, took flight. The original plans for the British Hurricane called for a Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine, four machine guns, and fixed landing gear. Instead, the first production of the Hurricane included a more powerful PV.12 Merlin engine, retractable landing gear and eight machine guns. Similar to the Hawker biplanes, the monoplane Hurricanes’ fuselage was built around a mold of four alloy and steel tube longerons known for its durability and simplicity. Initially, 600 Hurricane MkIs were ordered by the Royal Air Force on June 1936, and were in service by December 1937.

Production began on the Hurricane MkIIs, which had 1,185 hp Merlin XX engines and several different armament variations. The Hurricane MkIIA had eight machine guns, similar to the original Hurricane MkI; Version MkIIB carried twelve machine guns; MkIIC four 20 mm cannons; MkIID two 40 mm Vickers ‘S’ guns and two .303 inch guns. The last production version of the Hawker Hurricane was the MkIV with two underwing attachment points able to carry eight rockets, two bombs, or fuel bubbles.

As the outbreak of the war became more apparent, an urgency for the fighter aircraft was a major issue. The decision was made to produce Hurricanes at the Canadian Car and Foundry plant in Fort William, Canada. The first order for the Canadian factory of 40 Hurricanes came on December 5, 1938. Design drawings and all the needed materials for the 40 planes were shipped overseas, and production began immediately.

Eight months after the order was placed, an English inspector traveled to the Canadian factory and was amazed to see the wings were in the jigs and almost complete. This was a total surprise since the British were still producing their Hurricanes with fabric covered wings. The Canadians were very successful at producing the planes and orders continued to come in. Canadian-built Hurricanes went to several different countries. Russia received 200, 330 went to the Royal Air Force, Canada kept 480, and the remainder of the 1,451 built in Canada were sent to Malta, Egypt, India, Burma, and Portugal. Over 14,000 Hurricanes were built between Britain and Canada and were used by over 15 countries.

Even though the Vickers Supermarine Spitfires outnumbered the Hurricanes in total production, 65% more Hurricanes fought for the RAF during the Battle of Britain than Spitfires. Hurricanes were also responsible for destroying more enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain than all other defense systems combined.

The Fighter Factory’s Hurricane MkXII-B was built by the Canadian Car and Foundry in 1943. RCAF5667 was accepted on February 3, 1943 and stricken from the military records October 1, 1946. The plane sat derelict on a farm in Saskatchewan from 1948 to 1965 when it was purchased by a new owner in Vancouver, Washington. This owner performed a long term restoration and first flew the plane on May, 10, 1994. Unfortunately, 12 days later the plane was damaged while landing in Yakima, Washington. The plane is almost completely original including the Merlin-29 engine. This aircraft is currently flying in Virginia and will be at several air shows along the East Coast.

Photos of our
Hurricane MKII-B aircraft.

For more information on the
Hurricane check out Hawker Restorations.

The Guide Book to the
World's Surviving Hawker Hurricanes