Hawker Hurricane Mk IIC

From The Air Combat Wiki

Contents 1 Fighter Ace Screenshots 2 Fighter Ace Ratings 3 Fighter Ace Performance 4 Historical Statistics 5 Strengths 6 Weaknesses 7 History 8 Sources 9 See Also

Fighter Ace Screenshots

Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ
Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ

Fighter Ace Ratings

Durability: 3

Speed: 6

Maneuverability: 8

Firepower: 7

Climb Rate: 4

Ground Attack: 4

Fighter Ace Performance

Top Speeds						Climb Rates
	Sea Level	4921' 1500m	9843' 3000m	19685' 6000m	Best Speed	Best IAS	to 1000m	to 3000m	to 6000m
mph	260	278	298	326	336@ 21982'	149 mph	1:31	4:17	8:45
mph WEP	268	287	305	334	342@ 21982'
kph	418	448	480	525	541@ 6700m	240 kph
kph WEP	431	461	490	537	550@ 6700m

Historical Statistics

Service Date: April 1941

Primary Guns: 2x Hispano Mk.II 20mm cannon with 90 rpg in wings

Secondary Guns: 2x Hispano Mk. II 20mm cannon with 90 rpg in wings

Ordnance: 2x 250 lb (113 kg) or 2x 535 lb (242 kg) bombs or 2x 317 lbs (144 kg) drop tanks, or 8 x 84 lb (38 kg) A2G rockets

Engine(s): 1x Rolls-Royce Merlin XX in-line rated for 1,460 hp at sea level (1,535 hp with WEP)

Int Fuel Capacity: 698 lbs (317 kg)

Ext Fuel Capacity: 634 lbs (288 kg)

Maximum Speeds: 342 mph (550 kph) at 22,000 ft (6,706 m)

Ceiling: 35,600 ft (10,851 m)

Loaded Weight: 7,300 lbs (3,311 kg)

Wing Area: 257.5 sq ft (24 sq m)

Wing Loading: 28.3 lbs/sq ft (138.0 kg/sq m)

Strengths

Firepower: The four 20mm Hispano cannons give the Hurricane an excellent air-to-ground and air-to-air capability.

Ground Attack: With both good anti-tank cannons and a brace of eight rockets, the Hurricane IIC can do some serious hurt to ground targets.

Weaknesses

Speed: The Hurricane was outclassed by the German fighters it was facing.

History

Looking for a way to improve both the performance and the firepower of the Hurricane, Hawker engineers started work in January 1940 on a version to be powered by the new Merlin XX engine featuring a brace of twelve Browning .303 machine guns. The first stage of this development culminated in the introduction of the Hurricane Mk IIA, which was fitted with the new engine but retained the eight-gun armament of the Mk IA.

The second stage resulted in the development of two different wings, each of which was stressed to carry a pair of 500 lb. bombs. The first wing was fitted with the originally intended twelve machine guns, however the second wing was designed around an armament of four 20mm Hispano cannon.

The Mk IIC, as the cannon-armed version was known, proved to be the most useful and widely used variant of the Hurricane, with 4,711 examples being produced. Additionally, most IIA and IIB machines were retrofitted with the IIC wing and were thus redesignated as IIC models. In 1943 the IICs were themselves retrofitted with four rocket rails under each wing, allowing the plane to carry eight air-to-ground 3" rockets.

Sources

Green, William; Famous Fighters of the Second World War; Hannover House, Garden City, NY; 1960.

Scutts, Jerry; Hurricane In Action; Squadron/Signal Publications; Carrollton, TX; 1986.

See Also

Fighter Ace Planes Inventory

Hawker Aircraft, Ltd.

Aircraft Manufacturers During World War II