Hurricane: Unsung Hero

Hurricane MK I P3717
Built in 1940 by Hawker and fitted with a Rolls Royce Merlin III engine this Hurricane entered service with 253 Squadron at Kirton in Lindsey on 13 July 1940. On 29 August 1940, 253 Squadron transferred to RAF Kenley and on the 30 August a polish pilot, Pilot Officer Wlodzimierz Samolinski scrambled in P3717 in response to a German attack. Samolinski successfully shot down a Messerschmitt Bf110 and returned to Kenley. On 12 September P3717 transferred to 257 Squadron at RAF Debden and continued to operate until she was damaged in a forced landing on 23 September 1940. P3717 served with 43 Squadron and No 8 Training school before being sent to Rolls Royce for MK II conversion, she was then shipped to the Soviet Union where little is known about her service. In 1990 she was located and recovered back to the UK for restoration where she now displays in original 253 Squadron paint scheme.
Hurricane MK I V7497
Built by Hawker at Langley in the summer of 1940 V7497 was sent to 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron at RAF Kenley. Having completed a number of sorties V7497 was being flown by Pilot Officer Everett Bryan Rogers on 28 September 1940 and was attacked by a number of Messerschmitt Bf109s near Deal, Kent. She was shot down by Oberleutant Gustav Sprick of 8./JG 26. Pilot Officer Rogers managed to bail out and land safely while V7497 crashed and burned out at East Sutton near Maidstone, Kent. Her remains were recovered and she was subsequently rebuilt using as many original parts as possible and displays in 501 Squadron paint scheme.
Hurricane MK I P2902
P2902 was built by Gloster Aircraft Co in 1939 and first flown in October 1939.She was delivered to 245 Squadron at RAF Drem, Scotland and engaged in shipping patrols. In late May 1940 a detachment from 245 headed to RAF Hawking in Kent to support the British evacuation at Dunkirk. On 31 May 1940, Pilot Officer Kenneth McGlashan took off in P2902 from Hawking to patrol the English Channel. P2902 was attacked by two Messerschmitt Bf109 fighters with McGlashan being temporarily blinded by oil and glycol. McGlashan put P2902 into a dive and when he regained his vision discovered he was very close to the ground, he pulled out of the dive but blacked out. When McGlashan regained consciousness he discovered P2902 was travelling very fast and low over a beach, he decided to force land and did so successfully. He was rescued by British soldiers and got aboard a paddle steamed to England. P2902 sank into the sand and would remain there until 1988 when she was recovered and restored, flying again in 2017. She displays in her 245 Squadron paint scheme.
Hurricane MKIIb 1374 painted as BE505
Built in Canada by Canadian Car & Foundry in 1942, 1374 was originally assigned to the RAF as AG287. She was never delivered and instead issued to the Royal Canadian Air Force. In September 1943 she returned to CC&F for conversion to a MK XII and fitted with a Merlin 29 engine. She was struck off charge in 1944 and sold to a private buyer. In the 1970s her remains were bought by Jack Arnold and a few decades late by Hawker Restorations. She was restored as a fighter bomber (Hurribomber) and displays as BE505 of 174 (Mauritius) Squadron. She has since been converted to a two seat configuration making her the only airworthy fighter bomber and two seat Hurricane in the world.
Hurricane MK I R4118
R4118 was built in 1940 by the Hawker Aircraft Company and was primarily used during the Battle of Britain by 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron. R4118 was shot down twice during the Battle of Britain, but was repaired and returned to service each time. In December 1943 she was crated and sent to India but never saw air time and was relegated to ground instruction before being struck off charge in 1947. In 1982 Peter Vacher discovered her in India, she finally returned to England in July 2001. She is approximately 65% original in terms of restored parts including original Browning machine guns, ammunitions boxes and radio equipment. She displays in her 605 Squadron paint scheme.
Hawker Fury MK I K5674
K5674 was built in 1935 and served with 43 Squadron at Tangmere, West Sussex from
1936 to 1939, when the squadron reequipped with Hurricanes. The aircraft then moved to No.5 Maintenance Unit, followed by No.47 MU, before finally to South Africa with No. 13
Squadron South African Air Force (SAAF) in August 1940. K5674 was damaged in a forced landing in March 1941 after the aircraft ran out of fuel and was supposedly scrapped. The remains of K5674 were recovered by the Historic Aircraft Collection in 1992, and the aircraft was restored to airworthy condition.Now resident at Duxford, K5674 is the world's sole surviving Hawker Fury.
Photos can be found here: www.kentexplorehistory.com/po...

[@Wolfsschanze99]

Nice vid, they are things of beauty

[@KentExploreHistory]

Yes they are!