The legendary British-built Hurricane came to fame during the Battle of Britain where it did the heavy lifting for the RAF in that pivotal battle. Unlike popular belief, it was the sturdy and more numerous Hurricane and not the sexier Spitfire that really made the difference. The Hurricane was built in large numbers and the Mk.II series was sent to all corners of the war to fly and fight, including the Eastern Front where the Soviet VVS put them to good use in several sectors. The Hurricane Mk.II saw action over the sands of North Africa, the ports of Malta, the jungles of the Far East and protected convoys in the Atlantic. Hurricanes also saw action at Stalingrad, Moscow, Leningrad, Murmansk and many other battles over the vast Russian steppe. It was a true WWII legend and workhorse.
The Hurricane Mk.II series which consisted of the a, b, c and d variants was outfitted with several different armament configurations. Also, come aircraft sent to the Soviet Union from the UK under the lend-lease plan received modifications to the armament package. Our Hurricane includes the following modifications. It was truly a versatile plane.
- Hurricane Mk.IIa - default model with eight Browning .303 MGs.
- Hurricane Mk.IIb - modification with twelve (!) Browning .303 MGs.
- Hurricane Mk.IIc - modification with four 20mm Hispano Mk.II guns.
- Hurricane Mk.IId - two assault modifications with two 40mm Vickers S Class guns and two Browning .303 MGs, with or without additional armor plates.
- Hurricane Mk.II Soviet - modification armed with two 20mm ShVAK cannons, two 12.7mm BS MGs and Soviet bombs and unguided rockets.
- Either of the modifications listed above can be equipped with a Merlin engine with an additional boost and/or air cleaner for dusty conditions and a rear-view mirror.
In addition to Quick Mission Builder and Multiplayer modes, you can fly it in Career mode during
Battle of Moscow and
Battle of Stalingrad timeframes.
Armaments and Modifications
- Four additional wing-mounted "Browning .303" 7.7mm machine guns with 328 rounds per gun (100 kg weight increase, 3 km/h speed loss).
- Four "Hispano Mk.II" 20mm wing-mounted guns with 90 rounds per each (195 kg weight increase, 12 km/h speed loss).
- Two Vickers Class S 40mm gun pods with 15 rounds per each and two wing-mounted "Browning .303" 7.7mm machine guns with 650 rounds per each (242 kg weight increase, 14 km/h speed loss).
- Two Vickers Class S 40mm gun pods with 15 rounds per each, two wing-mounted "Browning .303" 7.7mm machine guns with 650 rounds per each and additional armor plates (390 kg weight increase, 16 km/h speed loss).
- Two ShVAK 20mm wing-mounted guns with 120 rounds per each and two BS 12.7 mm wing-mounted machine guns with 100 rounds per each (59 kg weight increase, 4 km/h speed loss).
- Merlin XX engine with +14 lb boost (estimated speed increase at sea level: 11 km/h).
- Air cleaner for dusty conditions (13 kg weight increase, 5 km/h speed loss).
- Rearview mirror (1 kg weight increase, 2 km/h speed loss).
Skins
- Standard paint scheme.
- Winter camo, 14th ORAE (Independent Reconnaissance Squadron), Moscow Front, Winter 1942-43.
- RAF A-pattern Day Fighter Scheme with Soviet markings painted on top of the British ones.
- RAF A-pattern Temperate Land Scheme, pre-May 1942.
- RAF A-pattern Day Fighter Scheme, post-May 1942.
- RAF A-pattern Desert Scheme, post-May 1942.
- "For VKPb" inscription. Lt Amosov, 78th IAP, Northern Fleet Air Force, Winter 1941-42.
- Guards Captain M.A. Efimov, 3rd GIAP, Sinyavino, Autumn 1942.
- "For Motherland, For Stalin" inscription. Junior Lt N.A. Beletsky, 609th IAP, shot down near Tikshoozero (Tiiksjärvi) airfield on April 6th, 1942.
- Operation Benedict, Hurricane Mk.IIb Trop, 81st Sqn 151st Wing, Force Benedict, Vaenga-2 airfield, September 1941. The wing flew against the Luftwaffe and the Suomen Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) from Vaenga (now Severomorsk) in the northern USSR and trained Soviet pilots and ground crews to operate the Hurricanes, when their British pilots and ground crews returned to Britain.
- "Night reaper" inscription. Hurricane Mk.IIc, F/L K.M. Kuttelwascher, 1 Sqn, Redhill, May 1942. Kuttelwascher shot down three He 111s over France during one mission.
- Hurricane Mk.IId, 6 Sqn, Egyptian desert, 1942. The squadron enjoyed much success during the Battle of El Alamein, having destroyed sixteen tanks on October 24th.
- "Jessie" inscription. Hurricane Mk.IIc, No 1697 (Air Despatch Letter Service) Flight formed with the specific purpose to deliver secure communications and correspondence in to the beachhead during the D-Day invasion period, Northolt, June-July 1944. The Flight's Hurricanes did not carry any ammo for its four 20mm cannons to save weight.
Technical details
Indicated stall speed in flight configuration: 132...155 km/h
Indicated stall speed in landing configuration: 123...144 km/h
Dive speed limit: 630 km/h
Maximum load factor: 11.0 G
Stall angle of attack in flight configuration: 17.6 °
Stall angle of attack in landing configuration: 15.4 °
Maximum true air speed at sea level, 3000 RPM, boost +14: 466 km/h (modification)
Maximum true air speed at sea level, 3000 RPM, boost +12: 455 km/h
Maximum true air speed at sea level, 3000 RPM, boost +9: 435 km/h
Maximum true air speed at 4200 m, 3000 RPM, boost +9: 514 km/h
Maximum true air speed at 6550 m, 3000 RPM, boost +9: 543 km/h
Service ceiling: 11300 m
Climb rate at sea level: 14.0 m/s
Climb rate at 3000 m: 13.5 m/s
Climb rate at 6000 m: 10.2 m/s
Maximum performance turn at sea level: 16.8 s, at 230 km/h IAS.
Maximum performance turn at 3000 m: 20.3 s, at 230 km/h IAS.
Flight endurance at 3000 m: 3.3 h, at 260 km/h IAS.
Takeoff speed: 150...180 km/h
Glideslope speed: 150...185 km/h
Landing speed: 115..135 km/h
Landing angle: 10.0 °
Note 1: the data provided is for the international standard atmosphere (ISA).
Note 2: flight performance ranges are given for possible aircraft mass ranges.
Note 3: maximum speeds, climb rates and turn times are given for standard aircraft mass.
Note 4: climb rates are given for 2850 RPM and boost +9, turn times are given for 3000 RPM and boost +12.
Engine:
Model: Merlin XX
Maximum power in Take-off mode (3000 RPM, boost +12, low gear) at sea level: 1280 HP
Maximum power in Climb mode (2850 RPM, boost +9, low gear) at 10000 feet: 1240 HP
Maximum power in Climb mode (2850 RPM, boost +9, high gear) at 17500 feet: 1175 HP
Maximum power in Combat mode (3000 RPM, boost +12, low gear) at 8500 feet: 1400 HP
Maximum power in Combat mode (3000 RPM, boost +14, high gear) at 14750 feet: 1405 HP
Engine modes:
Max Cruising power (unlimited time): 2650 RPM, boost +7
Climb power (up to 1 hour): 2850 RPM, boost +9
Combat power (up to 5 minutes): 3000 RPM, boost +12/+14 (low gear/hi gear)
Combat power (up to 5 minutes): 3000 RPM, boost +14/+16 (low gear/hi gear) (modification)
Water rated temperature in engine output: 60..125 °C
Water maximum temperature in engine output: 135 °C
Oil rated temperature in engine intake: 15..90 °C
Oil maximum temperature in engine intake: 105 °C
Supercharger gear shift altitude: 13000 feet
Length: 9.82 m
Wingspan: 12.19 m
Wing surface: 23.92 m²
Empty weight: 2567 kg
Minimum weight (no ammo, 10% fuel): 2859 kg
Standard weight: 3225 kg
Maximum takeoff weight: 3894 kg
Fuel load: 317 kg / 441.5 l / 97.1 gallons
Maximum useful load: 1327 kg
Combat debut: Autumn 1940
Operation features
- The engine is equipped with the two-stage mechanical supercharger which should be manually switched at 13000ft altitude.
- Engine is equipped with an automatic fuel mixture control that maintains optimal mixture.
- Engine RPM has an automatic governor that controls the propeller pitch to maintain the required RPM.
- Water and oil temperatures are controlled manually by adjusting the radiator shutter.
- The aircraft is equipped with elevator and rudder trimmers.
- Landing flaps have hydraulic actuators and can be extended to any angle up to 80°. The speed with the extended flaps is limited to 120 mph.
- Aircraft tail wheel rotates freely and does not have a lock.
- The aircraft has differential pneumatic wheel brakes with a shared control lever. This means that if the brake lever is held and the rudder pedal the opposite wheel brake is gradually released causing the plane to swing to one side or the other.
- The aircraft is equipped with a siren that warns a pilot if the throttle is set to a low position with the landing gear retracted.
- It is impossible to open the canopy at high speeds because of the ram air, but there is an emergency jettison handle for bailing out.
- The aircraft is equipped with upper and bottom formation lights which can be turned on simultaneously or independently.
- The gunsight is adjustable: both the target distance and target base can be set. It has a sliding sun-filter.
- When rockets are installed there is a salvo controller, it has three launch modes: single fire, fire two in a salvo or fire four in a salvo.
