HAWKER HURRICANE AND SEA HURRICANE

The Hurricane was one of Britain's most iconic aircraft which was not only pivotal during the Battle of Britain but also served as a night fighter, fighter-bomber, naval fighter and dedicated ground attack aircraft. Drawn into battle during the Second World War, the Hurricane experienced a baptism of fire in October 1939 when a flight of No.46 Squadron was directed to intercept a formation of nine Heinkels which were flying at sea level. Admire the power of these planes as, on 10 May 1940 at the Battle of France, Hurricane squadrons claimed 42 Luftwaffe aircraft and marvel at how, during the Battle of Britain in 1940, Hurricanes made up half of Fighter Command's frontline force and were fierce in carrying out some of the first nocturnal interceptions when the Luftwaffe started night bombing raids. The Hurricane was not just pivotal in Europe but in the Middle East and Mediterranean with six squadrons of Hurricanes in use at the Battle of El Alamein in October 1942. Even after the war, the Hurricane remained in operational service with No.6 Squadron in the Mediterranean as late as January 1947 while, in the UK, it served in secondary roles throughout 1946. The guide includes a list of the variants of Hawker Hurricanes, from Hurricane I which was first produced between 1937 and 1939 with a Rolls-Royce engine, to the Sea Hurricane Ib which was fully navalised and equipped with catapult spools, as well as aircraft for photo and tactical reconnaissance. The book includes specially commissioned, colour illustrations featuring 48 separate aircraft and over 70 contemporary black and white photographs. Admire an unidentified Hurricane I belonging to No.85 Squadron with a Native American war bonnet painted on its cockpit and spot the difference between three Hurricane IIbs from the No.79 Squadron which are from the same product batch but with differences in the demarcations of the camouflage pattern. The book also looks at the models of the aircraft including the Airfix Hurricane I in 1978 which was one of the most accurate looking kits, the basic old Crown series from the 1960s which was recently reboxed by Revell, and the Sweet rage of 1/144 scale models which contained well-researched and beautifully printed decal options for each of the three kits, although they do not adhere to the craft models particularly well. Paperback, 8.3" x 11.8", colour and black and white images, 96pp.