We’re almost done with the Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China campaign, but there’s still two aircraft yet to be explored that figure into the campaign missions. The second I’ll talk about next week, since it doesn’t come into play until the final mission of the game, but the other I’ll cover today. The Hawker Hurricane, specifically the Mk IIB Tropical variant, has shown up in a few missions, flown by the RAF’s 232 Squadron and RNZAF’s 448 Squadron.
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| Hurricane V7476, which evacuated from Singapore to Australia. Note the large tropical air filter under the chin. (Wikipedia) |
While the Hurricane is most famous for its service in the Battle of Britain, where it actually downed more German aircraft than the sleeker, sexier Spitfire, it became a workhorse in the fighter-bomber role in the North African and CBI combat theatres. In the China-Burma-India theatre, the first Hurricanes to arrive were fifty-one Mk IIBs originally en-route to Iraq. These aircraft allowed the RAF’s fighter squadrons to finally trade the last of their Brewster Buffalos, which were now badly outclassed by the IJAAF’s Ki-43 Oscars, in for aircraft with significantly better firepower and capabilities.
The first Mk IIBs were assembled with twelve guns and a bulky tropical air filter. The additional weapon weight and increased drag made it difficult to stay with the Japanese Oscars, however, it also made the Hurricanes brutally effective in the fighter-bomber roles and as bomber killers. Later Hurricane deliveries to Dutch forces on Java were fitted with half the armament and had easier time turning with the Oscars.
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| IL-2‘s Hurricane IIb in 232 Squadron markings. The in-game version is the twelve-gun configuration originally delivered to the CBI. (My screenshot). |
As befits one of the famous fighters of World War II, there are quite a number of games where players can get some virtual stick time in a Hurricane variant. Aside from FTSOC, there is the Blazing Angels series and Air Conflicts – Secret War for flight action, Flight Simulator X, IL-2, and others for true simulation, and multiple Hurricane versions to play with in World of Warplanes. That’s merely the tip of the iceberg for this aircraft, which has been a staple of flight games going back almost thirty years.
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| An African campaign Hurricane IID in flight. These versions were designed for ground attack, with a pair of 40mm Vickers cannons carried in underwing gondolas. (Wikipedia) |
Aviation enthusiasts in Australia, Europe, and North America all have various opportunities to see operational Hurricanes somewhere. As befits an aircraft that saw use on four different continents, plus multiple oceans, there a number of survivors in non-flyable status scattered around the world. WAR Aircraft Replicas does offer a set of ½ scale plans to build your own replica, however, the company’s websitedoesn’t appear to be functional, and their Facebook page hasn’t been updated since 2015.