Something I can’t find documentation on.. There appear to be two subtly different types of early Mk1 Hurricane screen (quite apart from the well- documented differences between ‘early’ and ‘late’ Mk1)
One type has a ‘flat’ profile and a wide optically-flat (though not necessarily armoured) front panel.
The second type is rounder, projects forward further, and has a narrower flat panel. I have attached a pic of each to illustrate (thanks Inkworm for the first – best example I had to hand!).
I cannot seem correlate these differences to point of manufacture – eg “after L16XX they were rounded”. I am getting the sense that the rounded ones were retrofitted around the time of the Battle of France, but this is only from a very small sample of photos on which the screen type is discernable.
Does anyone out there know for definite when this change happened or have more on this? I’m trying to confirm that I have the design for Hurricane L1639 around the time of the Battle of France correct. I’m currently going for the more rounded screen.
Any help greatly appreciated!
By: Beermat - 25th April 2011 at 20:17
Sadly no closer, despite the great pics Inkworm gave me the heads-up on in this month’s ‘other’ magazine. They all show the ‘flat’ type, not a surprise considering the date.
I have come to realise that there was an intermediate ’rounded’ type, sometimes armoured, sometimes not (but without the additional frame component familiar on Battle of Britain aircraft) that both appeared and disappeared in the first half of 1940, but I cannot find any documentation on (or even record of) its existence anywhere, apart from one GA drawing and a few blurry battle of France period photographs.
Another example is below, with the more familiar early screen as an inset for comparison.
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March 27, 2011 at 11:09 am