Hurricane Variants

Finally got around to asking I was told the Vintage Wings of Canada Hurricane MkIV is fitted with a MKIId wing.

Hi K225,

Thanks for finding out about the wing on Vintage Wings of Canada MkIV. Surprised that it is fitted with a IID wing, though this is consistient with your previous point that it has IIC cannon stubs on the wings leading edge only. I will have to look closer at the wing photos I have of KZ321.

It sure would be nice to see a Hurricane restored with two 40mm cannon.

Regards,

Finally got around to asking I was told the Vintage Wings of Canada Hurricane MkIV is fitted with a MKIId wing.

I gather that due to the positioning of the IID’s cannon in underwing gondolas led to a pronounced nose-down trim every time they were fired, as the aircraft would effectively tilt around its centre of gravity. Perhaps it was this the pilots were feeling and mistaking it for a sudden slowing?

IIRC the fastest production Hurricane was the MkIIA at 354mph.

One of the vets who flew them was telling us that when they fired the cannons it slowed the aircraft by 40 mph. And if one of the guns jammed it would slew it by 30 degrees. When your down at 50 feet or lower ‘it was kind of hair raising”!

Have to be careful to contradict a veteran, but that’s generally regarded as a pilot’s scuttlebutt myth. Footage shows even the ‘S Cannon’ armed Hurris didn’t slow by over 10% when the gun was fired.

It sounds a good story, but the physics doesn’t stack up. IIRC, there was a discussion here about this ‘cannon slowing’ and there was no evidence, lots of stories.

Hi K225,

Thanks for offering to find out about the wings on KZ321.

I am hoping to see RCAF 5547 before the restoration is completed to take photos of it, though I suspect it will be done before I make it there! I remember Harry Whereatt telling me the story in 1993 how the wings of 5547 had been dragged across a field by a farmer who was trying to flatten the field out- can’t imagine it worked very well…… Shows you how tough the wings of the Hurricanes were.

Regards,
Steven Smart
Winnipeg.

HurriRV7 I don’t know but will find out.
We are also currently restoring a MkXII RCAF 5447 and the question of wing configuration has come up. We opened up the wing on KZ321 to see how they had installed the extra fuel cells and that will probably be the way the MKXII will be restored but with aluminum tanks. The wing has obviously been heavily modified from original. The cannon are barrels only mounted in the leading edge.
The MKXII is being restored to look like the MKI flown by Willie McKnight of 242 Squadron. The wing on it is stamped as a MKIIB but had also been heavily modified from original.
Steve

http://www.vintagewings.ca/page?a=323&lang=en-CA

The Hurricane maintenance manual published by the RAF museum lists this for the Hurricane MkIV:

4. Hurricane IV– This is similar in most respects to the Hurricane IID, but is provided with a “low attack” wing, which enables the aircraft to be fitted with either two Vickers Type “S” 40mm guns or any one set of the following items (see fig 1.), in addition to two .303in. Browning guns:-
[INDENT]2 40mm Rolls-Royce Type “B-H” guns (early aircraft only).
Bombs (two 250 or 500lb).
2 S.B.C.
2 S.C.I.
2 Drop fuel tanks.[/INDENT]
The Rolls-Royce and Vickers guns are mounted in the same poisition under the wing, the only difference being the method of mounting. Additional armour protection is incorporated as for the Hurricane IID (see para. 2).

It then goes on to say:

6. Additional structure in both wings (both marks).- The Hurricane IID wings and the “low attack” wing are similar in general construction to the normal hurricane wings (guess they are referring to the MkIIC wing here) but are provided with certain additional structure. This structure comprises a number of nut plates and Simmonds anchor nuts, to provide attachment points for the armament or tanks slung beneath the wings. The mountings for the .303in. guns are in the wings just outboard of the 40mm guns, and are similar to the normal .303in. gun installation.

I have a few books which show Hurricanes taxiing out with rockets under one wing and a bomb under the other.

I too have been wondering about the difference between the MkIV wing and the MkIIC wing, is would be very interesting to find a drawing for a “low attack” wing and compare it to the MkIIC wing for sure.

Interestingly the description for the MkIV doesn’t mention anything about 20mm cannon, yet that is the type of wing fitted to Vintage Wings of Canada KZ321? Perhaps either MkIIC wings were used for the restoration or some MkIV’s were retrofitted with the 20mm cannon wings and their electrical system appropriately modified? K225- do you know the answer to this?

They did indeed BSG-75, including a significant number of experienced pilots.

the W.O.F write by Frances K Mason

calls it a “universal wing” that could carry any symetric or asymmertric combinatin of underwing stores and quotes 6 Squadron as having flown with a 40mm cannon and two RP’s on one side, and a 500lb bomb and two RP’s on the other. Aiming and flying must have an issue!

oddly enough, the write up doesn’t mention internal weapons and the line drawing doesn’t show anything other than underwing RP’s.

164 Squadron converted from Spitfire V’s to Hurricane IV’s in 1943 and flew missions, also following on from pfp7063, IIRC 137 took some heavy losses flying against canal gates in the Netherlands in their MK IV’s

The pilots of 137 Squadron loathed the Mk IV compared to their Whirlwinds and felt that from an operational and survivability stand point that they had been forced to take a backward step in handing over their Whirlwinds for the Mk IV. One former 137 pilot I have spoken to stated that the squadron’s morale whilst operating the Mk IV was lower and did not improve until they converted from the Mk IV to the Typhoon.

I’ve read that the Hurricane’s thick wing limited its top speed to about 340 mph and that increases in horsepower brought only minor (if any) increases in speed.

The information on the Vintage Wings of Canada Hurricane IV states it has has the Rolls Royce Merlin 500-29 developing 1640 hp. The top speed indicated according to that article is 314 mph. Since the MkIV had 350 lbs of additional armour protection the slower top speed could be expected.

The VWC Mk IV has four 20 mm cannons. The Mk IV had the universal wing that could mount different weapons or stores externally using existing armanent circuits or fuel systems. The wing was designed to carry (1)two 303 in guns and two 40 mm Vickers cannons,(2) eight 60 pound rockets and two 303 in guns (3)two 250 lb or 500 lb bombs and two 303 in guns, (4)two 45 or 90 gallon drop tanks and two 303 in guns. Our Mk IV has additional fuel cells installed in place of the cannons.

One of the vets who flew them was telling us that when they fired the cannons it slowed the aircraft by 40 mph. And if one of the guns jammed it would slew it by 30 degrees. When your down at 50 feet or lower ‘it was kind of hair raising”!

Have a listen to some former Hurricane and Typhoon pilots here:
http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/TheaterScreen.php?Movie=SFI_ciML3lc
http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/TheaterScreen.php?Movie=X6CyLM6p9TY