Richard Spreckley builds Airfix’s re-release of its classic large-scale Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, and adds embellishment with scratch-built and aftermarket parts.
Hawker’s Hurricane is regarded as something of an unsung hero of World War Two, despite the type having been responsible for more than 60% of the Luftwaffe’s losses during the Battle of Britain in 1940. First proposed in the early 1930s by Sir Sydney Camm as Hawker’s first monoplane, based on its successful Hawker Fury biplane, the initial proposal was not accepted by the Air Ministry, which was still in favour of biplane designs at the time.
Despite this setback, Sir Sydney developed the aircraft into the RAF’s first monoplane interceptor, using what was regarded as ground-breaking technology for the time. It featured a cantilever wing, retractable undercarriage and eight Browning .303 machine guns, making it a quantum leap over contemporary aircraft. With most of its surface still covered with linen when it entered service – surrounding a tubular framework – it proved a robust design and was relatively easily repaired.
The Merlin-powered prototype first flew in 1935 and, with war imminent, it was accepted into the RAF in 1937. By the outbreak of World War Two, 18 squa…
