Hawker Hurricane Mk-VII

In 1940 there was a sense that within the Air Ministry that the modern RAF aircraft like the Hurricane, Spitfire and Lancaster were too dependent on the Rolls Royce Merlin engine. Any disruption in Merlin production would put a lot of aircraft manufacturers in trouble.

So manufacturers were asked to develop variant of their aircraft with different engines. Hawker came up with a radial engined Hurricane, powered by the Bristol Hercules engine delivering 1350hp.

The lower weight of the engine compensated for the less streamlined form of the aircraft. In May 1940 full scale production was ordered as the Hurricane Mk VII. The first unit equipped with the radial Hurricane was 320 squadron which flew with Dutch pilots.


Last updated: 22/12/2019