4311 x 2602 px | 36,5 x 22 cm | 14,4 x 8,7 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
6 septembre 2025
Lieu:
IWM, Duxford, Cambridgeshire, CB22 4QR
Informations supplémentaires:
Cette image peut avoir des imperfections car il s’agit d’une image historique ou de reportage.
Hawker Hurricane IIB BE505 (G-HHII), known as ‘Pegs’, is the world’s only airworthy two seat example of this classic wartime fighter. The Hurricane originated from the drawing board of the legendary Sir Sydney Camm, who went on to design other iconic fighters like the Tempest, Hunter, Harrier, and many others. The Hurricane first flew in November 1935 and entered squadron service just over two years later. It contained a lot of known technology; Hawkers having supplied the Royal Air Force with frontline fighters previously such as the Fury and Demon. The type is often considered something of an ‘unsung hero’ throughout wartime – it was often overlooked in favour of the more glamorous Spitfire yet performed a wider range of roles arguably more effectively. Its largely fabric fuselage was easy to repair in the event of battle damage and whilst the thick wing of the Hurricane might have prevented it reaching the same speeds as a Spitfire, it provided the aircraft with impressive turning performance and gave the pilots who flew it great confidence. Despite over 14, 000 Hurricanes being constructed, only around 16 remain in an airworthy condition today. Part of the reason for this is the sheer number of man hours required to reconstruct a Hurricane; approximately double what would be required to get a Spitfire back in the air. BE505 herself was built by Canadian Car & Foundry under license in 1942, initially as a Mark I for the RAF. However, the aircraft was reassigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force as ‘1374’ before it left the factory and entered service with them on 11th February 1942. The following year, the Hurricane returned to the factory for upgrade to Mk XII standard which included the fitting of a larger engine. Upon completion, ‘1374’ was allocated to No 1 (F) Operational Training Unit of Bagotville, Quebec with which it served until being decommissioned in September 1944. As so many Hurricanes were operated in Canada, many aircraft were sold off
