Hurricane: The Plane That Saved Britain

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In September 1942 it took part in the successful bombing of Gestapo headquarters in Oslo, destroying the records of members of the underaged resistance. Hawker had ambitious export plans for the aircraft, assuming other countries’ air forces would be as impressed as the RAF. One famous aerobatic display at the Brussels Air Show in 1939 was breathlessly reported by aviation magazine Flight. The pilot? Richard Reynell.

Walker was keenly aware of the work of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), a pool of pilots who delivered aircraft from factories to airfields. With so many pilots needed for combat operations, the ATA drafted in any pilot who could fly a plane. Of the more than 1,300 pilots who flew planes to airfields, more than 160 were women. After World War Two broke out, several RAF Hurricane squadrons were sent to France, where they occasionally encountered German aircraft during a period of relative calm. It’s here that an unintended advantage of the Hurricane’s wood-and-fabric construction became apparent. German fighters were armed with small fast-firing cannon whose shells would explode when they hit their target. One or two would normally be enough to fatally damage an aircraft. The Hurricane’s fabric fuselage, however, wasn’t rigid enough to set the shells off. “The fabric allowed the cannon shells to go right through,” says Beaver. He says that in one early encounter in 1940, one RAF pilot returned from a mission with five gaping holes in his fuselage from German cannon shells; the pilot had had no idea he had been hit. It was incredibly light and versatile, very different from the Halifaxes I had been flying before. We had to learn to fly a different way,“ said 100-year-old George from his home near Brighton. Channel 4 Paralympics presenter, former Royal Marines Commando and qualified pilot Arthur Williams presents this love letter to the World War II aeroplane he believes history has unjustly forgotten. While the names Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane have passed into legend, the De Havilland Mosquito languishes in relative obscurity. But for Arthur, the 'Wooden Wonder' is the plane that saved Britain. In this documentary, he meets the men who flew it, tells its extraordinary story and - 17 years after a fatal crash destroyed the last one to fly - travels to Virginia Beach in the USA to see if he can take to the skies in the world's only remaining flying Mosquito.During the early afternoon, British radar observers hunched over their screens started seeing something massive taking shape. From airfields across France, wave after wave of German bombers and fighters took to the air, forming up into one enormous formation over the English Channel. It was so large – nearly 1,100 planes – that it covered 800 square miles (2,072 sq km). The last time a force this powerful had threatened England was the Spanish Armada, 500 years before. It was an aircraft that not only helped turn the tide of a war, but whose legacy can be found today in a wide range of modern life – from aviation to medicine. This year marks the 85th anniversary of the Hawker Hurricane’s first flight, and what follows offers some insight into the impact it has had.

The Hurricane actually began life as a biplane, based on an earlier aircraft Hawker had built. Paul Beaver, an aviation historian and pilot, says: “If you look at the construction of the original aircraft, it had fabric-covered mainplanes [wings]. Fabric wings are very easy to repair, but they make it difficult to fly the plane robustly.” Widely remembered in its fighter role and unjustly left in the shade of the Spitfire, the Hurricane's role was varied and pivotal: as a fighter, fighter-bomber, anti-tank aircraft and used at sea. Nor was its theatre of operations any less wide: it saw action in France from the beginning of the Phoney War to the outbreak of the Blitzkrieg, in the Battle of Britain, and then as far afield as Russia, Sumatra and Madagascar. Channel 4 Paralympics presenter, former Royal Marines Commando and qualified pilot Arthur Williams presents this love letter to the World War II aeroplane he believes history has unjustly forgotten. While the names Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane have passed into legend, the De Havilland Mosquito languishes in relative obscurity. But for Arthur, the 'Wooden Wonder' is the plane that saved Britain. In this documentary, he meets the men who flew it, tells its extraordinary story and - 17 years after a fatal crash destroyed the last one to fly - travels to Virginia Beach in the USA to see if he can take to the skies in the world's only remaining flying Mosquito. Dir: Rob Coldstream; Exec Prod: Alistair Pegg; Prod Co: Blast Films
The riveting exploits of a fighter aircraft – and an underrated aerial hero of the Second World War Although it was lightweight and nimble, the Camel’s greatest strength also proved to be its fatal flaw. Its powerful rotary engine severely affected the aircraft’s handling and proved deadly to novice pilots.Meanwhile, the fact that it was made completely out of wood meant that it was highly flammable, making it a death trap when under fire. But the Camel still ended up being credited with downing 1294 enemy aircraft, making it more successful than any other Allied fighter.

There is at least one Mossie flying in New Zealand and I believe there is an intention to get another one airborne somewhere else.The one's that were recently flying in New Zealand was only because that where they were rebuilt (by AvSpecs) but they were all for US owners, so once test flights had been done in NZ, they were dismantled and shipped to the USA to their new owners. That's what I was told by the old timers when I was there several years later. The sheer mention of Mosquito would start a healthy debate between fighter pilots and bomber pilots about who should have flown it had it ever arrived..From what I heard, as it was a solid nose T.3 it had a fighter style control column rather than a yoke wheel which the glazed nose bomber versions had so it was deemed that it would be flown by a fighter pilot..... This project is marvellous. It’s going to take several years and a lot more money, but I’m so pleased that people in Britain will have the chance to see it fly once more. The iconic planes were also used in one of the most famous wartime missions in British history - the Dambusters raid.They were flown at just 60ft and dropped ‘bouncing bombs’ which destroyed three of Germany’s dams in the Ruhr Valley. Lancasters were also used to divert attention away from the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day invasions."They were Britain’s most potent weapon,’ says Rob. ‘Without the bomber boys and the Lancaster, British history would have followed a very different path." Widely remembered in its fighter role and unjustly left in the shade of the Spitfire, the Hurricane’s role was varied and pivotal: as a fighter, fighter-bomber, anti-tank aircraft and used at sea. Nor was its theatre of operations any less wide: it saw action in France from the beginning of the Phoney War to the outbreak of the Blitzkrieg, in the Battle of Britain, and then as far afield as Russia, Sumatra and Madagascar.

Arthur’s love of sport, in particular wheelchair racing, was to open an entirely new chapter in his career when he joined Channel 4’s presentation team providing coverage of the London 2012 Paralympics. Since then, he has emerged as one of the most recognisable and popular aviation presenters in the UK and is often seen at the controls of his stunning 1943 Piper Cub. Most recently, Arthur completed his debut season working as guest commentator for The Blades aerobatics team as they thrilled an estimated three million spectators in the 2019 display season. The Mosquito connection In this intensely readable, spirited and classic account, Adrian Stewart describes all the Hurricane's roles, adventures and achievements. He recounts the exploits of the aircraft's outstanding pilots who contributed so much towards mastery of the skies and eventual victory. AvSpecs have restored 3 x Mosquitos in the past decade or more, the first one, FB.VI, KA114 for Jerry Yagen in Virginia. The aircraft defending London that day were spearheaded by the Supermarine Spitfire, an iconic single-seat fighter plane which had only entered service a few months before the start of World War Two. The Spitfire was fast, sleek and very agile – but it was outnumbered two to one by another fighter, one often ignored in the popular retelling of the battle. It was the Hawker Hurricane, and most of the RAF squadrons flying over London that day were equipped with it.

Multibuys

Initially conceived as a light bomber, the Mosquito soon spawned more than 25 variants and served with both Bomber and Fighter Command in Europe, the Middle and Far East and Russia. But then Germans then turned their attention – mystifyingly – to Britain’s cities, hoping that indiscriminate bombing would cause widespread panic and force Britain to surrender. The Luftwaffe decided to throw every available aircraft into the offensive. It started on 7 September. In this intensely readable, spirited and classic account, Adrian Stewart describes all the Hurricane’s roles, adventures and achievements. He recounts the exploits of the aircraft’s outstanding pilots who contributed so much towards mastery of the skies and eventual victory. Last night Mosquito veteran George Dunn - who was awarded the DFC for his role in the daring Peenemünde Raid against Hitler’s V1 and V2 factories - recalled the first time he took control of the yoke. And in 1944, Operation Jericho saw nine Mosquitos carry out a daylight raid on a German-held prison at Amiens, France, in which the planes flew so low they were able to blow up the walls, allowing 255 allied prisoners to escape.

Channel 4 Paralympics presenter, former Royal Marines Commando and qualified pilot Arthur Williams presents this love letter to the World War II aeroplane he believes history has unjustly forgotten. While the names Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane have passed into legend, the De Havilland Mosquito languishes in relative obscurity. But for Arthur, the 'Wooden Wonder' is the plane that saved Britain. In this documentary, he meets the men who flew it, tells its extraordinary story and - 17 years after a fatal crash destroyed the last one to fly - travels to Virginia Beach in the USA to see if he can take to the skies in the world's only remaining flying Mosquito. Dir: Rob Coldstream; Exec Prod: Alistair Pegg; Prod Co: Blast Films The Hawker Hurricane was flying on the outbreak of war in 1939. Six years later, having saved Britain, it was still playing a major part in the war effort.The riveting exploits of a fighter aircraft - and an underrated aerial hero of the Second World War. McIndoe became aware some of his patients might need years of medical treatment, and realised treating the mental effects was as vital as the physical. The pilots were able to wear normal civilian clothes or their uniforms while they were recovering and were encouraged to leave the hospital grounds when they wanted. The people of East Grinstead were asked to invite the pilots into their homes and ignore their injuries. As a result, East Grinstead became known as “the town that didn’t stare”. The pilots who went through McIndoe’s far-sighted approach set up a drinking society called “ The Guinea Pig Club” that at its peak had nearly 700 members. The club held yearly reunions in East Grinstead until 2007, more than six decades after the end of the war. Some of the club members lived to see their 100th birthdays. We didn't need gunners. Halifaxes bombed from 18,000 feet, but in the Mosquito it was 26,000 feet," he said It was beautiful and it could do anything. It took us just over four hours to fly to Berlin, whereas it would have taken eight in a Halifax." Historian James Holland, author of Battle of Britain, said: "The decision to use wood wasn't just about the scarcity of metals - George de Havilland knew it would be faster and lighter and more streamlined.