Hawker Fury

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the World War II plane of the same name, see Hawker Sea Fury.

Hawker Fury
Hawker Fury in Yugoslav service
Type	fighter
Manufacturer	Hawker Aircraft
Maiden flight	March 25 1931
Primary user	RAF

The Hawker Fury was a biplane fighter design used by the RAF in the 1930s. It was originally named the Hornet and was the counterpart to the Hawker Hart light bomber.

Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Variants 4 Operators 5 Specifications (Hawker Fury Mk II) 6 References 7 Related content

[edit] Design and development

The Fury was the RAF's first operational fighter aircraft to be able to exceed 200 mph (320 km/h) in level flight. It had highly sensitive controls which gave it superb aerobatic performance. It was designed partly for the fast interception of bombers and to that end it had a climb rate of almost 2400 feet per minute (730 m/min).

There were two marks of Fury. The Fury I made its maiden flight on the March 25 1931 and was issued to No. 43 Squadron later that year. The Fury II had several improvements including a 20% increase in power, a higher top speed, and a greater rate of climb. It was issued to squadrons in 1936-1937.

[edit] Operational history

Three Spanish variants were ordered in 1935 which eventually took part in the Spanish Civil War, serving with both sides of the conflict. The Spanish variant had a cantilever undercarriage design and could achieve a top speed of 242 mph.

By 1939 the Fury had been phased out from RAF squadrons and replaced with, amongst other designs, Gloster Gladiators and Hawker Hurricanes. However it was still used in some foreign air forces in the early 1940s; Yugoslav Furies saw action against Axis forces in the German invasion of 1941. They were also used by the South African Air Force against the Italian forces in East Africa in 1941.

A total of 262 Furys were produced, of which 22 served in Persia, 3 in Portugal, at least 30 in South Africa, 3 in Spain, at least 30 in Yugoslavia and the remainder in the United Kingdom.

[edit] Variants

Hawker Hornet

Single-seat fighter prototype. Only one was built.

Fury Mk I

Single-seat fighter version. Powered by a 525-hp (391-kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIs piston engine.

Intermediate Fury

Single-seat fighter prototype.

High Speed Fury

Single-seat prototype which was developed into the Fury Mk II.

Fury Mk II

Single-seat fighter version. Powered by a 640-hp (477-kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI piston engine.

[edit] Operators

•  Greece
•  Norway (one aircraft only)
•  Iran (Persia)
•  Portugal
•  South Africa: South African Air Force
•  Spain
•  United Kingdom: Royal Air Force
•  Yugoslavia

[edit] Specifications (Hawker Fury Mk II)

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Length: 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
• Wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
• Height: 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)
• Wing area: 250 ft (76.2 m)
• Empty weight: 2,734 lb (1,240 kg)
• Loaded weight: 3,609 lb (1,637 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Kestrel IV V12 engine, 640 hp (477 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 223 mph at 16,500 ft (360 km/h at 5,030 m)
• Range: 270 mi (435 km)
• Service ceiling: 29,500 ft (8,990 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13.2 m/s)
• Wing loading: 14.4 lb/ft² (21.5 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.177 hp/lb (0.291kW/kg)

Armament

• Guns: 2× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers Mk IV machine-guns
  Provision for light bomb racks under the wings

[edit] References

• Bowyer, Chaz. The Encyclopedia of British Military Aircraft. Bison Books Limited. ISBN 0-86124-258-0. 
• Elke C. Weale, John A. Weale and Richard F. Barker. Combat Aircraft of World War Two. Lionel Leventhal Limited. ISBN 0-946495-43-2. 

[edit] Related content

Related development

• Hawker Hart

Designation sequence

Hawker Hart -Hawker Fury - Hawker Hurricane - Hawker Typhoon

Related lists

List of aircraft of the RAF