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The Spitfire, from about mid-1940, had 73 pounds (33 kg) of armoured steel plating in the form of head (of 6.5 mm thickness) and back protection on the seat bulkhead (4.5 mm), and covering the forward face of the glycol header tank. [24] The Hurricane had a similar armour layout to the Spitfire, and was the toughest and most durable of the three.
Unlike the Hurricane bomb gear our Spitfire throws away all external fittings with the exception of a steel rib which protrudes less than one inch from the wing. [ 91 ] " One Vc (trop) BP985 was modified by 103 MU as a high altitude fighter capable of intercepting the Ju 86P photo reconnaissance aircraft which were overflying Allied naval bases ...
The Hurricane was a steady gun platform and had demonstrated its ruggedness as several were badly damaged yet returned to base. [91] The Hurricane's construction made it dangerous if it caught fire; the wood frames and fabric covering of the rear fuselage allowed fire to spread through the rear fuselage structure easily.
During the Battle of Britain (July–October 1940), the more numerous Hurricane flew more sorties resisting the Luftwaffe, but the Spitfire captured the public's imagination as the main RAF fighter, in part because the Spitfire was generally a better fighter aircraft than the Hurricane. Spitfire units had a lower attrition rate and a higher ...
One prototype and another two Hurricane Mk Vs were built as conversions of Mk IVs, and featured a Merlin 27 engine driving a four-bladed propeller, also tested with a Merlin 32. The ground attack role moved to the more capable Hawker Typhoon. [citation needed] By this time, the Hurricane was no longer a frontline fighter in the United Kingdom.
Learn about the formation and characteristics of hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes.
The Spitfire IX on floats was faster than the standard Hurricane. Its handling on the water was extremely good and its only unusual feature was a tendency to "tramp" from side to side on the floats, or to "waddle" a bit when at high speed in the plane.
The Spitfire was also adopted for service on aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy; in this role they were renamed Supermarine Seafire. Although the first version of the Seafire, the Seafire Ib, was a straight adaptation of the Spitfire Vb, successive variants incorporated much needed strengthening of the basic structure of the airframe and ...