HAWKER HURRICANE

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Although largely overshadowed by the Supermarine Spitfire, the aircraft became renowned during the Battle of Britain, accounting for 60% of the RAF's air victories in the battle, and served in all the major theatres of the Second World War.

The 1930s design evolved through several versions and adaptations, resulting in a series of aircraft which acted as interceptor-fighters, fighter-bombers (also called "Hurribombers"), and ground support aircraft. Further versions known as the Sea Hurricane had modifications which enabled operation from ships. Some were converted as catapult-launched convoy escorts, known as "Hurricats". More than 14,000 Hurricanes were built by the end of 1944 (including about 1,200 converted to Sea Hurricanes and some 1,400 built in Canada by the Canada Car and Foundry).

We all know how difficult it is to obtain an entry to the Goodwood Revival. On the race track, that is. But historic aeroplanes are just as important to the magic of the Revival and, this December, Bonhams will offer a WW2 Hawker Hurricane - ideal for flying into what was once a Battle of Britain airfield. 

While the glamorous Spitfire has always received more publicity, it is the Hurricane – the first of the Royal Air Force’s Rolls-Royce Merlin-engined, 300mph fighters – that was responsible for downing the most enemy planes in the summer of 1940. And although its main role was to intercept the bombers while the faster Spitfire went for the Messerschmitt Bf 109s, many Hurricane pilots came out on top in head-to-head dogfights with German fighters. 

More than one Luftwaffe ace, reclining in a British RAF station’s armchair pending relocation to less comfortable surroundings, would stoically claim that his bad luck was down to a Spitfire with its superior speed and handling. Imagine his surprise, then, to be told that it was the humble Hurricane - perhaps flown by the legendary legless pilot Douglas Bader – that caused his war to be over. 

Nowadays, the Hurricane is a much rarer bird than the Spitfire. Of the 14,533 aircraft built between 1937 and 1944, just a dozen are in flying condition. Some 40 Spitfires are in operation worldwide and the plane's all-monocoque, metal construction makes for a far easier restoration. The Hurricane, while having the wings and much of the forward fuselage in metal, has a wood-and-fabric rear fuselage and tail section. 

t carries an estimate of £1.4 - 1.7 million. A pretty penny, undoubtedly, but far less than the $35m or so required to put a Ferrari 250 GTO on the grid for the Tourist Trophy Celebration race. And the Hurricane’s far rarer, too.