Stokesy's FLY 1/32 Hurricane IIc (Trop)

[Stokesy44]

Great result Stokesy with a big slab of determination, love the wear a tear you introduced into this build.

Thanks Digger. I wanted it to be nice and worn looking. Bleached by the sun and abused by the crews. Overdid the cannon smoke but after one went a bit awry, had to darken the other three to make them uniform

[Stokesy44]

Had just read that Hurricanes served a larger role in the Battle of Britain than given credit for.
I don’t think I saw a single one in the movie??...but it has been a while

Hurricanes outnumbered Spitfires by over 2:1 in July 1940, aircraft losses and the rate of production meant that stayed pretty much the same for the whole summer.

The film does show Hurricanes for the scenes set in France at the start but the only Hurricanes seen later in the film are the Polish squadron when the film shows how they became operational, you then see them later on in a couple of the big battle scenes.

The disparity in the movie is down to the availability of airworthy aircraft when they made the film. I think they only had 2 Hurricanes whereas they had around 10 Spitfires I think.

I attended an airshow last year with Neil (Tomcat) and his Mrs and it was Hurricane Day, 6 of them in formation and it brought an absolute lump to my throat. There are more airworthy Hurricanes now than when the made the movie (1969)! That number will continue to grow as there are now bespoke companies doing Hurricane restorations, long may they be seen in our skies.

[Tomcat64]

That's a stunning piece of work mate and really defies some of the kit's shortcomings.

The paint job and weathering is absolutely spot on, I love the chipping effects you've got on the wings - absolutely beautiful

If I remember correctly that flight at Old Warden last year was the largest flight of Hurricanes since the end of the war, and yep the sight and sound was just awe-inspiring.

[digger303]

Had just read that Hurricanes served a larger role in the Battle of Britain than given credit for.
I don’t think I saw a single one in the movie??...but it has been a while

Hurricanes outnumbered Spitfires by over 2:1 in July 1940, aircraft losses and the rate of production meant that stayed pretty much the same for the whole summer.

The film does show Hurricanes for the scenes set in France at the start but the only Hurricanes seen later in the film are the Polish squadron when the film shows how they became operational, you then see them later on in a couple of the big battle scenes.

The disparity in the movie is down to the availability of airworthy aircraft when they made the film. I think they only had 2 Hurricanes whereas they had around 10 Spitfires I think.

I attended an airshow last year with Neil (Tomcat) and his Mrs and it was Hurricane Day, 6 of them in formation and it brought an absolute lump to my throat. There are more airworthy Hurricanes now than when the made the movie (1969)! That number will continue to grow as there are now bespoke companies doing Hurricane restorations, long may they be seen in our skies.

How did they perform against the spitfire when you even the numbers out when thinking of the number of losses and victories and the time spent in combat. Are such statistics available ?

[Kevthemodeller]

A general rule of thumb, the Spits went after the 109's the hurricanes the bombs, that inc 87's & 110's.

I'm not sure what the kill ratio was but I think the hurricane's will be higher as more bombers were shot down than 109's.

[Stokesy44]

How did they perform against the spitfire when you even the numbers out when thinking of the number of losses and victories and the time spent in combat. Are such statistics available ?

A general rule of thumb, the Spits went after the 109's the hurricanes the bombs, that inc 87's & 110's.

I'm not sure what the kill ratio was but I think the hurricane's will be higher as more bombers were shot down than 109's.

I believe the kill ratios were about 55% to Hurricanes, 45% to Spitfires indicating the Spitfire fared better. Loss ratios were in line with the availability ratios. The one thing that does stand out is an RAF pilot was significantly more likely to survive being shot down in a Spitfire than he was in a Hurricane.

The practice of sending Spitfires to deal with the fighters leaving the Hurricanes to deal with the bombers reflected the Spit's better performance at altitude. It didn't always work though as it took time to co-ordinate squadrons when in some cases it was better to send aircraft off as soon as you could because height was everything.

[RangerNeil]

You have put a lot of work, heart and soul into this build
It is really an awesome example of the Hurricane.
A very important aircraft of WWII that maybe doesn't get the recognition it deserves

Thanks mate.

It was a labour of love at times. I kept asking myself why did they do that in terms of how the kit was engineered.

Completely agree re the Hurricane and its history, always the bridesmaid and never the bride in public opinion. It was there when needed and in enough numbers, that's what counts. Highest scoring RAF squadron in the Battle of Britain flew Hurricanes as did the leading ace of the battle too.

I didn’t know that.
Had just read that Hurricanes served a larger role in the Battle of Britain than given credit for.
I don’t think I saw a single one in the movie??...but it has been a while

Rewatch the film In the scene where AVM Parks arrives at an airfield in spotless white coveralls it's in a hurricane. Then later on in the sequence where the Polish training flight see the Germans and, ignoring the English Flight Leaders order to return to base, break off to attack they are in hurricanes - the birth of 303 squadron Those are the ones I can remember off-hand.

[aur0ra145]

This is a really nice looking build. Well done!