Huricanes

Digital art of: Hawker Hurricane Mark I, R4118 UP-W, was delivered new to 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron at Drem on 17 August 1940. During the Battle of Britain it flew 49 sorties from Croydon and shot down five enemy aircraft. After being battle damaged on 22 October 1940, the aircraft was rebuilt and taken on charge by 111 Squadron at Dyce on 18 January 1941. There it was flown on patrol over the North Sea and was again in combat. Over the following two years it was used primarily as a training aircraft with 59 and 56 OTUs, and was rebuilt a further three times following major accidents, including hitting a lorry on the runway and being stuffed into a snowbank! and In December 1943,Hawker Hurricane R4118 was crated at Cardiff and shipped to India as a training aircraft. However it was never needed and remained in its packing case in Bombay until 1947 when it was struck off charge. It was donated to a university for engineering instruction. The fuselage was stood outside in a compound with the propeller, wings and tailplane laid on the ground. There it remained until June 2001 when Peter Vacher was able to conclude six-year-long negotiations and R4118 was loaded into a container. The aircraft has been restored to flying condition over the past three years.