Hawker Fury

Hawker Fury (Yugoslav variant)
Description
Role	Fighter
Crew	1
First Flight
Entered Service
Manufacturer	Hawker, Ikarus
Dimensions
Length	27ft 4in	8.3 m
Wingspan	30ft 0in	9.2 m
Height	9ft 9in	3 m
Wing Area	253 ft²	23.5 m²
Weights
Empty	3,020 lbs	1,370 kg
Loaded	3,850 lbs	1,750 kg
Maximum takeoff	lbs	kg
Powerplant
Engine	Rolls-Royce Kestrel XVI
Power	745 hp	560 kW
Performance
Maximum speed	250mph @ 16,400ft	402km/h @ 5,000m
Combat range	388 miles	620 km
Ferry range	km	miles
Service ceiling	28,500 ft	8,690 m
Rate of climb	2,600 ft/min	790 m/min
Wing loading	15.2 lb/ft²	74.5 kg/m²
Power/Mass	0.194 hp/lb	0.32 kW/kg
Armament
Guns	Twin synchronised machine-guns

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.

The Fury was the RAF's first operational fighter aircraft to be able to exceed 200 mph 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.

There were two marks of Fury. The Fury I made its maiden flight on the 25th March 1931 and was issued to No. 43 Squadron later that year. The Fury II has 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.

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.

A total of 262 Furies 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.

Table of contents

1 General characteristics 2 See Also 3 References

General characteristics

• Hawker-Siddeley
• Hawker Hart
• Hawker Sea Fury