Hawker Hurricanes - Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2023

A trio of Hawker Hurricanes, two Mk.1’s and a , displaying at Duxford during the Battle of Britain Airshow on 16 September 2023. Hurricane 11B, BE505:- This is the only remaining airworthy ’Hurribomber’ version of the Hawker Hurricane - a fighter/bomber - recently modified into a 2 seater. The Hurricane IIB gained prominence when RAF Fighter Command went onto the offensive following the end of The Battle of Britain. It was fitted with a more powerful Packard Merlin 29 engine and more effective armament. The ‘B’ wings could hold twelve ″ Browning machine guns, usually reduced to ten when carrying either two 250lb or 500lb bombs. BE505 had the latter. It was built in Canada at the Canadian Car & Foundry Company factory in 1942. Originally ordered as a Mk.1 for the RAF as serial AG287, its batch was diverted to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and it was given Canadian serial 1374. Delivered on 11/02/1942, she served with the RCAF until going back to the factory in 1943, for upgrade to a . Returning to the RCAF it went to 1(F) Operational Training Unit (OTU) in Quebec, where it stayed until struck off charge on 6/09/1944. After wars end it was sold and bought by collector Jack Arnold in the 1970’s. It passed through other collectors and went to Hawker Restorations Ltd (HRL) in the UK. Restoration began as G-HRLO in 2005 at HRL’s base in Suffolk. It was bought by Hangar 11 Collection in 2007, re-registered G-HHII and the restoration finished by HRL in January 2009, in the markings of BE505, XP-L, a Manston based with 174 (Mauritius) Squadron in spring 1942. First post-restoration flight was from North Weald on 27/01/2009. It stayed with Peter Teichmann’s Hangar 11 Collection at North Weald, until January 2018. Ownership went back to HRL, who modified it as a 2 seater. In November 2022 it was registered to Hurriback Limited. BE505 saw action during the Dieppe amphibious landing on 19/08/1942, piloted by Flight Sergeant C. Bryce Watson. He was shot down by flak, survived, was captured and taken prisoner. P3717, G-HITT:- Built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd in 1940 as a Mk I, it went to the RAF in June and to 253 Squadron at Kirton-in-Lindsey on 13 July. They transferred to RAF Kenley on 29/08/1940, with Pilot Officer Bell-Salter flying BE505. It and other aircraft of 253 Squadron were scrambled at 4pm for an uneventful patrol. At the next day, 14 of the squadrons Hurricanes scrambled to intercept 3 incoming waves of Albert Kesselring’s Luftflotte 2. 23 year old Polish Pilot Officer Wlodzimierz Michal Czech Samolinski was flying P3717 as ’Blue 2’. They were ordered to patrol Maidstone. The flights got seperated and were ordered back to orbit Kenley, where they were joined by another 5 of the squadron’s Hurricanes. They were vectored south, where at 18’000ft near Redhill, they saw 3 formations of 9 bombers escorted by 30 ME110 and ME109’s. ’B Flight’ attacked the bombers which included HE111, DO215 and possibly JU88’s, with one bomber being claimed as shot down. ’A Flight’ followed up and shot down an HE111 which force landed. A series of individual fights began, mainly with ME110’s and ME109’s. ’Blue 1’ Flight Lieutenant Cambridge shot down an ME110. Samolinksi in P3717 attacked an ME110 from above and behind, silenced the rear gunner and saw his bullets striking the wings and fuselage, sending it down in a spiral dive. He made a similar attack on a second ME110, silencing the rear gunner. P3717 was badly damaged and was returned to Hawkers for repairs. It was reissued to 257 Squadron but returned to Hawkers for more work, modified to a , then sent to Russia, from where it was recovered in the late 1990s. Its restoration was finished in March 2017. P2902, G-ROBT:- 1939 Hawker Hurricane Mk1, P2902, G-ROBT is owned by Fighter Aviation Engineering Ltd. It was built by Gloster Aircraft Ltd and first flew in October 1939. By May 1940 it was with 245 Squadron at Drem, Scotland, doing shipping protection patrols. On the 31/05/1940, carrying the code DX-R, it was flown by Pilot Officer Kenneth McGlashan. Heading for the French coast to provide cover for the armada of small ships collecting thousands of Allied troops trapped by the Germans on the shore at Dunkirk, he engaged and was hit by fire from an ME109. Badly injured, he brought the damaged aircraft down to crash land on the beach, where it stayed until recovered in 1988. It was obtained later by warbird operator Rick Roberts, who employed the services of several restorers before finally engaging Hawker Restorations, where it was returned to flying condition. Video and Audio content is Copyright © High Flight