Hawker Fury
| Fury | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 43 Squadron Hawker Fury | |
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Hawker Aircraft |
| First flight | 25 March 1931 |
| Introduction | 1931 |
| Retired | 1949 Iranian Air Force |
| Primary users |
Royal Air Force South African Air Force Spanish Air Force Royal Yugoslav Air Force |
| Number built | 275 |
The Hawker Fury was a British biplane fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It was a fast, agile aircraft, and holds the distinction of being the first interceptor in RAF service to be capable of more than 200 MPH. The Fury is the fighter counterpart to the Hawker Hart light bomber.
The Hawker Fury was a development of the earlier Hawker F.20/27 prototype fighter, replacing the F.20/27's radial engine with the new Rolls-Royce F.XI V-12 engine (later known as the Rolls-Royce Kestrel), which was also used by Hawker's new light bomber, the Hawker Hart. The new fighter prototype, known as the Hawker Hornet, first flew at Brooklands, Surrey, in March 1929. The Hornet was a single-engined biplane, with single bay wings, initially powered by a 420 hp (313 kW) Rolls-Royce F.XIC engine enclosed by a smooth, streamlined cowling, but was quickly re-engined with a 480 hp (358 kW) Kestrel IS. It was evaluated against the similarly powered Fairey Firefly II, being preferred because of its better handling and its all metal structure compared with the mainly wooden construction of the Firefly.
The Hornet was purchased by the Air Ministry at the start of 1930, and was subject to further evaluation, with a small initial production order for 21 aircraft (to be designated Hawker Fury – as the Air Ministry wanted fighter names that "reflected ferocity") placed during 1930. The Fury I made its maiden flight at Brooklands with chief test pilot George Bulman at the controls on 25 March 1931.
The Fury was the RAF's first operational fighter aircraft to be able to exceed 200 mph (322 km/h) 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 2,400 ft/min (730 m/min, powered by a 525 hp/391 kW Kestrel engine).
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