Hurricane Mk IIB (USSR)

▂Hurricane Mk IIB

▂Hurricane Mk IIB

USSR

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.0	3.0	3.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:700

This page is about the premium Russian fighter Hurricane Mk IIB (USSR). For other variants, see Hurricane (Family).

Description

The ▂Hurricane Mk IIB is a premium rank II Soviet fighter with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.51 "Cold Steel".

A modified Lend-Lease Hurricane, this Soviet take on the famous British fighter boasts enhanced firepower. Twin 20 mm ShVAK cannons and 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine guns give this machine a potent bite and the Hurricane's good turning capabilities make it a powerful opponent in frantic dogfights. However the Hurricane chassis has not quite kept up with its contemporaries and getting into a position to use its strengths can be tricky. Still, for those who want a rugged turnfighter with great firepower, the Hurricane does the job.

General info

Flight performance

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 5,182 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	541	525	11500	15.9	16.4	9.1	9.1	360
Upgraded	591	565		14.8	15.0	18.5	13.0

This Hurricane flies better than any model available in the British tech tree. In Realistic Battles, the top speed of 565 km/h is on par with the P-40E-1. Unfortunately, it's still slower than most competing aircraft. Its top speed at sea level is around 450 km/h, much slower than the approximately 520 km/h achievable by the Yak-1B or Bf 109 F-2. The climb rate and acceleration are mediocre. The roll rate and general energy retention are below average for a fighter. Dive performance is poor since it doesn't pick up speed quickly, the controls tend to lock up, and the wing rip speed of 660 km/h IAS is low even by Soviet standards. Many of these issues boil down to the Hurricane being an early monoplane with a similarly early aerodynamic design and construction.

What the Hurricane does well is sustained turning. The horizontal maneuvering energy retention is good and it can make constant flat loops without losing much speed. The turn rate is very good, and of near contemporaries, only a few like Spitfires and Zeroes will give it trouble.

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
660	320	285	235	200	~11	~6

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 370	< 250	< 380	> 410

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
3,675 m	1,160 hp	1,340 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
5,200 m	1,170 hp	1,346 hp

Survivability and armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in the cockpit front
• 12.7 mm Steel plate in the pilot's rear
• 6.35 mm Steel plate between the top fuel tank and oil cooling system
• Critical components located at the front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
• More fuel tanks located in wings near the fuselage

The Hurricane has fairly good protection for the pilot, who is unlikely to be knocked out by rifle-calibre machine guns. The rest of the airplane is sturdy due to its steel tube construction and can soak up a surprising amount of damage provided that the fuel tanks are not set on fire. The inline engine is quite vulnerable to damage however, so be careful in head-ons.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Hurricane Mk IIB (USSR) is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm ShVAK cannons, wing-mounted (120 rpg = 240 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine guns, wing-mounted (120 rpg = 240 total)

The ShVAK cannons are not synchronized as on the La-5 and are not limited to early belts as on the I-16 type 27. With some careful aim they will do good work against contemporary fighters. The best belts to use are Default and Armored Targets. Avoid belts containing HE rounds, as they have less explosive content than the FI-T rounds and deal little damage.

The Berezin UBs are also very lethal and enjoy slightly better ballistics than the ShVAKs. If loaded with the Air Targets belt, they will easily set enemies on fire for efficient kills. The Ground Targets belt has cermet-core rounds that can knock out engines and pilots quite readily.

The main issue with the Hurricane's armament is the limited ammunition supply, even lower than other Soviet fighters. The Berezins will run out of ammunition before the ShVAKs due to their higher rate of fire. Aim carefully and try to fire only at close range. Another factor to account for is the wing placement of the guns, which typical Soviet fighters do not have to worry about; try a gun convergence of 400-500 meters.

Suspended armament

The Hurricane Mk IIB (USSR) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 6 x RS-82 rockets
• 6 x RBS-82 rockets

The Soviet Hurricane uses Soviet RS/RBS-82 rockets instead of the traditional British RP-3. The RS-82 rockets do not have as much explosive as the RP-3 and their utility against ground or air targets is limited. The RBS-82 rockets can pierce armor and a successful penetration will usually annihilate any ground target. They require some practice to use due to their wing placement, questionable ballistics, and the necessity of scoring a direct hit.

Usage in battles

Although a highly successful and popular fighter, by 1940 the Hurricane Mk I was already showing itself to be inferior to enemy fighters such as the Messerschmitt 109. Experience from the Battle of Britain had also proved that the Hurricane's rifle-calibre 0.303 machine guns were inferior to larger calibre weapons being operated by enemy aircraft.

The Hurricane II was developed by adding the 1,280 HP Rolls Royce Merlin XX engine and slightly lengthening the fuselage. This Hurricane Mk IIA was further modified by adding the 'universal wing' to allow the use of underwing ordnance such as rockets.

The aircraft arrived via Lend-lease in Russia during the early stages of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1942). Before putting the Hurricane into service, the Soviets replaced the 7.7 mm Brownings with their indigenous 2 x 12.7 mm Berezin-UB MGs and 2 x 20 mm ShVAK cannons. This armament proved to be much more powerful, even surpassing its contemporary rivals, such as the Bf 109 F, in weight of fire. The Soviet Hurricane had far more weight of fire than its Commonwealth counterpart and this is why it resides at its rank position, much like the Sea Hurricane Mk IC and its four Hispano 20 mm cannons.

In battle, the Hurricane does not have sufficient performance to beat such formidable enemies as the Bf 109 F-4 or P-63C-5 in a 1 vs 1 duel, particularly when in an up-tier situation. The pilot should climb at an angle between 250-270 kph IAS, while slightly side climbing. This will almost always prevent you from being the first person engaged and leave you above the ball of dogfighters mixing it up at the lower altitudes. From here pick on targets of opportunity, those low on energy or wounded. Here you can benefit your team by using your heavy armament (double that of a typical Russian fighter at this rank) to quickly dispatch these targets before escaping. Bear in mind your low ammo count; only 120 RPG on the machine guns, half of most fighters. While the Hurricane can outturn many other fighters if forced into a 1 vs 1, against both Allied (Spitfire) and Axis (A6M, Ki-44, Ki-43) there will almost always be another plane which can outturn it. Here you want to pick your battles while turning with some and with others extending away to reclaim an energy advantage and try again.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Auto control available	Combined	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 12 mm MGs
III	Wings repair	Engine		Offensive 20 mm	RO-82
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 20 mm cannons
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Strong armament compared to contemporaries
• Small turn radius at low speeds
• Can carry rockets for ground attack

Cons:

• Low top speed
• Bad roll rate
• Bad acceleration and dive characteristics
• Vulnerable to Boom & Zoom aircraft such as the P-47
• Limited ammunition

History

Right after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Britain offered immediate assistance and send a wing with two Hurricane equipped squadrons to Murmansk in September. The Brits were happily welcomed near the front-line by their Russian Hosts. Flt Lt. Jack Ross, who recently gained ace status, wrote in his memoirs: "The whole wing passed out completely after drinking vodka. I was so bad I completely missed the concert given in our honour." During the deployment, No. 151 Wing got quite some action, before defensive patrols and training duty became predominant. Many Russian pilots were trained by the Brits, before the Hurricanes were handed over to the Soviets on 18 October. The Wing has scored 15 kills for the loss of one aircraft.

In late 1941, Hurricanes started to arrive in the Soviet Union as a key part of the first batch of lend-lease aircraft supplied by the Western Allies, together with Curtiss Tomahawks IIs and Kittyhawk Is and Bell P-39 Airacobras. They joined the latest generation of Soviet fighters - LaGG-3 and Yak-1 -at a time when production of the MiG-3 had been discontinued. Each type had advantages and disadvantages. Indifference to the other aircraft, the Hurricane had been developed and combat proved since its creation: the other aircraft were still operational and design defects. The main drawback for the Hurricane was its lack of speed, although all the fighters in the Russian inventory lagged behind their main rival, the BF-109 F, in speed and rate of climb. However, in the turning fight, the Hurricane was superior to any BF-109."

Most combats between Soviet and German fighters in 1941-42 began with a head-on formation attack. Usually, a 'defensive circle' would then be formed in which pilots would protect the tail of the aircraft flying in front of them. In a defensive circle, the parameters of maximum speed and rate of climb had no practical significance, which nullified the advantages of the Luftwaffe fighters. Firepower was often the decisive factor, and the Hurricane in Soviet service had no equal in this respect. The Soviet Hurricane, with its two 20 mm ShVAK guns and two 12.7 mm large calibre UBK machine guns producing a weight of fire of 3.84 kg (8.45 lb) per second, surpassed not only all single-engine Soviet fighters but also its German opponents. The Bf 109 F, armed with just one 20 mm MG 151 cannon and two 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, produced a weight of fire of 1.99 kg (4.38 lbs) per second. Consequently, its pilots declined to engage Hurricanes in head-on attacks. The British fighter's sturdy construction and relative bulk also made it a stable gun platform, being able to pour a concentrated stream of fire onto its target.

In 1942 the Hurricane was the most numerous Western Allied fighter in the inventory of the Soviet Union's Red Army and Naval Air Force units serving on the large Soviet-German front. A major expansion of Red Army Air Force fighter regiments had been made possible by the monthly shipments of equipment from the Allies under lend-lease, which had been arriving since December 1941. In the winter of 1941-42, these shipments were needed more than ever. The halting of the German advance on Moscow in January 1942 encouraged the Soviet command to build on this achievement with a series of offensive operations along the western, northwestern and Kalinin fronts. Many of the fighter regiments equipped with the Hurricane were the first to be mobilized along these fronts. The Hurricane's contribution to the Soviet war effort has tended to be overshadowed. Its performance was considered inferior to that of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 Fs and Gs opposing it. Many reports from this period, when Soviet fighter units suffered heavy losses, characterized the Hurricane as obsolete, bulky and slow. It was almost considered to be a burden on the fighter units operating it. And the Hurricane was unlikely to be the mount of an ace fighter pilot. Of course, there is a grain of truth in this. It was difficult to measure the Hurricane's strengths against the latest Messerschmitt fighters, and it was hardly surprising that the more highly trained pilots tried to get themselves transferred to units operating faster and more manoeuvrable fighters at the earliest opportunity.

The highest scoring ace of the Northern Fleet Air Force, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (HSU) Boris Feoktistovich Safonov, led the first Soviet fighter air regiment equipped with Hurricanes. He flew 44 sorties between October 1941 and February 1942 with the type. Although he encountered enemy aircraft only twice during this time, on each occasion, he was able to increase his personal score. He was credited with shooting down a Bf 109 and a He 111 for his 15th and 16th aerial victories. But when more modern Kittyhawk I's arrived in-theatre Safonov immediately transferred from the Hurricane to the American fighter, which, until his death in combat on 30 May 1942, enabled him to account for four more aircraft (three of these were Ju 88s downed on his final ill-fated mission).

Another reason for the negative attitude towards the Hurricane was that Soviet fighter regiments equipped with imported aircraft quickly lost their operational readiness during the intense combat of 1942. The continued negative attitude was due to inadequate flying training and a lack of replacement pilots and aircraft in reserve to make good losses suffered after just two or three weeks of combat. Units had to be pulled back to the rear to be re-equipped, as a rule, with another aircraft type. It was factors such as these that left bitter memories of the Hurricane with many Soviet pilots, who flew the fighter for such a short period that there was no possibility of them becoming aces.

To sum up this analysis of the Hurricane, it was a fighter whose combat, and flying characteristics enabled it to stand above its contemporaries in the Red Army Air Force inventory during the first half of 1942. Thanks to these traits, most combat reports from Soviet fighter regiments of the period highlighted the aircraft's positive combat characteristics. The Hurricane can, therefore, be described as a fighter that fully met the demands of the air war being fought in the complex circumstances of the Soviet-German front in 1942. It was simple to fly, did not require special training and was able to operate from airstrips in the field. Pilots with little training not only became rapidly familiar with the aircraft but could also fly it confidently, and were able, with the improved Soviet armament installed in the Hurricane IIB, to shoot down enemy bombers. They could also successfully engage any hostile aircraft.

In-game description

The RAF's first eight gun monoplane fighter, the Hawker Hurricane was revolutionary when it first entered service in December 1937. The Hurricane was the result of Hawker Aircraft Ltd's efforts to create a monoplane fighter based on one of the best biplane fighters of the time, the Fury. The fuselage required minimal changes to install an enclosed cockpit; the tail unit was taken from the aircraft's predecessor and the landing gear was made retractable using a hydraulic drive. The engine selected was a 1030 HP Rolls-Royce Merlin II, and the new fighter was armed with eight 0.303 inch Browning machine guns.

The Hurricane was a robust, reliable, easy to maintain and agile fighter with a good rate of turn at low level. Its survival rate was high, and it became well-loved by its pilots. By the outbreak of the war, the Hurricane's original two blade fixed pitch propeller was replaced by a three bladed variable pitch design; early combat experience in France also highlighted a requirement to replace the fabric covered wing with a stressed metal skin, plus the addition of a bullet proof windscreen and armor for the pilot and the more powerful Rolls Royce Merlin III. The Hurricane Mk I achieved legendary status during the Battle of Britain, where it equipped 32 of RAF Fighter Command's squadrons, compared to only 19 squadrons of Spitfires. Whilst not as fast or agile as the Spitfire, the Hurricane had a greater ability to tolerate battle damage and possessed a more stable firing platform for its armament; for this reason, a standard Fighter Command tactic was, where possible, for Spitfires to deal with German fighters whilst the Hurricanes tackled the bombers. RAF Fighter Command's sole Victoria Cross was honoured upon a Hurricane pilot; on 17th August 1940, Flt Lt JB Nicholson of 249 Squadron received severe burns when he gallantly remained at the controls of his blazing Hurricane to shoot down a Messerschmitt 110.

All in all, 14,533 of these aircraft were built (including all of the various modified designs).

Media

Videos

Pages of History: Hawker Chariton - War Thunder Official Channel

The Shooting Range #74 - Pages of History section at 08:08 recounts the destruction of a large Ju 87 formation by a few Hurritons in 1942.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] Hurricane Mk. IV and Mk. IIB
• [Vehicle Profile] Soviet Hurricane Mk. IIB