Difference between revisions of "Hurricane Mk IIB (USSR)"

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Line 2: Line 2:
  
 
== Description ==
 
== Description ==
−
''In the description, the first part needs to be about the history of and the creation and combat usage of the aircraft, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the aircraft in the game. Insert screenshot of the vehicle. If the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle it is talking about.''
+
<!--''In the description, the first part needs to be about the history of and the creation and combat usage of the aircraft, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the aircraft in the game. Insert screenshot of the vehicle. If the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle it is talking about.''-->
 +
 
 +
[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
 +
{{break}}
 +
The '''Hurricane Mk IIB (USSR)''' is a premium Rank II Soviet fighter with a battle rating of 3.0. It was introduced in [[Update 1.51 "Cold Steel"]]. It costs 700 Golden Eagles.
  
 
== General info ==
 
== General info ==
 
=== Flight Performance ===
 
=== Flight Performance ===
−
''Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Maximum speed, maneuverability, speed and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.''
+
<!--''Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Maximum speed, maneuverability, speed and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.''-->
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="8" | Characteristics
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="8" | ''Stock''
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="2" | Max Speed<br>(km/h at 5,500 m)
 +
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude<br>(meters)
 +
! colspan="2" | Turn time<br>(seconds)
 +
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb<br>(meters/second)
 +
! rowspan="2" |Take-off run<br>(meters)
 +
|-
 +
! AB
 +
! RB
 +
! AB
 +
! RB
 +
! AB
 +
! RB
 +
|-
 +
| 480 || 470 || 11,500 || 20.3 || 20.7 || 8.3 || 10.0 || 360
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="8" | ''Upgraded''
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="2" | Max Speed<br>(km/h at 5,500 m)
 +
! rowspan="2" |Max altitude (meters)
 +
! colspan="2" | Turn time (seconds)
 +
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb<br>(meters/second)
 +
! rowspan="2" |Take-off run (meters)
 +
|-
 +
! AB
 +
! RB
 +
! AB
 +
! RB
 +
! AB
 +
! RB
 +
|-
 +
| 529 || 504 || 11,500 || 17.8 || 19.0 || 20.3 || 13.3 || 360
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
====Details====
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="5" | Features
 +
|-
 +
! Combat flap
 +
! Take-off flap
 +
! Landing flap
 +
! Air brakes
 +
! Arrestor gear
 +
|-
 +
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || X || X    <!-- ✓ -->
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="5" | Limits
 +
|-
 +
! rowspan="2" | Wing-break speed<br>(km/h)
 +
! rowspan="2" | Gear limit<br>(km/h)
 +
! rowspan="2" | Combat flap<br> (km/h)
 +
! colspan="2" | Max Static G
 +
|-
 +
! +
 +
! -
 +
|-
 +
| 630 || 230 || 465 || ~11 || ~11
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="4" | Optimal velocities
 +
|-
 +
! Ailerons<br>(km/h)
 +
! Rudder<br>(km/h)
 +
! Elevators<br>(km/h)
 +
! Radiator<br>(km/h)
 +
|-
 +
| < 340 || < 380 || < 380 || > 240
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="3" | Compressor (RB/SB)
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="3" | Setting 1
 +
|-
 +
! Optimal altitude
 +
! 100% Engine power
 +
! WEP Engine power
 +
|-
 +
| 3,675 m || 1,160 hp || 1,340 hp
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="3" | Setting 2
 +
|-
 +
! Optimal altitude
 +
! 100% Engine power
 +
! WEP Engine power
 +
|-
 +
| 5,200 m || 1,170 hp || 1,346 hp
 +
|-
 +
<!--! colspan="3" | Setting 3
 +
|-
 +
! Optimal altitude
 +
! 100% Engine power
 +
! WEP Engine power
 +
|-
 +
| ?,??? m || ?,??? hp || ?,??? hp
 +
|- -->
 +
|}
  
 
=== Survivability and armour ===
 
=== Survivability and armour ===
−
''Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured. Describe the armour, if there is any, also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.''
+
<!--''Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured. Describe the armour, if there is any, also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.''-->
 +
* 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 front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
 +
* More fuel tanks located in wings near fuselage
  
 
== Armaments ==
 
== Armaments ==
 
=== Offensive armament ===
 
=== Offensive armament ===
−
''Describe the offensive armament of the aircraft, if any. Describe how effective the cannons and machine guns are in a battle, and also what belts or drums are better to use. If there is no offensive weaponry, delete this subsection.''
+
<!--''Describe the offensive armament of the aircraft, if any. Describe how effective the cannons and machine guns are in a battle, and also what belts or drums are better to use. If there is no offensive weaponry, delete this subsection.''-->
 +
{{main|ShVAK (20 mm)|Berezin UB (12.7 mm)}}
 +
 
 +
The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is armed with:
 +
 
 +
* 2 x 20 mm ShVAK cannon, wing-mounted (120 rpg = 240 total)
 +
* 2 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine gun, wing-mounted (100 rpg = 200 total)
  
 
=== Suspended armament ===
 
=== Suspended armament ===
−
''Describe the aircraft's suspended armament: additional cannons under the wings, bombs, rockets and torpedoes. This section is especially important for bombers and attackers. If there is no suspended weaponry remove this subsection.''
+
<!--''Describe the aircraft's suspended armament: additional cannons under the wings, bombs, rockets and torpedoes. This section is especially important for bombers and attackers. If there is no suspended weaponry remove this subsection.''-->
 +
{{main|Rockets}}
  
 +
The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' can be outfitted with the following ordinance:
 +
 +
* Without load
 +
* 6 x 82 mm RS-82 rockets
 +
* 6 x 82 mm RBS-82 rockets
 +
<!--
 
=== Defensive armament ===
 
=== Defensive armament ===
 
''Defensive armament with turret machine guns or cannons, crewed by gunners. Examine the number of gunners and what belts or drums are better to use. If defensive weaponry is not available remove this subsection.''
 
''Defensive armament with turret machine guns or cannons, crewed by gunners. Examine the number of gunners and what belts or drums are better to use. If defensive weaponry is not available remove this subsection.''
 +
-->
 +
== Usage in the battles ==
 +
<!--''Describe the tactics of playing in an aircraft, the features of using vehicles in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''-->
 +
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 1280 HP Rolls Royce Merlin XX engine and lengthening the fuselage slightly. This Hurricane Mk IIA was further modified by adding the ‘universal wing’ to allow the use of under wing stores 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-109F, in weight of fire. The Soviet Hurricane had far more weight of fire than its Commonwealth counterpart, and this is why it has an in-game [[BR]] of 3.0, much like the [[Sea_Hurricane_Mk.IС|Sea Hurricane Mk IC]] and its four Hispano 20 mm cannons.
  
−
== Usage in the battles ==
+
===Manual Engine Control===
−
''Describe the tactics of playing in an aircraft, the features of using vehicles in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''
+
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="7" | MEC elements
 +
|-
 +
! rowspan="2" |Mixer
 +
! rowspan="2" |Pitch
 +
! colspan="3" |Radiator
 +
! rowspan="2" |Supercharger
 +
! rowspan="2" |Turbocharger
 +
|-
 +
! Oil
 +
! Water
 +
! Type
 +
|-
 +
| Controllable || rowspan="2" | Not controllable || rowspan="2" | Not controllable || rowspan="2" | Not controllable || rowspan="2" | Separate || rowspan="2" | Not ontrollable || rowspan="2" | Not controllable
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
===Modules===
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
!colspan = "1"| Tier
 +
!colspan = "2"| Flight performance
 +
!colspan = "1"| Survivability
 +
!colspan = "2"| 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
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
=== Pros and cons ===
 
=== Pros and cons ===
−
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".''
+
<!--''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".''-->
  
 
'''Pros:'''
 
'''Pros:'''
−
*
+
* Strong armament
 +
* Small turn radius at low speeds
  
 
'''Cons:'''
 
'''Cons:'''
−
*
+
* Low top speed
 +
* Bad roll rate
 +
* Bad acceleration and dive characteristics
 +
* Vulnerable to boom and zoom aircraft like the P-47
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==
−
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.''
+
<!--''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.''-->
 +
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."<ref name="'hurri1">[https://ospreypublishing.com/hurricane-aces-1941-45], Thomas, ''Hurricane Aces 1941–45'', (2003), Aircraft of the Aces Series No.57, Osprey Publishing Ltd.</ref> 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. In difference to the other aircraft, the Hurricane had been developed and combat proven 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."<ref name="'hurri2">[https://ospreypublishing.com/soviet-hurricane-aces-of-world-war-2], Thomas, ''Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2'', (2012), Aircraft of the Aces Series No.107, Osprey Publishing Ltd.</ref>
 +
 
 +
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. In fact 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, not only surpassed 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.<ref name="'hurri2"></ref>
 +
 
 +
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 enormous 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. Yet 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 an He 111 for his 15th and 16th aerial victories. But when more modern Kittyhawk Is 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).<ref name="'hurri2"></ref>
 +
 
 +
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. This 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 of time 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.<ref name="'hurri2"></ref>
  
 
== Media ==
 
== Media ==
Line 40: Line 253:
  
 
== Read also ==
 
== Read also ==
−
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,''
+
<!--''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;''
 
* ''reference to the series of the aircraft;''
 
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''
 
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''
−
''ETC.''
+
''ETC.''-->
 +
* [https://warthunder.com/en/news/3361/current/ [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> Hurricane Mk. IV and Mk. IIB]
 +
* [https://warthunder.com/en/news/3361/current/ [Vehicle Profile<nowiki>]</nowiki> Soviet Hurricane Mk. IIB]
  
 
== Sources ==
 
== Sources ==
Line 50: Line 265:
 
* ''page on aircraft encyclopedia;''
 
* ''page on aircraft encyclopedia;''
 
* ''other literature.''
 
* ''other literature.''
 +
 +
{{USSR fighters}}

Revision as of 02:36, 21 November 2018

▂Hurricane Mk IIB
hurricanemkii_ussr.png
▂Hurricane Mk IIB
USSR flag.png USSR
II Rank
Battle rating:
AB RB SB
3.0 3.0 3.0
Class:
PREMIUM
Purchase:700 Specs-Card-Eagle.png
Show in game

Description

GarageImage Hurricane Mk IIB (USSR).jpg


The Hurricane Mk IIB (USSR) is a premium Rank II Soviet fighter with a battle rating of 3.0. It was introduced in Update 1.51 "Cold Steel". It costs 700 Golden Eagles.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed
(km/h at 5,500 m) 		Max altitude
(meters) 		Turn time
(seconds) 		Rate of climb
(meters/second) 		Take-off run
(meters)
AB RB AB RB AB RB
480 470 11,500 20.3 20.7 8.3 10.0 360
Upgraded
Max Speed
(km/h at 5,500 m) 		Max altitude (meters) Turn time (seconds) Rate of climb
(meters/second) 		Take-off run (meters)
AB RB AB RB AB RB
529 504 11,500 17.8 19.0 20.3 13.3 360

Details

Features
Combat flap Take-off flap Landing flap Air brakes Arrestor gear
✓ ✓ ✓ X X
Limits
Wing-break speed
(km/h) 		Gear limit
(km/h) 		Combat flap
(km/h) 		Max Static G
+ -
630 230 465 ~11 ~11
Optimal velocities
Ailerons
(km/h) 		Rudder
(km/h) 		Elevators
(km/h) 		Radiator
(km/h)
< 340 < 380 < 380 > 240
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 front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
  • More fuel tanks located in wings near fuselage

Armaments

Offensive armament

Main articles: ShVAK (20 mm), Berezin UB (12.7 mm)

The Hurricane Mk IIB (USSR) is armed with:

  • 2 x 20 mm ShVAK cannon, wing-mounted (120 rpg = 240 total)
  • 2 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine gun, wing-mounted (100 rpg = 200 total)

Suspended armament

Main article: Rockets

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

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

Usage in the 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 1280 HP Rolls Royce Merlin XX engine and lengthening the fuselage slightly. This Hurricane Mk IIA was further modified by adding the ‘universal wing’ to allow the use of under wing stores 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-109F, in weight of fire. The Soviet Hurricane had far more weight of fire than its Commonwealth counterpart, and this is why it has an in-game BR of 3.0, much like the Sea Hurricane Mk IC and its four Hispano 20 mm cannons.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer Pitch Radiator Supercharger Turbocharger
Oil Water Type
Controllable Not controllable Not controllable Not controllable Separate Not ontrollable 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

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Strong armament
  • Small turn radius at low speeds

Cons:

  • Low top speed
  • Bad roll rate
  • Bad acceleration and dive characteristics
  • Vulnerable to boom and zoom aircraft like the P-47

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."[1] 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. In difference to the other aircraft, the Hurricane had been developed and combat proven 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."[2]

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. In fact 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, not only surpassed 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.[2]

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 enormous 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. Yet 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 an He 111 for his 15th and 16th aerial victories. But when more modern Kittyhawk Is 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).[2]

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. This 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 of time 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.[2]

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USSR fighters
I-15  I-15 WR · I-15 M-22 · I-15 M-25 · I-15bis · Krasnolutsky's I-15bis
  I-153 M-62 · Zhukovsky's I-153-M62 · I-153P
I-16  I-16 type 5 · I-16 type 10 · I-16 type 18 · I-16 type 24 · I-16 type 27 · I-16 type 28 · I-180S
I-29  I-29
I-185  I-185 (M-71) · I-185 (M-82)
I-225  I-225
ITP  ITP (M-1)
MiG-3  MiG-3-15 · MiG-3-15 (BK) · MiG-3-34
LaGG  I-301 · LaGG-3-4 · LaGG-3-8 · LaGG-3-11 · LaGG-3-23 · LaGG-3-34 · LaGG-3-35 · LaGG-3-66
La  La-5 · La-5F · La-5FN · La-7 · Dolgushin's La-7 · La-7B-20 · La-9 · La-11
Yak-1/7  Yak-1 · Yak-1B · Yak-7B
Yak-3  Yak-3 · Eremin's Yak-3(e) · Yak-3P · Yak-3T · Yak-3U · Yak-3 (VK-107)
Yak-9  Yak-9 · Yak-9B · Golovachev's Yak-9M · Yak-9T · Yak-9K · Yak-9U · Yak-9UT · Yak-9P
Other countries  ▂P-40E-1 · ▂P-47D-27 · ▂Hurricane Mk IIB · ▂Fw 190 D-9 · ▂Spitfire Mk IXc
P-39  ▂P-39K-1 · ▂Pokryshkin's P-39N-0 · ▂P-39Q-15
P-63  ▂P-63A-5 · ▂P-63A-10 · ▂P-63C-5

  1. ↑ [1], Thomas, Hurricane Aces 1941–45, (2003), Aircraft of the Aces Series No.57, Osprey Publishing Ltd.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 [2], Thomas, Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2, (2012), Aircraft of the Aces Series No.107, Osprey Publishing Ltd.
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