Spitfire / Hurricane

Lose the E Lucy

There is no way you could hate the Spitfire. A truly beautiful bird. And it is a bird, it's alive and has a soul. But for me the Hurri will always be the better aircraft.

[en830]

You have to put it into context, yes the in the Battle of Britain the Hurricane was arguably the deciding factor and accounted for more enemy aircraft destroyed that the other defences combined, however in Malta, a battle equally as important as the one for Britain, it was the arrival of the Spitfire that tipped the balance, and in doing so helped the British/Allies defeat the axis in North Africa, invade Italy and from there ultimately return to Northern Europe via Normandy.

Hurricane was good, but not as capable as the Spitfire.

[Audie_Murphy43]

You sorta have to love the Spitfire.

[Lucy Stag]

Originally Posted by Kitty

Lose the E Lucy

There is no way you could hate the Spitfire. A truly beautiful bird. And it is a bird, it's alive and has a soul. But for me the Hurri will always be the better aircraft.

Jeez yes, the Spitefires and the Hurricans. That's the result of too much typing, and not enough sleep.

Kinda like tot he?

[Kyt]

An interesting comparison:

The Hawker Hurricane and others - Better than the Spitfire?

[PeterG]

Originally Posted by Peter Clare

Looking through my collection of photo's I came across this one, as far as I am aware unpublished. The two aircraft are, in the foreground, Hurricane MkIIC PZ865, and in the background, Spitfire AB910 MkVB. Both are from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Peter,

I find your photo most interesting in that it shows Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) Hurricane PZ865 in its pre-2004 colours.

PZ865 was the last hurricane ever built, of 14,533, and it originally bore the inscription 'Last of the Many'. That inscription was removed when it joined the BBMF when it was given the camouflage colours shown in your photo.

The colours of all BBMF planes are often changed in honour of various aces or squadrons and in 2004/5, after a major servicing, PZ865 was given the colours of Hurricane BE581 'Night Reaper' in honour of, and as flown by, the Czech fighter ace Flt Lt Karel Kuttelwascher. He flew it during night intruder operations from Tangemere in 1942 with No 1(F) Squadron.

Another little fact about that plane is that in 1950, with civilian registration G-AMAU, it was entered in the Kings Cup Air Race by Princess Margaret and was flown by Grp Cpt Peter Townsend, coming in second.

The Spitfire in your photo, AB910, was built in 1941. It had a notable front-line operational record on convoy patrols and it took part in the bombing of the battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneienau in December 1941. It was also in fierce battles in support of the Dieppe raid, flying operationally until July 1944.

The BBMF is at RAF Coningsby, quite close to where I live, and I thought you might like to see your two planes close up. These photos were taken by me after the repaint in 2005.

The first five photos are of Hurricane PZ865 in its 'Night Reaper' livery, with details of the starboard wing guns; the fifth one is me close to the plane. The last photo is of Spitfire AB910, the plane in the background , with a Pegasus on her nose, is Dakota ZA947.

[Kyt]

In our debate we seem to have forgotten the Seafire:

YouTube - Seafire - the Ocean Going Spitfire!


Supermarine Seafire