The Hawker Hurricane was a major milestone in the evolution of British fighter planes. Monoplanes weren't new to the type, but the Hurricane set new standards of armament and performance in one stroke. When it appeared in 1935, with eight guns, it was the world's most heavily armed fighter, and it was Britain's first to exceed 300mph.

Often underrated in favor of the Spitfire , the Hurricane was the main victor of the Battle of Britain. The Royal Air Force had at that time 32 Hurricane squadrons, compared with 19 Spitfire squadrons. This meant that 620 Hurricane and Spitfire fighters (with another 84 assorted fighters like the Gloster Gladiator) had to face the German air threat of 3,500 bombers and fighters. During the "Battle of Britain", along with the Spitfire , it helped to force the Luftwaffe to use the Bf 109 to protect the poor performing twin engine Bf 110 escort fighter.

During the Battle of Britain the Hurricane accounted for the majority of the planes shot down by the RAF, but their day was already over. By the close of the Battle of Britain in late 1940, production of the Spitfire had ramped up to the point where all squadrons could be supplied with new machines. Deliveries of the Spitfire were now outpacing the Hurricane, as it turned out that its all metal construction allowed it to be produced even faster than the mixed-construction Hurricane.

Delivery of the Hurricane to the squadrons began at the end of 1937, and in 1940, the plane went on to play a major role in the Battle of Britain. Although much of that glory must be shared with the Supermarine Spitfire, the Hurricane did the majority of the defensive work. There were 32 Hurricane squadrons in the battle (compared to 19 Spitfire squadrons), and the Hurricane's simple structure enabled damaged aircraft to be repaired more quickly. Its easy-maintenance features also reduced turnaround time.

Design of the Hurricane began in January 1934, as a private venture by the Hawker Aircraft Company of Kingston-On-Thames, when Sidney Camm became aware of a new 910hp Rolls-Royce engine that was being developed. Camm sought to design a new monoplane to capitalize on this advanced engine, which was later ordered into production as the famous "Merlin."

Although it may have been an older design, the Hurricane was still a worthy fighter on its own and a reasonable match for the Messerschmitt Bf 109 it faced. Much of this was the result of the use of the very impressive Rolls Royce Merlin engine, which also powered the Spitfire. The Merlin was a much better engine in general terms than the Daimler-Benz DB 601 used in the Bf 109.

Previous Hawker fighters had all been biplanes, and the new Hurricane was a prime example of a transitional design. The details of the fuselage, tail, nose and radiator of the monoplane closely resembled those of the biplanes, but its major difference was the fitting of a metal-frame, fabric-covered monoplane wing that contained an inward-retracting landing gear. In September 1934, Hawker showed drawings of the new design (which used two nose guns and one gun in each wing) to the Air Ministry. An official specification was written to cover the design, and on January 10, 1934, a contract for a prototype was awarded.

During construction, the armament was revised to use eight .303-rifle-caliber machine guns that were entirely enclosed in the thick wing. The prototype flew on November 1, 1935, and demonstrated a high speed of 315mph at 16,200 feet (5,000 meters). Production orders followed for a total of 3,759 Hurricane Is, and later models brought the total number of Hurricanes to 14,557.

During the production of the Mark I, the Hurricane adopted several significant state-of-the-art improvements. The wing structure was changed to all-metal; constant-speed propellers were adopted, and armor for the pilot and fuel tanks was added. For service in North Africa and in the Middle East, a "tropicalized" version was developed that featured dust filters for the engine air intake and other details that were dictated by operations and maintenance in desert conditions. Hurricanes were also adapted to naval operations from aircraft carriers by the fitting of arrester hooks, and operated under the name "Sea Hurricane."

The appearance of the 1,280hp Merlin XX engine with a two-stage supercharger resulted in the major Hurricane model-the Mark II-which had many variants, mostly in the arrangement of armament. Two different wings were built, one for 12 .303 guns (Mark IIB) and the other for four 20mm cannon, plus hard points for up to 500-pound bombs (Mark IIC). The Mark IIA had the original eight-gun wing, the Mark IID had two 40mm cannon that were mounted below the wing.

As a fighter, the Hurricane was generally surpassed by the German Messerschmitt 109. As the Hurricane was improved, so was the 109. The Hurricane was outclassed as an interceptor fighter by mid-1942, but with the new wing and heavier armament, it became a highly successful low-level fighter-bomber and tank buster.

Some 2,952 Mark IIs and IVs were supplied to Russia during the War, and this produced quite an oddity. Hawker sold 12 Hurricanes to Finland in January 1940 during that country's first war with Russia, and by the time of the second, or "Continuation," war, the Russians also had Hurricanes. Further, in a reversed Lend-Lease operation, Britain supplied Hurricanes to American fighter squadrons that arrived in Europe and North Africa but were not yet equipped with American fighters.

The Hurricane was undoubtedly one of the greatest and most versatile fighter aircraft of WWII, and it remained in service with the RAF until January 1947