The Hurricane Pocket Manual All Marks In Service 193945 Martin Robson by Martin Robson 9781844863051, 9781844863044, 1844863050, 1844863042 instant download after payment.

One question remained in my mind during the research and writing of this book. The Hawker Hurricane was loved by the majority of its pilots, and it comprised 63 per cent of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain in the late summer of 1940 – so why was its contribution to that epic fight with the German Luftwaffe and to the overall British war effort overshadowed by the Supermarine Spitfire? In part the answer lay in the Spitfire’s alluringly radical, almost sensual, lines and its performance, especially its speed. Perhaps more important was the perception of the Spitfire in the minds of the general public (in part fostered by the British Government) and in the minds of the enemy. While German pilots were happy to admit to having been shot down by a Spitfire (the ‘wonder weapon excuse’), it was almost humiliating to be shot down by a Hurricane, yet this aircraft accounted for 61 per cent of Luftwaffe losses in 1940.