Hawker Sea Fury

:"For the earlier biplane fighter, see Hawker Fury"infobox Aircraft
name =Sea Fury



caption = Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 "VR930" with wings folded, at Kemble Airfield, Gloucestershire, England. Operated by the Royal Navy Historic Flight.
type = Naval fighter-bomber
manufacturer = Hawker
designer = Sydney Camm
first flight = 21 February 1945
introduced = October 1945 (FAA) 1947 (RCN)
retired =1955 (FAA) 1956 (RCN)
primary user = Royal Navy
more users = Royal Australian Navy Royal Canadian Navy Pakistan Air Force
produced = 1945–1960
number built = 860
unit cost =
developed from = Hawker Tempest
variants with their own articles =

The Hawker Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft developed for the Royal Navy by Hawker during the Second World War. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve the Royal Navy, it was also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built, and the last ever propeller-driven fighter to shoot down a jet-powered fighter.

Design and development

The Hawker Fury was an evolutionary successor to the successful Hawker Typhoon and Tempest fighters and fighter-bombers of the Second World War. The Fury was designed in 1942 by Sydney Camm, the famous Hawker designer, to meet the RAF’s requirement for a lightweight Tempest II replacement. Developed as the "Tempest Light Fighter", it used modified Tempest semi-elliptical outer wing panels, bolted and riveted together on the fuselage centerline. The fuselage itself was similar to the Tempest, but fully monocoque with a higher cockpit for better visibility. Jane 1946, p. 127.] The Air Ministry was sufficiently impressed by the design to write Specification F.2/43 around the concept.Goebel, Greg. "The Hawker Typhoon, Tempest, & Sea Fury". "Air Vectors". [http://www.vectorsite.net/avcfury.html Hawker Typhoon, Tempest, & Sea Fury] Retrieved: 7 April 2006.]

Six prototypes were ordered; two were to be powered by Rolls Royce Griffon engines, two with Centaurus XXIIs, one with a Centaurus XII and one as a test structure. The first Fury to fly, on 1 September 1944 was NX798 with a Centaurus XII with rigid engine mounts, powering a Rotol four-blade propeller. Second on 27 November 1944 was LA610, which had a Griffon 85 and Rotol six-blade contra-rotating propeller. By now development of the Fury and Sea Fury was closely interlinked so that the next prototype to fly was a Sea Fury, SR661, described under "Naval Conversion." NX802 (25 July 1945) was the last Fury prototype, powered by a Centaurus XV. With the ending of the Second World War in Europe, the RAF Fury contract was cancelled and development centred on the Sea Fury. LA610 was eventually fitted with a Napier Sabre VII, which was capable of developing 3,400 to 4,000 hp (2,535 to 2,983 kW). As a result it became the fastest piston engined Hawker aircraft, reaching a speed of around 485 mph (780 km/h). [ Mason 1991, p. 342–347.]

Naval conversion

In 1943, the design was modified to meet a Royal Navy request (N.7/43) for a carrier-based fighter. Boulton-Paul Aircraft were to make the conversion while Hawker continued work on the Air Force design. The first Sea Fury prototype, SR661, flew on 21 February 1945, powered by a Bristol Centaurus XII engine. This prototype had a "stinger"-type tailhook for arrested carrier landings, but lacked folding wings for storage. SR666, the second prototype, which flew on 12 October 1945, was powered by a Centaurus XV turning a new, five-bladed Rotol propeller and was built with folding wings. Specification N.7/43 was modified to N.22/43, now representing an order for 200 aircraft. Of these, 100 were to be built at Boulton-Paul.

Both prototypes were undergoing carrier landing trials when the Japanese surrendered in 1945, ending development of the land-based Fury; work on the navalized Sea Fury continued. The original order to specification N.22/43 was reduced to 100 aircraft, and the Boulton-Paul agreement was cancelled. At the same time construction of what was intended to be a Boulton-Paul built Sea Fury prototype, VB857 was transferred to the Hawker factory at Kingston. This aircraft, built to the same standard as SR666, first flew on 31 January 1946. The first production model, the Sea Fury F.Mark X (Fighter, Mark X), flew in September 1946. Problems arose with damaged tailhooks during carrier landings; after modifications, the aircraft were approved for carrier landings in spring 1947.

Operational history

The Royal Navy’s earlier Supermarine Seafire had never been completely suitable for carrier use, having a poor view for landing and a narrow-track undercarriage that made landings and takeoffs "tricky". Consequently, the Sea Fury F X replaced it on most carriers. [http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/aircraft/Seafury.html"Hawker Sea Fury aircraft profile."] "Aircraft Database of the Fleet Air Arm Archive 1939-1945". Retrieved: 23 March 2006.] Sea Furies were issued to Nos. 736, 738, 759 and 778 Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm.

The F.X was followed by the Sea Fury FB.XI fighter-bomber variant, later known as the FB 11, which eventually reached a production total of 650 aircraft. The Sea Fury remained the Fleet Air Arm’s primary fighter-bomber until 1953 and the introduction of the Hawker Sea Hawk and Supermarine Attacker.

A total of 74 Sea Furies FB 11 (and one FB 10) served with the Royal Canadian Navy (R.C.N.) between 1948 and 1956. All flew from the aircraft carrier HMCS "Magnificent" (CVL 21) in 871 squadron.

The last flights of the Canadian Hawker Sea Fury were made by Lieutenant Commander Derek Prout, who ferried WG-565 to Calgary, Alberta to serve as an instructional airframe at the local Provincial Institute of Technology, and F/O Lynn Garrison who flew WG-565 on 1 April 1958.

Korean War

The FB 11 served throughout the Korean War as a ground-attack aircraft, flying from the Royal Navy light fleet carriers HMS "Glory", HMS "Ocean", HMS "Theseus", and the Australian carrier HMAS "Sydney". [http://www.unlimitedair.com/Hawker_Sea_Fury_History.htm"Sea Fury History".] "Unlimited Air Racing". Retrieved: 9 March 2007.] On 8 August 1952, FAA pilot Lieutenant Peter "Hoagy" Carmichael Royal Navy downed a MiG-15 jet fighter in air-to-air combat, making the Sea Fury one of the few prop-driven fighter aircraft to shoot down a jet-powered fighter. [An A-1 Skyraider shot down a MiG-17 in Vietnam on 20 June 1965, but the Skyraider is classified as an attack bomber.] Indeed, some sources claim a second MiG was downed, [http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_306.shtml "UN Air-to-Air Victories during the Korean War, 1950–1953".] "Air Combat Information Group Journal". Retrieved: 9 March 2007.] although most accounts do not mention this; either way, this is often cited as the only successful engagement by a British pilot in a British aircraft in the entire Korean War. The engagement occurred when his mixed flight of Sea Furies and Fireflies was engaged by eight MiG-15s, during which one Firefly was badly damaged while the Sea Furies were able to escape unharmed. A similar encounter the next day led to the Sea Fury fighters using their superior manoeuvrability to escape another MiG-15 "bounce" although one Sea Fury had to limp home to HMS "Ocean".

Later service

Sea Fury FB 11s entered service with the fighter squadrons of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in August 1951. Units equipped were No. 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835 and 1836 squadrons, No. 1832 being last to relinquish the type in August 1955.

The Sea Fury F.50 export variant proved popular, being purchased by Australia, Germany, Iraq, Egypt, Burma, Pakistan and Cuba. The Netherlands bought 24 aircraft, then acquired a licence for production of 24 more F.50s at Fokker. Cuban Sea Furies saw action during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The final production figures for all marks reached around 860 aircraft.

Variants

;Fury I:Single-seat land-based fighter version for the Iraqi Air Force. Unofficially known as the Baghdad Fury, 55 built.;Fury Trainer:Two-seat training version for the Iraqi Air Force, five built.;Sea Fury F10:Single-seat fighter version for the Royal Navy.;Sea Fury FB11:Single-seat fighter-bomber for the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Canadian Navy.;Sea Fury T20:Two-seat training version for the Royal Navy.;Sea Fury F50:Single-seat fighter version for the Royal Netherlands Navy.;Sea Fury FB51:Single-seat fighter-bomber version for the Royal Netherlands Navy.;Sea Fury FB60:Single-seat fighter-bomber version for the Pakistan Air Force.;Sea Fury T61:Two-seat training version for the Pakistan Air Force.

Operators

*AUS
*BIR
*flag|Canada|1921
*CUB
*flag|Egypt|1922
*GER
*flag|Iraq|1924
*MAR
*NLD
*PAK
*UK

urvivors

Because production continued until well after the end of the Second World War and aircraft remained in Royal Navy service until 1955, dozens of airframes have survived in varying levels of condition. A number of Sea Furies are airworthy today, with around a dozen heavily modified and raced regularly at the Reno Air Races as of 2006. Most of these replace the original sleeve-valve Centaurus radial, because rotational speed and tuning potential are limited in contrast to more conventional engines such as the Rolls Royce Merlin. Most racing Sea Furies use the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major or the Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial engine.

Many additional airframes remain as static displays in museums worldwide.One of these ex- RCN WG-565 is on display in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was ferried there for instructional use in the Alberta Provincial Institute of Technology by Lieutenant Commander Derek Prout. On 1 April, 1958 Flying Officer Lynn Garrison, of 403 City of Calgary Squadron, RCAF, made the last military flight for this type in Canada. Prout would lose his life, a short time later, in the crash of an RCN Banshee near Summerside, Nova Scotia.

pecifications (FB11)

aircraft specifications
ref="The Flightline" [http://www.kotfsc.com/aviation/fury.htm "Hawker Sea Fury."] "The Flightline - Military Aviation Archives". Retrieved: 23 March 2006.]
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
crew=One
span main=38 ft 4¾ in
span alt=11.7 m
length main=34 ft 8 in
length alt=10.6 m
height main=16 ft 1 in
height alt=4.9 m
area main=280 ft²
area alt=26 m²
empty weight main=9,240 lb
empty weight alt=4,190 kg
max takeoff weight main=12,500 lb
max takeoff weight alt=5,670 kg
engine (prop)=Bristol Centaurus XVIIC
type of prop=18-cylinder twin-row radial engine
number of props=1
power main=2,480 hp
power alt=1,850 kW
max speed main=460 mph
max speed alt=740 km/h
max speed more=at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
cruise speed main=390 mph
cruise speed alt=625 km/h
climb rate main=30,000 ft
climb rate alt=9,200 m
climb rate more= in 10.8 minutes
ceiling main=35,800 ft
ceiling alt=10,900 m
range main=700 mi
range alt=1,127 km
range more=with internal fuel; 1,040 mi (1,675 km) with two drop tanks
loading main=44.6 lb/ft²
loading alt=161.2 kg/m²
power/mass main=0.198 hp/lb
power/mass alt=441 W/kg
guns=4× 20 mm Hispano Mk V cannon
bombs=2,000 lb (908 kg) of bombs
rockets=12× 3 in (76 mm) rockets "or"

ee also

aircontent
related=
* Hawker Typhoon
* Hawker Tempest
similar aircraft=

* CAC Kangaroo
* F4U Corsair
* Focke-Wulf Fw 190
* F8F Bearcat
* Lavochkin La-9
* Martin-Baker MB 5
* Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
* Supermarine Seafang
lists=
* List of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm
see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Darling, Kev. "Hawker Sea Fury (Warbird Tech Vol. 37)." North Branch, Minnesota: Voyageur Press, 2002. ISBN 1-58007-063-9.
* Geldhof, Nico and Luuk Boerman. "Hawker Sea Fury: History, Camouflage and Markings - Hawker Sea Fury F.(B)Mk.50/60/51 Koninklijke Marine Luchtvaartdienst/Royal Netherlands Naval Air Services (Dutch Profile 3)" (bilingual Dutch/English). Zwammerdam, the Netherlands: Dutch Decal, 2005. No ISBN.
* Jane, Fred T., ed. "The Hawker Fury and Sea Fury." "Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II". London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0.
* Mackay, Ron. "Hawker Sea Fury in action". Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1991. ISBN 0-89747-267-5.
* Mason, Francis K. "Hawker Aircraft Since 1920 (3rd revised edition)". London, UK: Putnam, 1991. ISBN 0-85177-839-9.
* Sturtivant, Ray and Theo Ballance. "The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm". Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians), 1994. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
* Thetford, Owen. "British Naval Aircraft since 1912". London: Putnam, 1977. ISBN 0-370-30021-1.
* [http://www.dukevideo.com/General/DVD/Aviation/Plane%20Profiles/Sea%20Fury%20at%20War%20DVD.aspx Sea Fury at War (IWM Footage)] Retrieved: 3 April 2008.

External links

* [http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/PippinBill/5597.htm Two photographs of the Griffon-engined Hawker Fury I, "LA610"] - for the second picture click on the "Another view" link.
* [http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/PippinBill/6292.htm Photographs of the same Hawker Fury I, "LA610", re-engined with Centaurus & Sabre]