Hawker Hurricane Mk IIB

Hawker · GB · first flew 1940 · fighter

The Mk IIB was the first Hurricane to carry twelve machine guns, trading cannon punch for sheer weight of fire, and introduced the uprated Merlin XX engine that became standard across the Mk II family.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	9.83 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Twelve .303 Browning machine guns (four per wing panel, three groups) — the widest gun-wing configuration of any single-seat RAF fighter
Merlin XX two-stage single-speed supercharger, with deeper chin air intake than Mk I
Universal wing with gun bays visible along leading edge — multiple individual fairings compared to Mk I's eight-gun troughs

Count the gun barrels along the leading edge — twelve visible muzzles versus eight (Mk I/IIA) or four larger cannon on IIC. The deeper Merlin XX chin intake is visible compared with the slimmer Merlin II/III intake of the Mk I. Wing planform unchanged.

Specifications

The Hawker Hurricane Mk IIB has a length of 9.83 m (32 ft).
It has a wingspan of 12.19 m (40 ft).
Its maximum speed is 544 km/h (338 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Entered service late 1940, with over 3,000 IIBs built in Britain and Canada. It arrived as the Battle of Britain ended and served extensively in the Middle East, Russia (Lend-Lease) and the Far East. Many were operated by Soviet VVS.

Variants

The IIB is the twelve-.303 wing variant. The IIA had eight guns; the IIC replaced them with four cannon; the IID replaced all guns with two anti-tank guns.

Where you'll see it

RAF, RCAF, Soviet VVS, Fleet Air Arm. Many IIBs reached the USSR via Arctic convoys. Museum examples survive in the UK, Russia and Canada; a few IIBs are airworthy.

Related aircraft

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