Spitfire and Hurricane

The defence of the homeland during the Battle of Britain was dominated by the partnership between RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes, both single seat monoplanes carrying four pairs of Browning machine guns that were only a few months apart in terms of entering service.

The Hurricane was a robust aircraft and a stable gun platform, well able to absorb a huge amount of battle damage that would have downed the Spitfire or its German adversary the Me109. It was designed by Sir Sydney Camm and was the latest in the long line of Hawker aircraft all characterised by their rugged, workmanlike construction. It outnumbered the Spitfire roughly two to one during the Battle and is credited with shooting down 656 enemy fighters and bombers against 529 for Spitfires.

For its time it was an extremely advanced aircraft – a metal and fabric-skinned monoplane with retractable undercarriage, enclosed cockpit and eight gun armament. The first Hurricanes entered service in December 1937 and by the time of “Aldertag” in August 1940, the day when Goering threw everything he had at the RAF, its airfields and radar stations, 28 of the 55 fighter squadrons were equipped with the Hurricane.

The Spitfire, built by Reginald J Mitchell, was also the last word in a long line of development at Supermarine, but from a different design approach. Its classic elliptical wing was the result of speed trials in the 30’s resulting in the company winning outright the Schneider Trophy in their S6B racer in 1931. During that time light alloys were designed to reduce weight, aerodynamic qualities were built in alongside more powerful engines that were fed with special fuels. The result was a quantum leap in the development of monoplane aircraft design and engine technology which was shared by both aircraft.

Undoubtably one of the most important military aircraft of all time, Mk1 Spitfires entered RAF service (with 19(F) Squadron) in August 1938. Its fragile, almost dainty appearance belied a superior performance and hard-hitting firepower that made it a formidable opponent in aerial combat. This and other factors, including a scheme whereby communities could club together and raise money for “their” Spitfire (£5000 was stated at the time as the cost per airframe, although the actual cost was more like double that) was one reason why the Spitfire came to epitomize the Battle in the hearts of the people of towns and cities up and down the UK.

After the Battle of Britain Spitfires fought in every operational theatre of the War and remained in RAF front-line service up to 1954. At the end of its development the Spitfire carried an engine producing more than twice the power of the original, its maximum take-off weight and rate of climb had more than doubled, its firepower had increased by a factor of five and its maximum speed had been increased by a third; all this in essentially the same airframe.

Conceivably Britain could have lost the Battle without the Spitfire as, of the two aircraft, it was the one that could take on whatever the Luftwaffe could throw at the RAF and its modern design allowed it to be readily developed to keep up with new threats. By the end of the war Supermarine had produced 22 variants.

Other types which took part in the Battle of Britain included the Boulton Paul Defiant, Bristol Blenheim, Gloster Gladiator and Fairey Fulmar.

The Defiant had already seen service in the fight for France but was outgunned and outpaced during the Battle of Britain, and instead achieved success as a night interceptor. It was a two-crew fighter with its four-gun armament in a turret basically facing rearwards, which made it an easy target in daylight from below or head-on. July 19 1940 is known as day of “the slaughter of the innocents” after 141 Sqn Defiants from RAF West Malling in Kent suffered a mauling which included six aircraft lost and 10 aircrew killed, including the only Newfoundland national to earn the Battle of Britain clasp.

More tragedy occurred in August when 264 Sqn from RAF Hornchurch lost 14 aircrew. The decision was taken that the Defiant would no longer operate as a Battle of Britain day fighter.