Hawker

A Hawker Hurricane, photographed in 1943. This manoeuvrable fighter aircraft was first flown in 1935, and was used extensively by the RAF during the Battle of Britain in 1940. It had a single Rolls Royce Merlin engine.

British aircraft manufacturers. The Hawker Hurricane was the first monoplane fighter to be adopted by the RAF and made up 60% of the RAF's fighter strength during the Battle of Britain.

The Hawker Typhoon was originally designed as a fighter but became the outstanding ground attack machine of the war. It made its reputation in Normandy 1944 when it was equipped with eight rockets and proved highly successful at destroying German tanks attempting to reach the D-Day beachheads. The Tempest, an improved Typhoon, was ideal for destroying V-1 flying bombs and also proved itself a superb fighter over Europe.