Corgi AA35504 Hawker Sea Hurricane RNFAA No.880 NAS, HMS Indomitable, Indian Ocean, May 1942

Corgi AA35504 Hawker Sea Hurricane RNFAA No.880 NAS, HMS Indomitable, Indian Ocean, May 1942

The Hawker Hurricane was a monoplane fighter designed by Sydney Camm, based on the Fury biplane. It was first flown on November 6th, 1935. The Hurricane underwent many modifications during its lifetime, including an upgraded Merlin engine and interchangeable multi-purpose wings. It was suitable for a variety of different roles such as intruder, ground strafing and night fighter due to its wide-set landing gear, easy handling, reliability, and stable gun platform. Its steel-tube construction meant that cannon shells could pass right through the wood and fabric covering without exploding. It staged twelve 7.7mm guns and two 40mm anti-tank guns, and could carry two 500lb bombs.

After the early success of the Hawker Hurricane in RAF service during the Battle of Britain, the Royal Navy decided to introduce the Hurricane as protection for the Atlantic convoys. These convoys were being monitored by FW-200 Condor Aircraft, which operated far outside the range of land-based aircraft and coordinated the attacks of the U-boats on the convoys. An interim measure gave birth to the 'Hurricat', a modified merchant ship. The only modifications to the Hurricane for this role was the addition of catapult spools and as such they were designated Sea Hurricane la's. These Sea Hurricanes were not ideal, as once they were launched they either had to make it back to a land base or ditch in the sea near the convoy. An improved Sea Hurricane was the lb, which had the catapult spools and an arrester hook to enable them to land back on merchant ships modified to have a small flight deck.

Hurricane Z7015 was built by Canadian Car & Foundry at its Fort William, Ontario, plant during 1940 as an MK I. After flight testing, Z7015 was shipped back to the UK. On June 27 1941, it was converted to Sea Hurricane lb standard. Z7015 had a patchy wartime flying career, which ended in 1943 when it was delivered to Londonborough College as an instructional airframe. It remained there until it was transferred to the Shuttleworth Collection in 1961. Z7015 was used statically in the "Battle of Britain" film before restoration to flying condition began. Several attempts to restore the aircraft were made until 1981, when Z7015 was transferred to Duxford and another restoration was started, this time by the Duxford Aviation Society. This restoration was progressing slowly until a formal agreement was reached between the Imperial War Museum and the Shuttleworth Collection, which meant that the same team that had restored the Collection's Spitfire would restore Z7015. The renewed restoration started in earnest in February 1986 and led to the first flight of the world's only Sea Hurricane lb, in the hands of the pilot Andy Sephton, on September 16, 1995.

Today, this aircraft is a frequent performer with the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden, Bedfordshire. It is registered G-BKTH but carries its military Fleet Air Arm colors as Z7015 coded '7-L' of No.880 Sqn. HMS Indomitable in the Indian Ocean, during Operation Ironclad – the Invasion of Madagascar - in May 1942.