Price: £20.00

Hawker Sea Fury FB11

The Hawker Sea Fury was evolved from the Hawker Tempest by adopting a new light weight structure with a shorter span centre section and raised cockpit. Although the Fury was first flown in September 1944 it was too late to see service in World War II. After the war the RAF lost interest in piston engined fighters and cancelled their options on the Fury. Fortunately the Fleet Air Arm faced with long term problems with the Seafang and equipped with obsolescent Fireflies and Seafire's had a pressing need for a potent ship board fighter which could fill the gap until jet fighters entered service. In 1947 the Sea Fury entered service with the Royal Navy as an interceptor fighter, but the most numerous variant of the Sea Fury was the F(ighter) B(omber) 11, which could carry a wide variety of external weaponry. The Sea Fury was profoundly important to the Hawker aircraft company as the aircraft was exported widely and almost certainly prevented the company from going under after the brutal postwar cutbacks.

During the Korean war, the Sea Fury was the Royal Navy's standard ship board fighter, where it was a highly succesful ground attack aircraft. Although it was a piston engined fighter in the jet age the Sea Fury was not entirely outclassed and the model illustrates the aircraft which Lt Peter Carmichael shot down a Mig 15 in air to air combat.

Probably the finest piston engined fighter ever built the Sea Fury is still in action on the American air racing curcuit where she is currently winning races with great regularity.

Performance, (Hawker Sea Fury FB11)

Maximum level speed: 460 mph at 18000 ft.
Weight: (empty): 9,240 lbs.
Powerplant: One Bristol Centaurus 18 cylinder sleeve valved radial engine, 2480 HP
Armament: four twenty mm Hispano cannon, two 1000lb bombs, or sixteen 60lb rocket projectiles.