Hawker Sea Fury

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Sea_Fury

The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by
Hawker. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy,
and one of the fastest production single seat piston-engined aircraft ever
built. Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two
years after the war ended. The Sea Fury proved to be a popular aircraft with a
number of overseas militaries, and was used during the Korean War in the early
1950s, as well as against the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba.

The Sea Fury's development was formally initiated in 1943 in response to a
wartime requirement of the RAF, thus the aircraft was initially named Fury. As
the Second World War drew to a close, the RAF cancelled their order for the
aircraft; however, the Royal Navy saw the type as a suitable carrier aircraft to
replace a range of increasingly obsolete or poorly suited aircraft being
operated by the Fleet Air Arm. Development of the Sea Fury proceeded, and the
type began entering operational service in 1947.

The Sea Fury has many design similarities to Hawker's preceding Tempest fighter,
having originated from a requirement for a "Light Tempest Fighter"; both the Sea
Fury's wings and fuselage originate from the Tempest but were significantly
modified. Production Sea Furies were fitted with the powerful Bristol Centaurus
engine, and armed with four wing-mounted Hispano V cannons. While originally
developed as a pure aerial fighter aircraft, the definitive Sea Fury FB 11 was a
fighter-bomber, the design having been found suitable for this mission as well.

The Sea Fury attracted international orders as both a carrier and land-based
aircraft; it was operated by countries including Australia, Burma, Canada, Cuba,
Egypt, West Germany, Iraq, and Pakistan. The type acquitted itself well in the
Korean War, fighting effectively even against the MiG-15 jet fighter. Although
the Sea Fury was retired by the majority of its military operators in the late
1950s in favour of jet-propelled aircraft, a considerable number of aircraft saw
subsequent use in the civil sector, and several remain airworthy in the 21st
century as heritage and racing aircraft.

With the end of the Second World War in Europe in sight, the RAF began
cancelling many aircraft orders. Thus, the RAF's order for the Fury was
cancelled before any production examples were built because the RAF already had
excessive numbers of late Mark Spitfires and Tempests and viewed the Fury as an
additional overlap with these aircraft. Although the RAF had pulled out of the
programme, development of the type continued as the Sea Fury. Many of the Navy's
carrier fighters were either lend-lease Chance-Vought Corsair aircraft and thus
to be returned, or in the case of the Supermarine Seafire had considerable
drawbacks as naval aircraft such as narrow undercarriages. The Admiralty opted
to procure the Sea Fury as the successor to these aircraft instead of purchasing
the lend-lease aircraft outright.

While the RAF contract had been cancelled, the Fury prototypes were completed
and used for work in developing the Sea Fury as well as for the export market.
The first Sea Fury prototype, SR661, first flew at Langley, Berkshire, on 21
February 1945, powered by a Centaurus XII engine. This prototype had a
"stinger"-type tailhook for arrested carrier landings, but lacked folding wings
for storage. SR666, the second prototype, which flew on 12 October 1945, was
powered by a Bristol Centaurus XV that turned a new, five-bladed Rotol propeller
and did feature folding wings. Specification N.7/43 was modified to N.22/43, now
representing an order for 200 aircraft. Of these, 100 were to be built at
Boulton-Paul's Wolverhampton factory.


Role
Naval fighter-bomber

Manufacturer
Hawker

Designer
Sydney Camm

First flight
1 September 1944 (Fury)
21 February 1945 (Sea Fury)

Introduction
October 1945 (FAA)
1947 (RCN)

Retired
1953 (FAA)
1955 (RNVR)
1956 (RCN)
1957 (MLD)
1968 Burmese Air Force

Primary users
Royal Navy
Royal Australian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
Pakistan Air Force

Produced
1945–55

Number built
864

Developed from
Hawker Tempest

Following the outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950, Sea Furies were
dispatched to the region as a part of the British Commonwealth Forces Korea,
Britain's contribution to the United Nations multinational task force to assist
South Korea following an invasion by North Korea. Sea Furies were flown
throughout the conflict, primarily as ground-attack aircraft, from the Royal
Navy light fleet carriers HMS Glory, HMS Theseus, HMS Ocean, and the Australian
carrier HMAS Sydney. After a Fleet Air Arm Seafire was shot down by a United
States Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress on 28 July 1950, all Commonwealth
aircraft were painted with black and white Invasion stripes.

In 1952, the first Chinese MiG-15 jet fighters appeared. On 8 August 1952,
Lieutenant Peter "Hoagy" Carmichael, of 802 Squadron, flying Sea Fury WJ232 from
HMS Ocean, shot a MiG-15 down, making him one of only a few pilots of a
propeller driven aircraft to shoot down a jet. The engagement occurred when a
formation of Sea Furies and Fireflies was engaged by eight MiG-15s, during which
one Firefly was badly damaged while the Sea Furies escaped unharmed. Some
sources claim that this is the only successful engagement by a British pilot in
a British aircraft during the Korean War, although a few sources claim a second
MiG was downed or damaged in the same action. In addition, the recollections of
Sub-Lieutenant Brian "Schmoo" Ellis, the youngest member of the flight, differ
from the official version of events.

Specifications (FB 11)

General characteristics
Crew: One
Length: 34 ft 8 in (10.56 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 4?3/4 in (11.69 m)
Height: 15 ft 10?1/2 in (4.84 m)
Wing area: 280 ft2 (26.01 m2)
Empty weight: 9,240 lb (4,191 kg)
Loaded weight: 12,350 lb (5,602 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 14,650 lb (6,645 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Centaurus 18 18-cylinder twin-row radial engine, 2,480
hp (1,850 kW) (take-off)

Performance
Maximum speed: 460 mph (400 knots, 740 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
Range: 700 mi (609 nmi, 1,126 km) with internal fuel; 1,040 mi (904 nmi, 1,674
km) with two drop tanks
Service ceiling: 35,800 ft (10,910 m)
Rate of climb: 4,320 ft/min (21.9 m/s)

Armament

Guns: 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk V cannon
Rockets: 12 × 3 in (76.2 mm) rockets or
Bombs: 2,000 lb (907 kg) of bombs



*

Miloch wrote :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Sea_Fury

The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and
manufactured by Hawker. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to
serve with the Royal Navy, and one of the fastest production single
seat piston-engined aircraft ever built. Developed during the Second
World War, the Sea Fury entered service two years after the war ended.
The Sea Fury proved to be a popular aircraft with a number of overseas
militaries, and was used during the Korean War in the early 1950s, as
well as against the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba.

The Sea Fury's development was formally initiated in 1943 in response
to a wartime requirement of the RAF, thus the aircraft was initially
named Fury. As the Second World War drew to a close, the RAF cancelled
their order for the aircraft; however, the Royal Navy saw the type as
a suitable carrier aircraft to replace a range of increasingly
obsolete or poorly suited aircraft being operated by the Fleet Air
Arm. Development of the Sea Fury proceeded, and the type began
entering operational service in 1947.

The Sea Fury has many design similarities to Hawker's preceding
Tempest fighter, having originated from a requirement for a "Light
Tempest Fighter"; both the Sea Fury's wings and fuselage originate
from the Tempest but were significantly modified. Production Sea
Furies were fitted with the powerful Bristol Centaurus engine, and
armed with four wing-mounted Hispano V cannons. While originally
developed as a pure aerial fighter aircraft, the definitive Sea Fury
FB 11 was a fighter-bomber, the design having been found suitable for
this mission as well.

The Sea Fury attracted international orders as both a carrier and
land-based aircraft; it was operated by countries including Australia,
Burma, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, West Germany, Iraq, and Pakistan. The type
acquitted itself well in the Korean War, fighting effectively even
against the MiG-15 jet fighter. Although the Sea Fury was retired by
the majority of its military operators in the late 1950s in favour of
jet-propelled aircraft, a considerable number of aircraft saw
subsequent use in the civil sector, and several remain airworthy in
the 21st century as heritage and racing aircraft.

With the end of the Second World War in Europe in sight, the RAF began
cancelling many aircraft orders. Thus, the RAF's order for the Fury
was cancelled before any production examples were built because the
RAF already had excessive numbers of late Mark Spitfires and Tempests
and viewed the Fury as an additional overlap with these aircraft.
Although the RAF had pulled out of the programme, development of the
type continued as the Sea Fury. Many of the Navy's carrier fighters
were either lend-lease Chance-Vought Corsair aircraft and thus to be
returned, or in the case of the Supermarine Seafire had considerable
drawbacks as naval aircraft such as narrow undercarriages. The
Admiralty opted to procure the Sea Fury as the successor to these
aircraft instead of purchasing the lend-lease aircraft outright.

While the RAF contract had been cancelled, the Fury prototypes were
completed and used for work in developing the Sea Fury as well as for
the export market. The first Sea Fury prototype, SR661, first flew at
Langley, Berkshire, on 21 February 1945, powered by a Centaurus XII
engine. This prototype had a "stinger"-type tailhook for arrested
carrier landings, but lacked folding wings for storage. SR666, the
second prototype, which flew on 12 October 1945, was powered by a
Bristol Centaurus XV that turned a new, five-bladed Rotol propeller
and did feature folding wings. Specification N.7/43 was modified to
N.22/43, now representing an order for 200 aircraft. Of these, 100
were to be built at Boulton-Paul's Wolverhampton factory.


Role
Naval fighter-bomber

Manufacturer
Hawker

Designer
Sydney Camm

First flight
1 September 1944 (Fury)
21 February 1945 (Sea Fury)

Introduction
October 1945 (FAA)
1947 (RCN)

Retired
1953 (FAA)
1955 (RNVR)
1956 (RCN)
1957 (MLD)
1968 Burmese Air Force

Primary users
Royal Navy
Royal Australian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
Pakistan Air Force

Produced
1945–55

Number built
864

Developed from
Hawker Tempest

Following the outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950, Sea Furies
were dispatched to the region as a part of the British Commonwealth
Forces Korea, Britain's contribution to the United Nations
multinational task force to assist South Korea following an invasion
by North Korea. Sea Furies were flown throughout the conflict,
primarily as ground-attack aircraft, from the Royal Navy light fleet
carriers HMS Glory, HMS Theseus, HMS Ocean, and the Australian carrier
HMAS Sydney. After a Fleet Air Arm Seafire was shot down by a United
States Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress on 28 July 1950, all
Commonwealth aircraft were painted with black and white Invasion
stripes.

In 1952, the first Chinese MiG-15 jet fighters appeared. On 8 August
1952, Lieutenant Peter "Hoagy" Carmichael, of 802 Squadron, flying Sea
Fury WJ232 from HMS Ocean, shot a MiG-15 down, making him one of only
a few pilots of a propeller driven aircraft to shoot down a jet. The
engagement occurred when a formation of Sea Furies and Fireflies was
engaged by eight MiG-15s, during which one Firefly was badly damaged
while the Sea Furies escaped unharmed. Some sources claim that this is
the only successful engagement by a British pilot in a British
aircraft during the Korean War, although a few sources claim a second
MiG was downed or damaged in the same action. In addition, the
recollections of Sub-Lieutenant Brian "Schmoo" Ellis, the youngest
member of the flight, differ from the official version of events.

Specifications (FB 11)

General characteristics
Crew: One
Length: 34 ft 8 in (10.56 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 4?3/4 in (11.69 m)
It might be the only time a MIG was shot down by a piston-engined plane.
Great series of photos, Miloch, thanks.