This message has really two purposes, to test using a new news server after
the ISP I am using simply terminated the news service, without announcement
or discussion.

Secondly to bypass the various web sites with Hawker Hurricane details that
do not respond when given the following information.

Main references, RAF Contract Cards and Serial Registers, Ministry of
Aircraft Production Monthly Statistical Bulletin (March 1942 to December
1945) and 1945 Statistical Review. British National Archives AIR 19/524, US
War Production Board report.

Sensationalist headline, no mark IIE, X, or XI, no Merlin 24 or 27.

Britain,

Hawker 1 mark I prototype

Mark I, Hawker 1,924 December 1937 to February 1941 plus 1 company
demonstrator G-AFKX, Gloster 1,850 October 1939 to June 1941

Mark IIA, Hawker 418 August 1940 to April 1941, Gloster 33 in May and June
1941

Mark IIB, Hawker 2,051 February 1941 to November 1942, Gloster 867 June 1941
to March 1942, Austin 300 February 1941 to October 1942

Mark IIC, Hawker, 4,811 March 1941 to July 1944

Mark IID, Hawker 296 January to April 1942, August 1942 to February 1943

Mark IV, Hawker 524 December 1942 to March 1944, Merlin XX engine. Mark IV
universal wing a single design able to mount two 250 or 500 lb (110 or 230
kg) bombs, or two 40 mm (1.57 in) Vickers S guns, or two 40 mm (1.57 in)
Rolls Royce B.H. type guns, two SBC (small bomb containers) or SCI (smoke
curtain installation), or two 45 or 90 gallon drop tanks or eight "60
pounder" RP-3 rockets.

Mark V, Hawker 1 prototype, another two converted from Mk IV, and featured a
Merlin 27 engine driving a four-bladed propeller, also tested with a Merlin
32. Though a three bladed propeller was needed to fix problems when carrying
the S guns.

Sea IIc, Hawker 60 in November and December 1942 and April to June 1943.

Mark IIE This designation was used by the Ministry of Aircraft Production in
1942 and 1943 for mark II factory fitted with wing racks, 270 delivered
according to the Ministry, the RAF used the Mk IIBB or CB designation, the
trailing B meaning (fighter) bomber. The Mk IIE was not an early mark Mk IV.
A memo in AIR 20/4572 dated 30 August 1942 notes the mark IIE is the
Hurribomber with sixty built to end June 1942, which agrees with the MAP
total, there are one hundred and sixty eight mark IIE in the monthly
production reports from March to October 1942, with mark IV production
starting in December. In October 1943 the cumulative total of mark IIE is
adjusted from one hundred and sixty eight to two hundred and seventy. The
Serial Registers cover all Hurricane serials have no IIE listed, the
(incomplete) Contract Cards have no IIE listed. Nor do the Air Britain
serials books which use the individual aircraft history cards.

The designation mark IIE does not appear in the RAF aircraft census AIR
20/1871, instead the February 1943 census reports two hundred and sixty
eight mark IIBB had been ordered with two hundred and twenty nine delivered,
plus others that had been converted. Then in June 1943 the census is amended
to one hundred and sixty eight IIBB ordered and delivered, agreeing with
monthly reports. In November 1943 the census adjusts the figures to two
hundred and thirty IIBB and forty IICB ordered and delivered, agreeing with
the new mark IIE total but the Ministry of Aircraft Production grand totals
require no IIC built as IIE. The conclusion is all IIE in the monthly
reports are actually IIE, and the IIE was the Ministry of Aircraft
Production designation for mark II factory fitted with under wing racks,
they were not early mark IV.

AIR 20/1871 notes as of end June 1944 that a nett total of 378 Hurricanes
had been converted to Sea Hurricane, 479 Hurricane I converted to other
marks, 97 other marks had been converted to IIA, while 133 IIB, 3,034 IIC
and 2 IID had been converted to other marks, with a net 66 conversions to
IICB, 3,132 conversions to IICB and 1 to mark IV.

The availability of Merlin 24 and 27 versus Hurricane IV production,
cumulative official production of Hurricane IV \ Merlin 24 \ Merlin 27, to
end of month,
Jul-43 \ 313 \ 16 \ 0
Aug-43 \ 349 \ 81 \ 0
Sep-43 \ 384 \ 349 \ 0
Oct-43 \ 412 \ 514 \ 0
Nov-43 \ 448 \ 719 \ 69
Dec-43 \ 464 \ 1296 \ 139
Jan-44 \ 474 \ 1661 \ 141
Feb-44 \ 523 \ 2028 \ 141
Mar-44 \ 524 \ 2315 \ 141

RAF Squadrons by Jefford, arrival of mark IV
February 1943, 164 Sqn
May 1943, 184 Sqn
June 1943, 137 Sqn
July 1943, 6 Sqn
August 1943, 186 Sqn
October 1943, 42 Sqn
November 1943, 438 Sqn
December 1943, 567, 577, 587, 650 Sqn
January 1944, 439 Sqn
February 1944, 309, 440, 598 Sqn
March 1944, 285, 679 Sqn
April 1944, 63, 291 Sqn
June 1944, 595 Sqn
August 1944, 639 Sqn
September 1944, 351 Sqn
December 1944, 20 Sqn
May 1945, 28 Sqn

Jefford also has Hurricanes marks I, IIB and IV all arriving together at 287
and 289 Sqn in November 1941 which appears to be a typo.

http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/18854.php The accident report for KX190
(the 28th mark IV in serial number terms) and the loss report for KZ607
(189th) both state the engine was a Merlin XX, with KZ607 lost in February
1944.

As of end July 1943 61 Hurricane IV were with Fighter Command (including 21
in miscellaneous units), 76 en route to overseas areas, 6 were in the Middle
East, 1 in a training unit, 1 with the Admiralty and 7 had been lost. By end
October 1943, 111 were with Fighter Command (50 misc.), 21 with the Tactical
Air Force, 14 were en route to overseas areas, 63 in the Mediterranean, 36
in India, 1 in a training units, 1 with the Admiralty and 23 had been lost.

As of end March 1944 of the 524 new and 1 converted mark IV the RAF had
received 62 had been lost or converted to instructional airframes, 144 were
overseas, 52 en route or being prepared, 173 with fighter/bomber/2nd TAF
commands. While the Ministry of Aircraft Production says no Merlin 24 had
been exported, versus 108 Merlin 21 and 23 and 115 Merlin 22 (plus 2,240
Merlin XX). If Hurricane IV were going overseas with Merlin 24 they would
have needed spare engines yet as of end 1944 two Merlin 24 had been
exported. Add the end March 1944 stocks of Merlin 24 engines and power
plants figures, 198 with aircraft constructors, 471 with power plant
builders, 611 in Maintenance Units, 69 with home commands (as of end
February), 19 under repair, total 1,371 out of 2,327 built. Not a lot
available for Hurricanes after the Lancasters had been fitted.

RAF records show the final 15 mark IV used Merlin XX engines. "Rolls-Royce
Merlin production list show that two Mk.27 were built at Derby and then 141
at Glasgow. A Mk.24 was also converted to a Mk.27. It also states that all
Glasgow Mk.27 s were converted to Mk.25s." (131 converted according to MAP,
plus 2 more to Merlin 24)

When the mark V was cancelled the Merlin 27 production was also cancelled.
According to the RAF census AIR 20/1871 a total of 384 mark V were ordered
in June 1943, along with 450 more mark IIC, while the mark IV order was
reduced from 1,138 to 454. In August 200 more mark V were ordered, along
with 200 more mark IIC, then in January 1944 the mark V order was cancelled,
along with 124 mark IIC, with 70 more mark IV ordered. This explains the
limited number of 141 Merlin 27 built, why they were built between November
1943 and January 1944 and why they were bulk converted to Merlin 25. (and
then used in Mosquitoes)

There were no Hurricane mark IIE, the mark IV used the Merlin XX, the mark V
was to use the Merlin 27, but was tested with the Merlin 32.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Canada, start by noting the Hurricanes built for Britain were incomplete
airframes, hence why in 1941 the RCAF had to take Merlin III and propellers
from Fairey Battles to make 30 Hurricane I operational.

In a letter dated 10 December 1941 from the (Canadian) Director General of
Aircraft Production reported,

15 Sea Hurricanes already despatched for the east, 9 Sea Hurricanes tested
and ready at Fort William while 26 Sea Hurricanes that were missing between
them, 24 generator couplings, 11 pairs of wheels, 8 tail wheels (slave (CCF
test) equipment can reduce this to 8 pairs and 6 tail wheels). The brakes,
being magnesium alloy castings, and the wheels must come from England,
generator couplings from Merlin 28 can be used. Some items of service
equipment are also needed, "secret wireless device" etc.

Fort William has 60 mark IA airframes (explicitly stated can only take
Merlin III engines), complete less wheels, brakes, tyres and tubes but
needing engines, propellers, instruments, and all other appendix A Serial
1160 Embodiment Loan Equipment. The deficient equipment will have to come
from Fairey Battles, including a cut down two pitch propeller.

The mark II in production emerge from the factory in a similar state to the
stored mark I. "require from England, wheels, brakes, air compressors and
drives and couplers for same, hydraulic pump drives and couplings, airscrews
and instruments".

Official production,
486 mark I February 1940 to October 1941 (with 11 in August, 0 in September
and 1 in October 1941)

414 mark IIB November 1941 to June 1942, 101 February and March 1943, total
515

400 mark XII June 1942 to May 1943 (B wings) Merlin 29 engine.

50 Sea mark I November 1941 to January 1942, survivors of which were later
upgraded to mark XII.

Air 20/2019. Arrivals in Britain were 419 mark I airframes May 1940 to
August 1941, including L1848, the pre war pattern aircraft returning, 8 more
lost at sea, 315 mark II airframes November 1941 to August 1942 plus 118
mark II Hurricanes fitted with an engine February to April 1942, 132 mark II
airframes March to July 1943, 116 mark II with an engine March to June 1943,
another 11 mark II lost at sea (8 in 1942, 3 in 1943), all up 419 mark I
airframes, 447 mark II airframes, 234 mark II with an engine arrived, total
1,100. All Canadian built Hurricanes were retained in Canada or exported to
Britain, many mark II having their B wings replaced by C wings before issue
to the RAF. The Merlin 28 supplied to Canada for Hurricanes in 1942 lacked
accessories, they could not be flown, apart from a few test flights any
Hurricane arriving in Britain with a Merlin 28 had it replaced by a Merlin
XX, the Merlin 28 going to Lancasters.

The site
https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4013coll8/id/3332 will
allow you to download the US War Production Board report. Merlin 28
production began in August 1941, with 32 built by the end of the year. Also
to end June 1942 about a third of US Merlin production was for Merlin 28 for
Britain (the USAAF had all those Merlin P-40) plus 240 Merlin 29 and 7
Merlin 31, with 544 Merlin 28 engines in stock in Britain out of 819
produced (and a good 300 on the way, given end July stocks were 833), use
that as an aid when someone asks for advice on a good reference for Hawker
Hurricane production, you can check out the section on Canadian production
to see if it fits the mark X information in particular.

Hurricane mark X. Mark number used by some RAF documentation to describe
Canadian built mark I, Merlin III engine. Not an official designation. By
the time Merlin 28 production began in the US 419 Canadian built mark I
airframes had arrived in Britain

Hurricane mark XI. Designation never officially allocated or used.

Hurricane mark XII (Initially known as IIB (Can)), the designation for
Hurricanes fitted with Merlin 29, a total of 400 were built, of which 150
were shipped to Britain while leaving their Merlin 29 in Canada, also the
survivors of 30 RAF order mark I and 50 Sea Hurricane I (all 80 built in
Canada) serving in the RCAF had their Merlin III replaced by a 29.

So the headline is no mark X and XI, a few test flights only were done using
a Merlin 28.

In August 1941 Canada ordered 400 Hurricanes, 100 for the Netherlands East
Indies, 300 for China, this changed to 72 for the Netherlands East Indies,
328 for the USSR, to use Merlin 28 and US built propellers and shipped
across the Pacific. By the time production started it was 400 RCAF, but in
1943 it was 250 RCAF and 150 RAF, the 150 giving rise to the claim of the
mark XI (Merlin 28 RCAF equipment), these PJ serial airframes were stripped
so as to be the same standard as mark II production.

In early 1942 the prototype Netherlands East Indies version flew as HC3-287,
ex AM270, its ultimate fate is unclear. The RAF also allocated then used
AM270 for a Catalina, replacing Hurricane serial AM270 with AP138, hence why
Canada officially produced 1,451 Hurricanes despite 1,450 being ordered by
Britain and Canada.

The other Canadian production anomalies are AM321 and AM322 which have no
known records, when comparing the total production figures less British
imports less lost at sea 3 aircraft are unaccounted for as of June 1942.
Like a number of earlier mark I two 1943 mark II imports were not delivered
to the RAF, which ties in with the officially cancelled JS372 and JS373.
While AM270 being present before the switch from IIB to XII production means
one early RAF order Hurricane had not been officially produced by June 1942,
which turns out to be AG341, number 477 in RAF serial number order, but
about the last one built using RAF taken on charge and delivery dates.

In mid 1941 the plan was to retain 100 Hurricanes in Canada for training
purposes, the final 59 Hurricane I (to August 1941) then the 1 built in
October were put into storage. Of these 30 were allocated to the RCAF
initially flew as mark I and survivors were ultimately upgraded to mark XII,
while some months after the first mark II had arrived in Britain the
remaining 30 stored airframes arrived but were counted and used as mark II
by the RAF. It appears they were upgraded to mark II before export.

Geoffrey Sinclair
Remove the nb for email.