Hawker Sea Fury
Type: British carrier-based fighter-bomber.
History: The Hawker Sea Fury, the last British fighter aircraft with a piston engine, looks like a Hawker Tempest II. But it was a completely new design.
It was inspired by a German Focke-Wulf Fw 190, captured in June 1942, which was a model for compactness and skillful use of air-cooled radial engines. Camm took over the wings, with the exception of middle part, from the Hawker Tempest and went from the steel pipe to the self-supporting construction for the the trunk.
The prototypes were flown with Centaurus, Griffon and Sabre engines, while Boulton Paul developed the Sea Fury.
Three Hawker Sea Fury of the Canadian Naval Air Force.
At the end of WW2 the RAF orders were cancelled, but 65 Hawker Fury were built for Iraq, Egypt and Pakistan. Some of them were two-seat trainers with either two cabin roofs (Egypt) or a long roof (T 61 for Pakistan).
The Hawker Sea Fury was the standard fighter-bomber from the Royal Navy and was also sold to Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, Western Germany, Burma, Cuba and other countries.
The total production figure rosed to 860, from which the British Royal Navy received 615.
During the Korean War (1950-53) the Hawker Sea Fury was used as the standard aircraft of the RN, RAN and RCN from light carriers and flows numerous missions to support the ground troops. Even in aerial combat against the Russian MIG-15 they achieved good results.
In Pakistan the Hawker Fury remained in use until 1973. A Hawker Fury in US property holds the world record in speed for piston engines.
Hawker Sea Fury FB Mk 11 from a museum.
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