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Hawker Hurricane , BE505, G-HHII was on static display at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford during the Duxford Flying Finale 2022. It departed at sunset for its home base at White Waltham Airfield, with a flypast and 'victory roll'. This Hurricane is the only remaining airworthy 'Hurribomber' version of the Hawker Hurricane - a fighter/bomber - and has in recent years been modified into a 2 seater. The Hurricane IIB gained prominence at a time when RAF Fighter Command went over to the offensive following the end of The Battle of Britain during which it had been. The 'Hurri-bombers', as they came to be known, bravely carried the fight to the European mainland in late 1941 and early 1942, initially armed with a pair of 250lb bombs and later with two 500lb bombs, together with an up-rated armament of twelve Browning .303 inch machine guns from the original eight. The history of Hurricane BE505 begins at the Canadian Car & Foundry Company factory in 1942 as construction number CCF/R20023. The aircraft was originally ordered as a Mk.1 for the RAF and allocated the military serial number AG287. The production batch was subsequently diverted to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and a new Canadian serial, 1374 was allocated. Delivered on 11 February 1942, she served with the RCAF until being returned to the factory in 1943 to be up-graded to standard - this included the installation of the more powerful Packard built Merlin 29 engine. Returning to RCAF use she was issued to No.1 (F) Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Bagotville, Quebec where she remained until struck off charge on 6 September 1944. Following the end of hostilities the airframe was sold off to the private sector and was acquired by collector Jack Arnold in the 1970's. After passing through the hands of other collectors she was purchased by Tony Ditheridge of Hawker Restorations Ltd (HRL). Returning to the UK and initially stored as a future personal project, restoration work began in 2005 at HRL's facility in Suffolk. The project made steady progress until it was acquired by Hangar 11 Collection in 2007 and re-registered as G-HHII. The comprehensive restoration was completed in January 2009 and saw this rare Hurricane rolled out in fighter-bomber configuration resplendent in the markings of BE505, a Manston based Mk IIB operated by 174 (Mauritius) Squadron in spring, 1942. Her first post-restoration flight took place from North Weald on January 27, 2009. BE505 then joined Peter Teichmann's Hangar 11 Collection at North Weald, where it remained until January 2018 when it went back into the ownership of HRL who then modified the aircraft to a 2 seater. In November 2022 the aircraft was registered in the ownership of Hurriback Limited. The Hurricane was fitted with a more powerful Packard Merlin 29 engine and more effective armament than the Mk. I Hurricanes. The ‘B’ wings were capable of housing twelve ″ Browning machine guns but were generally reduced to ten when carrying either two 250lb or 500lb bombs. This latter configuration is that of BE505. When equipped with bombs the Hurricane was known as a ‘Hurribomber’. The Hurricane wears the colour scheme of BE505, XP-L, which was issued to 174 (Mauritius) Squadron at Manston, Kent in March 1942. BE505 saw action during the Dieppe amphibious landing on 19th August 1942, piloted by Flight Sergeant C. Bryce Watson. He was shot down by flak and, although he survived the experience, he was captured and became a prisoner of war. Video and Audio content is Copyright © High Flight This video and audio material may not be reproduced in any form (except as the videos Youtube embedded video option on any other website), without written permission.
