Hawker Sea Fury

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For the earlier biplane fighter, see Hawker Fury

The Sea Fury was a fighter aircraft developed for the British Fleet Air Arm by Hawker during World War II. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve the Royal Navy, it was also the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built.

Contents

1 Development

1.1 Naval conversion

2 Service
3 Specifications (FB.11)
4 Surviving aircraft
5 References
6 Related content

Development

The Hawker Fury was an evolutionary successor to the successful Hawker Typhoon and Tempest fighters and fighter-bombers of the Second World War. The Fury was designed in 1942 by Sidney Camm, the famous Hawker designer, to meet the RAF’s requirement for a lightweight Tempest II replacement. Developed as the “Tempest Light Fighter”, it used modified Tempest semi-elliptical outer wing panels, bolted and riveted together on the fuselage centerline. The fuselage itself was similar to the Tempest, but fully monocoque, and with a higher cockpit for better visibility. The Air Ministry was sufficiently impressed by the design to write Specification F.2/43 around the concept.

A Sea Fury in Royal Navy colours at Oshkosh, 2003.

Naval conversion

In 1943 the design was modified to meet a Royal Navy request (N.7/43) for a carrier-based fighter. Boulton-Paul Aircraft were to make the conversion while Hawker continued work on the Air Force design. The first Sea Fury prototype flew on February 21, 1945, powered by a Bristol Centaurus XII engine. The first prototype had a ‘stinger’-type tailhook for arrested carrier landings, but lacked folding wings for storage. The second prototype was powered by a Centaurus XV turning a new, five-bladed Rotol propeller, and was built with 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.

Both prototypes were undergoing carrier landing trials when the Japanese surrendered in 1945, ending development of the land-based Fury; work on the navalized Sea Fury continued. The original order to specification N.22/43 was reduced to 100 aircraft, and the Boulton-Paul agreement was cancelled. The first production model, the Sea Fury F.X (Fighter, Mark X), flew in September 1946. Problems arose with damaged tailhooks during carrier landings; after modifications, the aircraft were approved for carrier landings in the spring of 1947.

A Sea Fury FB.11 launches from HMS Glory in 1951.

Service

The Royal Navy’s earlier Supermarine Seafire had never been completely suited for carrier use, having a narrow-track undercarriage, and the Sea Fury F.X replaced it on most carriers. The F.X was followed by the FB.XI fighter-bomber variant, later known as the FB.11, which eventually reached production of 650 aircraft. It remained the Fleet Air Arm’s primary fighter-bomber until 1953 and the introduction of the Hawker Sea Hawk.

The FB.11 served throughout the Korean War as a ground-attack aircraft, flying from the Royal Navy light fleet carriers HMS Glory, HMS Ocean, HMS Theseus, and the Australian carrier HMAS Sydney. On August 8, 1952, British pilot Peter Carmichael downed a MiG-15 jet fighter in air to air combat (though some sources claim a second MiG) when his flight of four Sea Furies was jumped by eight MiGs. During the engagement two other MiGs were damaged; all of the Sea Furies returned unharmed.

The last squadron of Royal Navy Sea Furies was deactivated in 1955. The Mk. 50 export variant proved popular, being purchased by Australia, Canada, Germany, Iraq, Egypt, Burma, Pakistan and Cuba. The Netherlands bought 24 aircraft, then acquired a license for production of 24 more Mk. 50s at Fokker. Cuban Sea Furies saw action during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The final production figures for all marks reached around 860 aircraft.

Specifications (FB.11)

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Critical Mass, a modified Sea Fury air racer.

Surviving aircraft

Because production continued until well after the end of World War II – and because aircraft remained in Royal Navy service until 1955 – dozens of airframes have survived in varying levels of repair. A number of Sea Furies are airworthy today, with around a dozen heavily modified and raced regularly at the Reno Air Races as of 2006. Still more remain in unflyable condition in museums around the world.