COBI Hawker Hurricane Mk.I Set 5728

COBI's Hawker Hurricane Mk. I is a 1:32 model built from 382 blocks, 29 cm long with a 38.5 cm wingspan. The propeller and ailerons move, the wheels retract on rubber tires, and the canopy opens for the pilot figure. A display stand and a nameplate are included. No stickers.

The Hurricane did most of the work

The Spitfire gets the credit for the Battle of Britain. The Hurricane shot down more German aircraft in it than the Spitfire and every other British defence combined.

There were simply more of them, and they were easier to keep flying. The Hurricane's fuselage was a steel-tube frame covered in fabric over the rear — old technology in 1940, and it meant that cannon shells often punched straight through without exploding, and that damage could be patched at a squadron with canvas and dope rather than sent to a depot. A Hurricane shot up in the morning was frequently flying again in the afternoon.

Fighter Command used them accordingly: Hurricanes onto the bombers, Spitfires onto the escorting fighters.

Josef František

The markings are those of the Czech pilot Josef František, who flew with the Polish 303 Squadron and finished the Battle of Britain as the highest-scoring Allied pilot of the whole battle, with 17 confirmed victories in four weeks.

He was also close to uncontrollable. He would not hold formation, repeatedly left his section to hunt alone, and was eventually granted the status of a guest of the squadron — permitted to fly as an independent, on the reasoning that he was too effective to ground and too disobedient to fly with anyone else. He was killed in a crash on 8 October 1940, at 26.

Specifications

Pieces: 382 · Figures: 1 pilot · Scale: 1:32 · No stickers
Model dimensions: 29 × 38.5 × 9.5 cm (11.4 × 15.2 × 3.7 in)