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Sea Hurricane - Aircraft Profile - Hawker : Sea Hurricane

Sea Hurricane

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Manufacturer : Hawker
Number Built :
Production Began :
Retired :
Type :

The Hawker Sea Hurricane was a variant of the Hawker Hurricane. Aftre the outbreak of World war two The Fleet Air Arm took pocession of 440 Sea Hurricanes, 60 of these Hurricane were built new as Sea Hurricanes but the other 380 were converted from older RAF Hurricanes. The Sea Hurricane was initially deployed not for aircraft carrier operations but to protect merchant shipping. To combat German maritime-reconnaissance bombers, some ships were converted to carry catapults, which meant that a Hurricane fighter could be launched from the ship when there was an imminent attack But the Hurricane could not re-land on board the ship which mean the pilot had to ditch th aircraft in the sea. Later versions of the Sea Hurricane operated from aircraft carriers, being fitted usually with catapult spools and arrester hook.

Sea Hurricane


Latest Sea Hurricane Artwork Releases !
  On the night of  Friday 26th November 1943,  97 Squadron Bombers on there way to bomb targets in Stuttgart, Germany were intercepted by Night Fighters.  The painting shows Halifax Mk V   LK946 MP-F being attacked by the night fighter pilots Major Wilhelm Herget of the Stab I./NJG 4 (flying a Bf 110 G-4 from Florennes airfield, Belgium) and Hauptmann Eckart-Wilhelm von Bonin of the Stab II./NJG 1 (flying a Bf 110 G-4 from St Trond (Sint-Truiden) airfield, Belgium).  6 of the crew managed to parachute from the stricken aircraft but the mid upper gunner Sgt. Berndt was killed while returning fire.

Tragedy by Moonlight by Ivan Berryman. (PC)
 It is the Battle of Trafalgar, 21st October 1805 and the British 2nd rater Temeraire with 98 guns, having followed HMS Victory through the Franco-Spanish line, finds herself alongside the Spanish flagship, La Santisima Trinidad. This giant was by some measure the largest warship in the World, boasting four full gun decks and 130 guns. Undaunted, Captain Eliab Harvey took on the Santisima Trinidad, delivering a number of blows into the enemy’s massive red and black hull. However, Temeraire was largely out of control by this time, having taken much punishment as she had approached the enemy fleet. Her main topgallant mast had been shot away, as well as the mizzen topgallant. Her fore yard had crashed down onto her deck and her fore topsail had caught fire and been extinguished. Taking fire from both sides, the Temeraire lumbered on, eventually colliding with Le Redoutable, which was engaged with Victory. Between them, the two British three-deckers poured fire into the French ship until it struck its colours

Tugging the Tiger's Tail by Ivan Berryman. (PC)
 As Nelson’s column of ships began their approach to the French and Spanish fleet at the start of the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805, the first four ships to break through were to be HMS Victory at the head of the line, HMS Temeraire, HMS Neptune and the 74 gun two-decker HMS Leviathan. Afraid for his admiral’s safety in the lead ship, Captain Harvey of the Temeraire decided to break away from the line in order to overtake Victory and be the first ship through, thus taking the worst of the gunfire from the enemy line as they approached. However, it was Admiral Nelson’s habit always to lead from the front and, as Temeraire manoeuvred alongside Victory, Nelson took up his speaking trumpet, went to his ship’s side, and sternly shouted, 'I will thank you, Captain Harvey, to maintain your proper station which is astern of the Victory'. Harvey complied at once and fleet continued into battle as originally planned.

Line of Battle by Ivan Berryman. (PC)
 Few ships availed themselves better at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805 than HMS Temeraire. Here, she is depicted engaging the French Fougeuex, the two ships inflicting the most terrible damage upon one another in the early stages of the battle. Some crew members can be seen on Temeraire’s foredeck, trying to cut away the fallen fore yard and sail while her fore topsail flaps helplessly above after being set on fire. The acrid gun smoke soon became so bad that Captain Harvey ordered the Temeraire’s larboard guns to stop firing briefly so that he could check that he was not firing on his own ships. Temeraire would eventually take both the Fougeuex and The Redoutable as prizes, at one point having one enemy ship lashed to each side of her hull. As an aside, Temeraire was most likely the only ship at Trafalgar to have no figurehead. Having been built during a more austere period, she lacked much of the decoration of her contemporaries. It is believed, however, that her crew funded a figurehead after the battle from their own prize money, as a ship with no figurehead was considered a ship with no eyes and no soul. A modest crowned head featured at her bow until she was broken up at Beatson’s Yard in Rotherhithe between 1838 and 1839.

The Fighting Temeraire by Ivan Berryman. (PC)

Top Aces for : Sea Hurricane
A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name.
NameVictoriesInfo
Michael Robert Crosley5.50The signature of Michael Robert Crosley features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.
Signatures for : Sea Hurricane
A list of all signatures from our database who are associated with this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
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Commander Mike Crosley DSC* Royal Navy
Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Commander Mike Crosley DSC* Royal Navy

20 / 6 / 2010Died : 20 / 6 / 2010
20 / 6 / 2010Ace : 5.50 Victories
Commander Mike Crosley DSC* Royal Navy

Robert Michael Crosley was born on February 24 1920 , Mike Crosley was a Metropolitan Police constable (a reserved occupation) when war broke out, but volunteered on the day of the Fleet Air Arm strike on Taranto, November 11 1940. Fleet Air Arm Ace Mike Crosley joined the carrier HMS Eagle in late 1941, one of four FAA pilots flying Sea Hurricanes in defence of the Malta convoys, On June 12 he was on alert on the deck of HMS Eagle. After two hours strapped in his cockpit, he was expecting to stand down when he heard the klaxon sound. Within a few moments he was airborne, being directed by radar to an enemy aircraft; and when his flight leader turned back with engine trouble, Crosley decided to pursue the enemy alone. He closed until the wingspan of the three-engined Italian bomber filled his gunsight, then pressed the trigger. At that moment he noted sparks coming from the underside of the bomber â€" it was the enemy returning fire. Then smoke burst from the Italians engines and its wingtip came dangerously close as it dived towards the sea. Crosley followed, determined to finish it off; but as he emerged from the cloud he saw the bomber floating on the water with a yellow life raft beside it. The next day Crosley shot down a twin-engined German fighter-bomber. He wove in and out of the Germans slipstream, and when the target filled his gunsight he fired one long burst which hit the aircrafts wing, sparking like firecrackers. In August 1942, during Operation Pedestal, he was lucky to escape with his life after the carrier was torpedoed and sunk by U73. She capsized within 7 minutes. He later joined HMS Biter flying Sea Hurricanes, in Operation Torch. and on November 8 he shot down two Vichy French fighters in a dogfight over the airfield of La Senia, near Oran. He was awarded his first DSC. Mike Crosley was then selected to pass on his experience to new fighter pilots at HMS Dipper, near Yeovilton, where he flew the Royal Navys version of the Spitfire, known as the Seafire. By D-Day Crosley had joined 886 Naval Air Squadron, flying Seafires from Lee-on-the-Solent. His role was to direct the fire of the heavy ships which were bombarding the German defences. On the second day of the Allied landings he shot down a German Bf109, which crashed 15 miles south-west of Caen, and two days later damaged an Fw190 which he chased in a dogfight through the skies over Normandy. After D-Day Mike Crossley was appointed to command 880 Naval Air Squadron; this was based in Orkney as part of 30 Naval Air Wing, which embarked in the fleet carrier Implacable and carried out a series of attacks on German shipping in the fjords of Norway. By the time the war ended 880 Squadron and Implacable were prosecuting the war in the Pacific, striking at the Japanese mainland. Crosley was mentioned in despatches, and in August 1945 received a Bar to his DSC. he finished the war in the Far East, with 5.5 victories. After the war Mike Crosley joined No 6 Empire Test Pilots Course, and left the Navy to test Shorts flying boats under development in Belfast. On the outbreak of the Korean War he rejoined the Navy, helping to train new pilots and flying 75 missions over Korea from the carrier Ocean. He wrote pilots notes for a range of aircraft, which he flew to their limits, and was awarded the Queens Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air. In 1954-55 he was commanding officer of 813 Squadron, flying the Wyvern from the new HMS Eagle. In 1958 Crosley was promoted commander and returned to test flying at Boscombe Down, making the first deck landings of the Buccaneer low-level bomber. Mike Crosley logged 2,818 flying hours in 147 different types of aircraft and made 415 deck landings. Throughout the war he kept extensive diaries, on which he based two books: They Gave Me a Seafire (1986) and In Harms Way (1995). Sadly Mike Crosley died at the age of 90 on the 20th June 2010.


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