The Hawker Hurricane and me

[DFrancois70]

I read a post on this forum about how it is nice to know where people are or are from, and I tend to agree with that.

So I have updated my profile with a picture of a Hawker Hurricane (one of the very first model kit I assembled and painted and it shows), and it has something to do with my location. Not a car but its engine was made by Rolls Royce, later found its way into the P-51 Mustang, and the name Mustang itself is a legend in car history.

 

I was born in Dunkirk, in the northest tip of France, a town made somewhat famous by Christopher Nolan when he released his movie of the same name in 2017. At the end of the movie, there is a British fighter plane that lands on the beach. This is a true story, but he got the plane type wrong: it was a Hurricane, not a Spitfire (Spitfire were scarce in 1940, but Hurricane were even scarcer in 2017 so I won't blame Nolan for his choice).

 

I saw the wreckage of that plane one day in the sea a few hundred yards from the beach when it resurfaced in the late 80's after being burried in the sand for decades. I saw that wreckage again later in a hangar where we were restoring old cars. And I helped a group of British aviation enthusiasts load it on a truck when they came to collect it. We were laughing at them but shouldn't have, because they rebuilt it and now it is flying again.

 

I have attached a link to the story of the plane and of its pilot:

 

https://airlegend.fr/en/aircraft/hawker-hurricane-mk-i-g-robt/

 

https://owenzupp.com/mcglashans-hawker-hurricane-p2902-flies-again/

 

My poor model kit:

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by DFrancois70
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[stavanzer]

Wonderful Story!

Glad you shared it with us!

[DFrancois70]

Thank you Stavanzer. I take it you are an aviation enthusiast yourself ?

 

The account of the pilot of what happened to him that day and how he returned to battle really humbles me.

 

Unfortunately the plane recovery from the mud didn't go very well. The team was ill equipped and they ran out of time as the tide was coming. They eventually had to cut off the wings (or they broke off) and they were later junked when the plane was on display at the local airfield.

 

There was also a controversy about the guns that were still in the plane (I believe they were Hispano 20 mm cannons) and those had to be junked as well.

[stavanzer]

Yes, I am an Aviation Nut, and Historian.

I crewed F-15 fighters in the USAF.

[DFrancois70]

3 minutes ago, stavanzer said:

Yes, I am an Aviation Nut, and Historian.

I crewed F-15 fighters in the USAF.

Nice! The last airplane model kit I made before having to stop was a Tamiya F-15. A fantastic plane..

Currently busy restoring a RF-4 phantom II that my father gifted me with as a kid, and plans to add a F/A-18 and an other F-4 B phantom to my modest collection.

[TonyK]

Great story. Always enjoy things like this from people in other parts of the world.

And your model looks good. I like WW2 planes but not good at building them so I'll stick to cars and enjoy looking at other modelers work.

[DFrancois70]

Thank you TonyK. I am glad you enjoyed the story, all parts of it are true. The events were recounted in a book titled "Down to earth" by the pilot (Kenneth McGlashan).

[BlackSheep214]

Looks great but the green is a little off and not the correct shade. It's "too bright". 

Humbrol H163 Dark Green (FS34079) would be the closer correct shade of RAF Green.