quote:

Originally posted by Allan DeGroot:
the hurricane was:
less expensive to produce

had more effective firepower than the spit
(unless you compare to a cannon armed Spit MkII)
(caused more damage) because it was far superior as a gun platform.
was more easily repaired when battle damaged
had FAR better landing and low speed characteristics
(fewer operational loses as opposed to loses due to air combat)

and by the numbers the differences in performance were not material to it's combat effectiveness against the enemy aircraft it encountered.

Much as german fighter pilots beleved the Spitfire was a dangerous opponent there was again no real significant difference in performance between the Spit, the Hurricane
and the Bf109-E.

But the extra 30cal guns of the hurricane had a telling effect against the german bombers that were it's primary prey.

But a Hurricane was not a "sitting duck" against a 109E.
the odds were "even" but as the old saying goes if you are entering a fight with even odds you're doing something wrong.

Yes in free flight there were differences, but during actual combat air manuevering the differences disappeared
and were overwhelmed by differences in the skill of the pilots flying those aircraft and how agressive those pilots were willing to be.


the real secret is having a pilot know the strengths and weakness of his own aircraft and simply not try to do things he can't.

Hurricane pilots that could lure a 109 pilot into a low speed turning battle went home, the german pilot either got
first class military funeral in the english countryside or
a lengthy, all-expenses-paid stay at a nice comfy
POW camp in Canada.

One thing a german pilot making that mistake didn't get to do was to warn his surviving buddies what not to do...


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