The Hawker Hurricane was the first monoplane to join the Royal Air Force as a fighter aircraft, capable of reaching speeds in excess of 300-mph in level flight. Often compared with the sleek-looking Supermarine Spitfire, the Hurricane, in actuality, shouldered the brunt of the fighting during the "Battle of Britain", equipping more than three-fifths of the RAF's Fighter Command squadrons. When it lost its edge as a dogfighter in 1941, the Hurricane took on a number of other roles, including ground attack missions and maritime combat air patrols.

The Hurricane Mk.I was the first production version, with fabric-covered wings, a wooden two-bladed, fixed-pitch propeller (first 435) or three blade two -pitch propeller, powered by the 1,030 hp (770 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk.II (first 364) or III engines and armed with eight .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns. Produced between 1937 and 1939.

Pictured here is a 1:48 scale replica of a RAF Hawker Hurricane Mk. I fighter that was flown by Squadron Leader James "Ginger" Lacey, who was attached to No.501 Squadron, then deployed to Gravesend, England, during September 1940. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 10-inches
Length: 8-inches

Release Date: January 2017

Historical Account: "Ginger" - James Harry "Ginger" Lacey, DFM & Bar was one of the top scoring Royal Air Force fighter pilots of the Second World War and was the second highest scoring RAF fighter pilot of the Battle of Britain, behind Pilot Officer Eric Lock of No. 41 Squadron RAF. Lacey was credited with 28 enemy aircraft destroyed, five probables and nine damaged.

Lacey joined the RAFVR (Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve) in January 1937 as a trainee pilot at Perth, Scotland. In 1938, he then took an instructor's course, becoming an instructor at the Yorkshire Flying School, accumulating 1,000 hours of flight time before the war. Called up at the outbreak of war, he joined No. 501 Squadron RAF.