The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy. Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two years after the war ended. It proved to be a popular aircraft with overseas militaries and was used during the Korean War in the early 1950s and by the Cuban air force during the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion.
The development of the Sea Fury began in 1943 in response to a wartime requirement of the Royal Air Force (RAF), with the aircraft first named Fury. As the Second World War drew to a close, the RAF cancelled its order for the aircraft. The Royal Navy saw the type as a suitable carrier aircraft to replace a range of obsolescent and stop-gap aircraft being operated by the Fleet Air Arm. Development of the Sea Fury proceeded, and the type entered operational service in 1947.
The Sea Fury has many design similarities to Hawker's preceding Tempest fighter, having originated from a requirement for a "Light Tempest Fighter". The Sea Fury's wings and fuselage originated from the Tempest, but were significantly modified. The production Sea Fury was fitted with the powerful Bristol Centaurus engine and armed with four wing-mounted Hispano V cannons. While originally developed as a pure aerial fighter aircraft, the definitive Sea Fury FB.11 was a fighter-bomber.
The Sea Fury attracted international orders as both a carrier- and land-based aircraft. It was operated by countries including Australia, Burma, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, the Netherlands, West Germany, Iraq, and Pakistan. The type acquitted itself well in the Korean War, fighting effectively even against the MiG-15 jet fighter.Wheeler 1992, p. 87. Although the Sea Fury was retired by the majority of its military operators in the late 1950s in favour of jet-propelled aircraft, many aircraft saw use in the civil sector, and several remain airworthy in the 21st century as heritage and racing aircraft.
Development Origins
The Hawker Fury was an evolutionary successor to the successful Hawker Typhoon and Tempest fighters and fighter-bombers of WWII. The Fury's design process was initiated in September 1942 by Sydney Camm, one of Hawker's foremost aircraft designers, to meet the Royal Air Force's requirement for a lightweight Tempest Mk II replacement; the Tempest, while a successful aircraft, had been viewed as being heavy and oversized for typical fighter duties. Developed as the "Tempest Light Fighter (Centaurus)", the semielliptical wing of the Tempest was incorporated, but was shortened in span by eliminating the central bay of the wing centre section, the inner part of the undercarriage wells now extending almost to the aircraft centre line, instead of being situated level with the fuselage sides.Goulding 1986, pp. 130–131.Brown 1980, p. 82.Buttler 2000, p. 46. The fuselage was broadly similar in form to that of the Tempest, but was a fully monocoque structure, while the cockpit level was higher, affording the pilot better all-round visibility.Bridgman 1998, p. 127.
The project was formalised in January 1943 when the Air Ministry issued Specification F.2/42 around the "Tempest Light Fighter".Darling 2002, pp. 12–13. This was followed up by Specification F.2/43, issued in May 1943, which required a high rate of climb of not less than 4,500 ft/min (23 m/s) from ground level to 20,000 feet (6,096 m), good fighting manoeuvrability, and a maximum speed of at least 450 mph (724 km/h) at 22,000 feet (6,705 m). The armament was to be four 20 mm Hispano V cannons with a total capacity of 600 rounds, plus the capability of carrying two bombs each up to 1,000 pounds (450 kg).Meekcoms and Morgan 1994, p. 309. In April 1943, Hawker had also received Specification N.7/43 from the Admiralty, who sought a carrier version of the developing aircraft; in response, Sidney Camm proposed the consolidation of both services' requirements under Specification F.2/43, with the alterations required for naval operations issued on a supplemental basis. Around 1944, the aircraft project finally received its name; the Royal Air Force's version became known as the Fury and the Fleet Air Arm's version as the Sea Fury.Darling 2002, pp. 12–14.
Six prototypes were ordered; two were to be powered by Rolls-Royce Griffon engines, two with Centaurus XXIIs, one with a Centaurus XII, and one as a test structure. Hawker used the internal designations P.1019 and P.1020, respectively, for the Griffon and Centaurus versions, while P.1018 was also used for a Fury prototype, which was to use a Napier Sabre IV.Darling 2002, p. 13. The first Fury to fly, on 1 September 1944, was NX798 with a Centaurus XII with rigid engine mounts, powering a Rotol four-bladed propeller. Second on 27 November 1944 was LA610, which had a Griffon 85 and Rotol six-bladed contra-rotating propeller. By now, development of the Fury and Sea Fury was closely interlinked so that the next prototype to fly was a Sea Fury, SR661, described under "Naval version". NX802 (25 July 1945) was the last Fury prototype, powered by a Centaurus XV. LA610 was eventually fitted with a Napier Sabre VII, which was capable of developing 3,400 to 4,000 hp (2,535–2,983 kW); this aircraft became possibly the fastest reciprocating-engined Hawker aircraft after reaching a speed around 485 mph (780 km/h).Mason 1991, pp. 342–347.
Naval version
With the end of the Second World War in Europe in sight, the RAF began cancelling many aircraft orders; the RAF's order for the Fury was cancelled before any production aircraft were built because the RAF already had large numbers of late Mark Spitfires and Tempests and viewed the Fury as an unnecessary overlap with these aircraft. Although the RAF had pulled out of the programme, development of the type continued as the Sea Fury. Many of the Fleet Air Arm's carrier fighters were Seafires and Lend-Lease Corsairs. The Seafire had considerable drawbacks as a naval aircraft, notably the narrow undercarriage, while the Corsairs had to be returned or purchased. The Admiralty opted to procure the Sea Fury as the successor to these aircraft.Darling 2002, p. 14.Mackay 1991, pp. 4–5.
While the RAF contract had been cancelled, the Fury prototypes were completed and used for work in developing the Sea Fury, as well as for the export market. The first Sea Fury prototype, SR661, first flew at Langley, Berkshire, on 21 February 1945, powered by a Centaurus XII engine. This prototype had a "stinger"-type tailhook for arrested carrier landings, but lacked folding wings for storage. SR666, the second prototype, which flew on 12 October 1945, was powered by a Bristol Centaurus XV that turned a new, five-bladed Rotol propeller and had folding wings. Specification N.7/43 was modified to N.22/43, now representing an order for 200 aircraft. Of these, 100 were to be built at Boulton-Paul's Wolverhampton factory.Darling 2002, pp. 13–15.
In 1945, the original order to specification N.22/43 was reduced to 100 aircraft; as a result, the manufacturing agreement with Boulton-Paul was ended and all work on the Sea Fury was transferred to Hawker Aircraft's facilities at Kingston. This included the construction of what was intended to be a Boulton-Paul-built Sea Fury prototype, VB857, which was transported to Kingston in January 1945; this aircraft, built to the same standard as SR666, first flew on 31 January 1946. Immediately upon completion of the first three airframes, the flight-testing programme began at Kingston. Testing soon discovered that the early Centaurus engines suffered frequent crankshaft failures due to their poorly designed lubrication system, which led to incidents of the engine seizing while in midflight. The problem was resolved when Bristol's improved Centaurus 18 engine replaced the earlier engine variant.Darling 2002, pp. 15–16.
Into production The first production model, the Sea Fury F Mk X (later Sea Fury F.10), flew in September 1946. With the completion of flight testing at Boscombe Down in 1946, the trials process was repeated aboard the aircraft carrier . Carrier testing revealed directional stability issues related to rudder effectiveness during landing, and this was resolved by the adoption of a tailwheel lock, which also improved the wheel retraction behaviour. Several rectifying design changes were made by Hawker in response to feedback from the test pilots, including the adoption of a five-bladed Rotol propeller to greatly reduce overspeed tendencies; a redesigned rudder assembly, to increase rudder effectiveness, Dynafocal engine mountings to reduce vibration at low speeds, and an improved undercarriage with greater flexibility. These changes greatly improved the aircraft's deck landing characteristics. Arrestor-hook trials initially revealed the Sea Fury to be prone to missing the wires; this was rapidly resolved by modifications to the hook dampener mechanism.Darling 2002, pp. 15–17.Mackay 1991, p. 5.
By March 1947, production Sea Furies were being produced for the Fleet Air Arm. The fourth and sixth production aircraft were used in further trials with HMS Illustrious; the main change from the earlier aircraft was the adoption of a longer, stiffer arrestor hook. Fifty Mk X Sea Furies were produced. These were identical to the SR666 prototype except for the Centaurus 18 engine and a four-bladed propeller. At least 20 of the 50 aircraft performed in the aircraft's intensive trials programme. Following the successful completion of weapons trials at the A&AEE Boscombe Down, the Sea Fury was cleared for operational use on 31 July 1947.Darling 2002, pp. 18–19.
Hawker Aircraft continued to develop and refine the Sea Fury Mk X, resulting in the more capable Sea Fury Mk 11, also known as the Sea Fury FB.11. This upgraded model had several improvements, most notable being the hydraulically powered wing-folding mechanism, which eased flight deck operations and the adoption of new weapons for air-to-ground combat. Iraq ordered a two-seat Sea Fury model, and the British Admiralty followed suit. During testing, the rear canopy collapsed, leading to a redesign of the type's two-seat cockpit before entering service. Designated as the Sea Fury T.20, 60 trainers were manufactured for the Fleet Air Arm between 1950 and 1952.Darling 2002, p. 20.Mackay 1991, p. 23. The Royal Navy bought a total of 615 Sea Furies, mostly of the Mk 11 standard.Mackay 1991, p. 10.
Export market Hawker Aircraft was keen to market the Sea Fury to foreign operators, and conducted an intense sales drive for its export version of the aircraft, designated Sea Fury F.50. On 21 October 1946, the Royal Netherlands Navy placed an order for ten F.50 aircraft, which were basically identical to the FAA's Sea Fury Mk X aircraft, to equip the aircraft carrier HNLMS Karel Doorman (ex-HMS Nairana). The Dutch also ordered 12 of the later Fury FB.50s in 1948, and these were delivered in 1950. They were used on the aircraft carrier (ex-). A manufacturing licence was also acquired for the production of 25 Sea Fury FB.51s by Fokker Aircraft in the Netherlands, which were delivered from 1951 onwards.Wilson 1993
The Sea Fury became an export success, being purchased both to operate on aircraft carriers and for purely land-based roles by several nations, including Australia, West Germany, Iraq, Egypt, Burma, Pakistan, and Cuba. Several of the nations that did not have aircraft carriers often had the tail hooks and catapult hooks removed from their aircraft.
A final variant, the Sea Fury T.20S, was developed by Hawker for West Germany as target-tow aircraft; these remained in service into the 1970s. Upon the type's withdrawal from military service, many Sea Furies were sold to private individuals, often as racing aircraft due to their high speed.Mackay 1991, pp. 28, 35–37, 41. The final production figures for all marks reached around 860 aircraft.