[Edward]

Sounds great at a very appealing price.

Edward

Rocket Fighter: 6 Squadron and the Hurricane IV 1943-47
(S. Gifford - 29 July 2022)
by Simon James Gifford
166 pages w/ b&w photos - paperback
£9.99 [amz.uk]

In March 1944 the first flight took place of the final production variant of the Hawker Hurricane, the Mark IV. Derived from the Mark II the new Hurricane IV was no longer the fighter that had helped win the Battle of Britain but a dedicated ground-attack aircraft. Fitted with a modified wing, the Mark IV could carry a variety of weapons; two Vickers 40mm S-guns (as per the earlier IId), bombs, drop tanks and, uniquely at this stage of the war for a single-seat RAF fighter, thee-inch rockets. In addition, to provide extra protection for the aircraft and pilot, additional armour was fitted around the cockpit and engine and, most visibly, around the under-fuselage radiator tub. To cope with the extra weight this added, it was planned that the IV would have a more powerful Merlin fitted, designed additionally to cope with use in the heat of the desert and jungle environments where the Hurricane could expect to see service.

In Africa, the Hurricane IV was issued to 6 Squadron in July 1943. It was with this squadron that the Hurricane IV would carve a unique niche whilst operating over Italy and the Balkans. The squadron had already forged a name for itself when flying the Hurricane IId over the desert. From mid-1943 to January 1947, the squadron flew the Hurricane IV with distinction. Despite the pilots frequently being promised that the Hurricanes would be replaced with something more modern, the squadron’s ability to get the most out of the Hurricane meant that they continued to operate it past when the Hurricane had been removed from all other front line RAF squadrons, until on the 15 January 1947, the last Hurricane IV was unceremoniously sent to be scrapped.

This book provides a comprehensive history of 6 Squadron throughout the period it operated the Hurricane IV. It incorporates a wealth of material provided by pilots and ground crew from the squadron detailing the squadron's wartime operations and its time in Palestine after the war had finished. It also has a number of rare photographs of the Hurricane IV is service, including some that have never been published previously.