Hurricane with tip tanks - 1940 - Battle of France?

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Good night to all!
I found a very interesting picture on Ebay of an early Hurricane (it seems a Hurricane to me...although it could be a French Arsenal ) with a very strange silver tip tank under the right wing.
Have some of you (experts and writers) ever seen such tip tank? Was it an experimental tip tank or a current type used regularly?
This is the first time I do see such underwing tank on a 1940 machine. I have seen type tanks on Spitfires II, but never saw this kind of type tank (it seems similar to the tank used on Hurricanes Mark II B and C).
Any information about this machine and type tank would be welcomed.
All the best for all.
Adriano S. Baumgartner

[kaki3152]

Adriano,

Nao tenho certeza but I believe this this is the wreckage of one of the Hurricanes (P2644) that were being ferried to Malta in june 1940. If you look at the book "Malta:The Hurricane Years 1940-1941" by Chris Shores et al, there is a picture of what appears to be the same aircraft (P 13) taken from the opposite side.

Carlos

[Graham Boak]

Not a "tip" tank, but the fixed underwing ferry tank. I agree with Carlos's suggestion.

[Adriano Baumgartner]

CARLOS = Muito obrigado amigo!
The serial number is a "plus" and will lead to other informations/researches. Thanks indeed!
GRAHAM = Was that kind of ferry tank ever used on operational combat missions? If the RAF did have, at that time, this kind of additional underwing tank, why they were not seeen on those Squadrons that flew Hurricanes, during the Blitz, at night (at least )? I do understand, that maybe this could not be "safely ejected"; maybe a fixed ferry tank that only could be took away by an "erky" on the ground. But this would have enhanced the Hurricane's range.
Does someone knows the RAF code or official serial number of this kind of ferry tank?
Thanks again for matching the serial number and pointing me to other fields of research.
Yours
Adriano S. Baumgartner

[Graham Boak]

Yes, it was a fixed tank, only removable on the ground. I believe that it was used on combat sorties on a few occasions, perhaps in the Middle East, but was unpopular because of the drag and effect on agility. I have not seen any reference to its use in the Blitz but I agree that it could have been useful. By then of course the Mk.II was becoming more common in front-line units.

The droppable tank came into use partway through (fairly early) the Mk.IIB production, when the standard bomb carrier was fitted into the wing replacing one of the four machine guns.

The fixed tank was used on dedicated night fighters later in the war, where one of the pods was used to carry radar. Hurricanes with these fitted were initially based at Alexandria. They were sent to Calcutta as a night defence, but were launched against the Japanese daylight raid and (unsurprisingly) suffered severely at the hands of the Zero escort.

[kaki3152]

Adriano, de nada, eu reconheci a foto.

Graham There is a mention in "Hurricanes over the Arakan" about these fixed external tanks. It is mentioned that the pilots were very relunctant to engage Ki-27s with these fixed tanks.

[Pilot]

Fixed tanks are used in first time and later was replaced by drop tanks. Interesting image anyway

[Graham Boak]

The mention in Hurricanes over the Arakan is to the first Hurricanes to arrive in Burma. Sq Ldr Stone flew BE171, a Mk.IIb. BE221 was a fighter-bomber with 607 Sq, the first to get these, so the production change to droppable tanks must have come around these early BExxx serials. It is likely that the fighter-bomber wing was not available for all aircraft built at this time, but I know of no way of distinguishing between them using published information. These aircraft were apparently known, if briefly, as Mk.IIEs, and it would have been convenient had this been official!

[Faenor]

Hi, there is photo from e-bay on same plane

http://www.ebay.de/itm/FOTO-FLUGZEUG...UAAOSw6YtZXNre

Faenor