Dunsfold, UK. 23rd Aug, 2014. Dunsfold aerodrome in Surrey holds an annual motor and airshow over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Here Hawker Hurricane IIC RAF World War 2 fighter aircraft of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight displays on Saturday 23rd Credit: Niall Ferguson/Alamy Live News
The last Hurricane ever built (of 14,533), PZ865 rolled off the Hawker production line at Langley, Bucks, in July 1944 with the inscription ‘The Last of the Many’ on her port and starboard sides. Keen to preserve the last Hurricane ever built, Hawkers purchased the aircraft back from the Air Ministry and kept it in storage at Langley. In 1950, PZ865 was entered in the King’s Cup Air Race by HRH Princess Margaret. Flown by Group Captain Peter Townsend CVO DSO DFC* it achieved second place. For many years the aircraft appeared as ‘The Last of the Many’ but eventually the inscription was removed and put on display in the BBMF headquarters. In 1996, replica 20mm cannons, funded by the Lincolnshire’s Lancaster Association, were fitted to ‘PZ’ to restore the aircraft’s appearance to that of a Mk IIC Hurricane. From 2012 this famous Hurricane has worn a colour scheme, faithfully replicating Hurricane Mk IIC HW840, coded ‘EG-S’, of 34 Squadron, South East Asia Command during 1944, the personal aircraft of Canadian pilot, Flight Lieutenant Jimmy Whalen DFC. Sadly, Jimmy lost his life on 18 April 1944, 5 days before his 24th birthday, during the Battle for Kohima. He had carried out 176 sorties against the enemy, 107 being over enemy territory and 23 at night. He had to his credit 3 ME-109s destroyed and 1 damaged whilst flying from England and 3 Japanese Navy Val Type 99s destroyed over Ceylon.
Size: 4500px × 3476px
Location: Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey UK
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 2, aerodrome, aircraft, battle, bbmf, britain, dunsfold, fighter, flight, hawker, hurricane, iic, memorial, raf, war, wheels, wings, world, ww
