The first flight of the Hawker Fury I took place in March 1931. Because of the Great
Depression and the high cost of the Fury only 118 were produced for the RAF. It was the
first RAF operational aircraft to exceed 200 mph in level flight. In May 1931 No. 43
Squadron was the first to receive the new aircraft. Starting in 1936 five RAF squadrons
received the new improved Fury II. Seven foreign air forces ordered the Fury II. In 1939 the
RAF Furys were replaced by Gladiators and Hurricanes.

In September 1936 seven Furys numbered 200 – 206 were delivered to the South African
Air Force. May 1940 1 SAAF Squadron moved to East Africa with six Furys. The SAAF
aircraft mostly fought Italian Ca.133 bombers and Fiat CR.32s. September 30, 1940 2
SAAF Squadron was formed using Furys, Gladiators and Hurricanes. From now on Fury’s
were mainly used to supplement SAAF Hawker Hartebeests. On 5 October, Lieutenant D.
C. Uys of 2 SAAF Squadron stalled ‘206’ and crashed. He was badly burnt and the aircraft
was destroyed.

Hawker Fury I and II specifications

Manufacturer – Hawker Aircraft Ltd.

Production – Fury I (117 some references 118) Fury II (112 some references 113)

Dimensions
Length – Fury I 26 ft 8 inches / Fury II 26 ft 9 inches
Wingspan – 30 ft both variants
Height – 10 ft 2 inches both variants

Weights
Empty – Fury I 2,623 lb / Fury II 2,734 lb
Maximum – Fury I 3,490 lb / Fury II 3,609 lb

Performance
Engine – Fury I Rolls Royce Kestrel IIS 525 hp (391 kW) for TO, V12 cyl., liquid cooled, 2
blade Watts wooden propeller / Fury II Rolls Royce Kestrel VI 640 hp
Maximum Speed – Fury I 207 mph @ 14,000 ft / Fury II 223 mph @ 16,500 ft
Service Ceiling – Fury I 28,000 ft / Fury II 29,500 ft
Climb rate to 10,000 ft – Fury I 4 minutes 25 seconds / Fury II 3 minutes 50 seconds
Range – Fury I 305 miles / Fury II 270 miles

Armament
Fury I 2 X fixed forward machine guns 600 rounds per gun (Vickers 0.303 Mark III)
Fury II 2 X fixed forward machine guns 600 rounds per gun (Vickers 0.303 Mark V)

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