Hawker Sea Fury

BY: Bill Coffman

Derek has confirmed that Hobbycraft has a 1/48 scale kit of the Sea Fury which  also has some accessories available . My friends in NZ have reminded me that  there was a 1/48 Falcon Vac-Form which could be built on its own or Kit Bashed  with Tempest parts to create a Sea Fury replica. I also dug out my old "Gerald  J.Elliot" 1/72 vac with its sack of cast zinc parts to see that it also had  the area of the vent door deeply recessed.
 
 It is also interesting to note that the drawings that accompany the Special Hobby instruction sheet all show the cowling and thrust line correctly. There must have been a slip up in the mould tooling.
 
 The Sea Fury photographed at Oshkosh has one less prop blade than normal, which may indicate the presence of a substituted Wright Cyclone engine. This aircraft is owned by Peter Peoler in Columbus OH.
 
 The Canada Aviation Museum website lists the following information on their Sea Fury.
 
 "Hawker Sea Fury FB.11
 
 * Period: Postwar (1945-1959)
 * Uses: Fighter-Bomber
 * First Flight: February 1945
 * Display Status: On the Museum Floor.
 
 The Hawker Fury was designed as a smaller and lighter version of the Hawker Tempest. The Sea Fury was the naval version, with folding wings and tail-hook. The Sea Fury FB.11 was a fighter-bomber capable of carrying bombs and rockets under its wings. Most of the 860 Sea Furys built went to the Royal Navy, including 60 Mk.20 two-seat trainer versions. The RCN¹s 74 FB.11s were based on shore and on the aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent. Sea Furys served with the RCN until they were retired in 1956.
 
 The Sea Fury was one of the faster piston-engine aircraft built; as a result, some surplus Sea Furies were used successfully for open-class air racing. Others have been restored to original flying condition and are frequently seen at airshows both in Europe and North America.

Museum Example
 
 * Registration #: TG 119 (RCN)
 * Manufacturer: Hawker Aircraft Ltd., Great Britain
 * Manufacture Date: 1948
 * Construction #: Unknown
 * Aquisition Date: 1963
 * Provenance: Donation from Bancroft Industries
 
 The Museum specimen was manufactured and passed to the RCN in 1948. During its navy service it crashed and was repaired before being sold by Crown Assets. Donated to the Museum in 1963, it was put on display in 1964 after restoration by Fairey Aviation Corp. and the RCN.
 Specifications
 
 Wing Span:
 11.7 m (38 ft 4 in) Length:
 10.6 m (34 ft 8 in) Height:
 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in) Weight, Empty:
 9,240 lb (4,190 kg) Weight, Gross:
 5,670 kg (12,500 lb) Cruising Speed:
 Unknown Max Speed:
 740 km/h (460 mph) Rate of Climb:
 9,140 m (30,000 ft)/10 min 48 sec Service Ceiling:
 10,910 m (35,800 ft) Range:
 1,127 km (700 mi) Power Plant:
 one Bristol Centaurus XVIIC, 2,480 hp, two-row 18 cylinder radial engine"

The Hawker Sea Fury is one of the last generation of piston engine aircraft that actually saw combat. It was also used by a number of air forces around the world, including the Canadian Navy. It has not been well
represented in 1/72nd kits, with only the old Frog kit and the Pioneer kits. Greg Meggs also produced a limited run kit for High Planes Models in Australia. Hobbycraft has produced an example in 1/48, I believe.

 The recent Special Hobby kit has been a small disappointment because of the cowling and thrust line being tilted upwards by a few visible degrees,and some non parallel vertical panel lines in the exhust area. A check of photos has led me to do some photo research of my own as to the actual configuration in the exhaust area behind the cowling.

 The actual aircraft can be seen in many photos with a small vertical opening behind the stainless steel exhaust deflector panel. On other aircraft photos, there is a panel in this location. In all the above kits except the HPM version, this panel area is recessed.
 
 During a recent visit to the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, I took the opportunity to get a closer look at this area on the Museum example, which is crowded betwen a Swordfish and a Banshee, all with their wings folded.
This Sea Fury has that panel partially opened. Enough to show that it slides forward under the stainess panel, exposing the plumbing and fittings between the Centarus and the firewall. This can be seen in attached photos #02 & 03. The next 3 photos of a RAN example at Oshkosh, show this panel in the closed
position.

 Gregg Meggs got it right!(His kit also comes with Aussie and Canadian decals.)

 Let's hope that MPM/Special Hobby can clean up the tooling before they release their next Sea Fury kit, one with the above markings perhaps....