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:For the earlier biplane fighter, see Hawker Fury
The Sea Fury was a fighter aircraft developed for the British Fleet Air Arm by Hawker during World War II. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve the Royal Navy, it was also the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built.
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Development
The Hawker Fury was an evolutionary successor to the successful Hawker Typhoon and Tempest fighters and fighter-bombers of the Second World War. The Fury was designed in 1942 by Sidney Camm, the famous Hawker designer, to meet the RAF’s requirement for a lightweight Tempest II replacement. Developed as the “Tempest Light Fighter”, it used modified Tempest semi-elliptical outer wing panels, bolted and riveted together on the fuselage centerline. The fuselage itself was similar to the Tempest, but fully monocoque, and with a higher cockpit for better visibility. The Air Ministry was sufficiently impressed by the design to write Specification F.2/43 around the concept.•
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Naval conversion
In 1943 the design was modified to meet a Royal Navy request (N.7/43) for a carrier-based fighter. Boulton-Paul Aircraft were to make the conversion while Hawker continued work on the Air Force design. The first Sea Fury prototype flew on February 21, 1945, powered by a Bristol Centaurus XII engine. The first prototype had a ‘stinger’-type tailhook for arrested carrier landings, but lacked folding wings for storage.[ The second prototype was powered by a Centaurus XV turning a new, five-bladed Rotol propeller, and was built with folding wings. Specification N.7/43 was modified to N.22/43, now representing an order for 200 aircraft. Of these, 100 were to be built at Boulton-Paul.]
Both prototypes were undergoing carrier landing trials when the Japanese surrendered in 1945, ending development of the land-based Fury; work on the navalized Sea Fury continued. The original order to specification N.22/43 was reduced to 100 aircraft, and the Boulton-Paul agreement was cancelled. The first production model, the Sea Fury F.X (Fighter, Mark X), flew in September 1946. Problems arose with damaged tailhooks during carrier landings; after modifications, the aircraft were approved for carrier landings in the spring of 1947.
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Service
The Royal Navy’s earlier Supermarine Seafire had never been completely suited for carrier use, having a narrow-track undercarriage, and the Sea Fury F.X replaced it on most carriers.• During the engagement two other MiGs were damaged; all of the Sea Furies returned unharmed.
The last squadron of Royal Navy Sea Furies was deactivated in 1955. The Sea Fury Mk 50 export variant proved popular, being purchased by Australia, Canada, Germany, Iraq, Egypt, Burma, Pakistan and Cuba. The Netherlands bought 24 aircraft, then acquired a licence for production of 24 more Mk. 50s at Fokker. Cuban Sea Furies saw action during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The final production figures for all marks reached around 860 aircraft.
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Variants
Fury Mk I Single-seat land-based fighter version for the Iraqi Air Force. Unofficially known as the Baghdad Fury.
Fury Trainer Two-seat training version for the Iraqi Air Force.
Sea Fury F.Mk 10 Single-seat fighter version for the Royal Navy.
Sea Fury T.Mk 20 Two-seat training version for the Royal Navy.
Sea Fury FB.Mk 51 Single-seat fighter-bomber version for the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Sea Fury T.Mk 61 Two-seat training version for the Pakistan Air Force.
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Operators
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Specifications (FB.11)
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Surviving aircraft
Because production continued until well after the end of World War II – and because aircraft remained in Royal Navy service until 1955 – dozens of airframes have survived in varying levels of repair. A number of Sea Furies are airworthy today, with around a dozen heavily modified and raced regularly at the Reno Air Races as of 2006. Still more remain in unflyable condition in museums around the world.
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