Hawker Hurricane G-HHII Two Seat Conversion

The history of this aircraft begins at the Canadian Car & Foundry (CCF) Company in 1942 as Construction Number CCF/R20023. CCF produced some 1,451 Hurricanes under licence in the early years of WWII, and on completion this one joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served as a home-based fighter for the duration of the war. At the end of her military service she was refurbished to ‘as new’ condition and then sold off to the private sector, as were most surviving RCAF Hurricanes at that time. Many were exploited as ‘hardware stores’, providing parts to keep tractors and other machinery running on the enormous farms of the Canadian prairie. However, this particular aircraft was luckier and remained substantially intact, to be re-discovered by Hawker boss Tony Ditheridge in the 1990s as a very complete airframe with most major components intact. Returning to the UK, we began comprehensive restoration work in 2005. This was completed in January 2009 and this rare machine was rolled out in fighter-bomber configuration, resplendent in the markings of BE505, a Manston based MkIIB operated by 174 (Mauritius) Squadron in the spring of 1942. Her first flight took place from North Weald on 27th January 2009.

G-HHII returned to Hawker Restorations in the winter of 2017/18 and it was soon announced that this airframe has been chosen to be converted into a two seat machine. This is an exciting prospect for the warbird community and will allow the public to enjoy flights in another classic Battle of Britain aside from the Spitfire, which would be a great opportunity to build on the current trend in this market. The conversion will be done as sympathetically as possible to the original lines of the airframe. More detail on this project and the conversion process will follow on a regular basis moving forward.