Hawker Fury «LA610» - Fury of Napier

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[Would you like to see the Hawker Fury LA610 in-game?]
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Back with another post about a British superprop :D
Speed and power! - I just wanna go fast than a jet in a prop

Introduction
The Hawker Fury I was one of the proposals for making a lighter, more powerful, and more modern version of the Hawker tempest fighter. LA610 and VP207 were the Napier VII powered prototypes of what would become the basis for the Hawker Sea Fury. It was also the fastest of all Hawkers propeller driven planes, at a tested 777km/h and 679km/h at sea level - though with an achieved power of 3750hp (2.796kW) that is expected.
Sadly the Fury I never entered service, because WW2 ended and the RAF found itself with a lot of idle later Spitfires.


History

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The Fury I was a Hawker proposed refinement, read; new aircraft, of their already existing Tempest fighter line. Hawker proposed 3 variations, all of which were made into prototypes and all of which had a different powerplant. Most of their differences came from the need to have different cooling and propeller arrangements.

The British air ministry saw promise in an improved Tempest, and in February 1943 they issued specification F.2/43 to support Hawker in the development of the new aircraft. At the same time Hawker recieved the designation for their new aircraft; “Fury”. Included in the same specification was a requirement for the development of a new naval fighter based on the same airframe, this would use a radial engine instead, and be named; “Sea Fury”.

Due to delays with the development of the Napier Sabre VII, the prototype Fury I with this fitted first flew on 3 April 1946.

In August 1944 the air ministry made an order for 200 aircraft, this was later reduced to 150 aircraft, then to 120, then to 60 and eventually the order for the Fury I were cancelled entirely. It’s legacy did live on in the mass produced Sea Fury. Despite the cancellation of it’s orders, Hawker did build 2 flying prototypes with the Sabre, and 1 semi-complete prototype (LA610, VP207 and VP213).

While the Fury I was the fastest of all Hawkers propeller aircraft, it was limited in speed and climb rate by the unfinished engine it had equipped. With this handicap, the aircraft achieved a top speed of 777km/h and 679km/h at sea level along with a climb rate of 27,8m/s.
Hawker was forced to use the first iteration of the Sabre VII that Napier had available. This engine was limited to 3.055hp with 1,17bar of boost. More information can be found under the ‘Specifications - engine’ section.

Images

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Hawker Fury I LA610, fitted with a Napier Sabre VII engine


Hawker Fury I VP207

Specifications/armament

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General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 34ft 8in (10,6m)
  • Wingspan: 38ft 5in (11,7m)
  • Height: 15ft 10,5in (4.839m)
  • Wing area: 280sq ft (26m^2)
  • Airfoil: Essentially the airfoil of the Hawker Sea Fury with enlarged wing root radiators
  • Empty weight: 9.350lb (4.241kg)
  • Gross weight: 12.120lb (5.498kg)
  • Powerplant: 1x Napier Sabre VII, 3.750hp (2.796kW), 1.152kg, 100/130 octane fuel*(more information can be found under the ‘Specifications - engine’ section)
  • Propellers: 4 bladed constant-speed, Rotol, 4m diameter

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 483mph (777km/h, 42 kn) at 18.500ft (5.639m), 422 mph (679km/h) at sea level
  • Range: ~ 700mi (1.130km)
  • Rate of climb: 5.480ft/min (27,8 m/s)

Engine
H-24, 36,7L

Hawker was forced to use the first iteration of the Sabre VII that Napier had available. This engine was limited to 3.055hp (2.278kW) with 1,17bar of boost.

With further testing and refinement on the same engine Napier managed to get it to produce 3.500hp (2.610kW) at 1,38bar of boost. This was achieved mainly due to the inclusion of higher boost pressures along with 40/60 water/methanol injection.

Sources also state that before development was cancelled Napier managed to test the Sabre VII engine up to 4.000hp (2.983kW) and a prolonged stable 3.750hp (2.796kW).

This insane power figure did come at the cost of fuel consumption however, and the engine at max power used 300L/hr of water/methanol mix, along with 1.068L/hr of fuel.

This engine also demanded more cooling, so radiators were installed in both wing roots, where the air would enter on the leading edge and exit under the wing. These radiators would automatically open and close depending of the needs of the engine.

Armament

  • Guns: 4x 20mm Hispano Mk.V with 580 rounds
    • Rockets: 8–12 × 3 in (76 mm) 60 lb RP-3 or 4 × 300 lb (140 kg) rockets
  • Bombs: 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs
  • 2x drop tanks

Sources

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7 Likes
2

Very sleek and streamlined! I like it! +1

1 Like
3

Need more superprops please! +1

4

Huge +1, this, the Spitefuls, and the Seafangs are wayyy overdue considering they are the absolute peak of piston engined planes.

1 Like