Picture No 0228

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Hurricane BE421 was built at the Canadian Car & Foundry Company in Canada (commission number: CCF/R20023) in 1942 and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force serving 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. But most fell into various states of disrepair.
BE421 was lucky and remained substantially intact, to be re-discovered by Tony Ditheridge in Canada in the 1990s as a very complete airframe with most major components intact. BE421 was bought to the UK for restoration work at Hawker Restorations facility in Suffolk. The comprehensive restoration took a staggering 28.000 hours and was completed in January 2009. This rare Hurricane rolled out in her fighter-bomber configuration the same month to start engine tests. Her first flight took place from North Weald on 27 January 2009. Remarkable it was for the first time in more than 60 years that a Hurricane took of and landed from the field.
The 'Hurribomber' fighter-bomber came into being, carrying either two 113 kg (250 lb) or two 226 kg (500 lb) bombs under its wings. and flies in the markings of BE505 with code XP-L, a Mk IIB operated out of Manston by 174 (Mauritius) Squadron in spring 1942.
Disabled