LF7213 HAWKER TORNADO (I.PROT.)

The Hawker Tornado was a British low-wing fighter with a classic retractable landing gear, which was first flown in 1939. The overall length of the machine was 10.01 meters with a wingspan of 12.78 meters. The drive was provided by a single 1740hp Rolls-Royce Vulture II or a Rolls-Royce Vulture V or a Bristol Centaurus CE 4S engine. The maximum speed was up to 641 km / h, and the weight of the empty plane was approx. 3800 kg. The deck armament consisted of 12 7.7 mm machine guns or 4 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannons. The Hawker Tornado was developed as a grassroots initiative by Hawker Aircraft Limited as a successor to the Hurricane aircraft. Compared to its predecessor, it had a completely different power unit with more power, stronger on-board armament, a different structure of the wing and the rear part of the fuselage. The plane had one main Achilles heel - an emergency and not easy to use propulsion unit, which led to the cancellation of the entire project and possible mass production. This was also due to the fact that the Hawker Tornado did not offer significantly better performance than the already combat proven Supermarine Spitfire.