Does the Hurricane catch fire?

[kendo65]

This is FIRE!

Can't remember when this was posted, but i think those flames have been turned off for a long time. Here's hoping we get this and more back again

edit: date is in the image name 22nd Feb 2011

[kendo65]

Three more amazing shots from the archives (only one Hurri, and not even on fire )

[NZtyphoon]

Originally Posted by He111

Talking of catching fire, i always thought having your main tank inFRONT of the pilot gave it some protection from damage, where as the 109 had it behind the pilot, right in harms way. You hear stores of 109's just exploding when hit, i wonder if that is the reason ?

.

The big problem with the tank in front of the cockpit on the Hurricane was that it, and the pilot, were almost completely unprotected -a single stray bullet, let alone several aimed ones, piercing the unprotected half-full tank meant that there was a good chance that the fuel would burn right through the instrument panel and flare into the pilot's face and chest "with blowtorch intensity" (Stephan Bungay): as soon as Dowding found out how many Hurricane pilots were being badly burned he demanded a layer of fire-resistant "Linatex", which was wrapped over the tank, and a proper fireproof bulkhead between the tank and the instrument panel - the former was done very quickly, the latter didn't happen until the Mk IIs emerged.

[dflion]

I took this grab as the Hurricane attacked the Heinkel, suddenly it dramatically exploded and then caught fire. The Heinkel was badly damaged and later lost an engine.
DFLion

[*Buzzsaw*]

Salute

Let's remember a number of things when people quote anecdotes from the Russian front from Finnish pilots:

1) The Hurricanes used by the Soviets were unable to use maximum boost because of the poor Soviet fuel, the +12 boost we might see in the West was only possible because of 100 octane fuel, something not available to the Soviets in 1942-43 when the Hurris were in service with the VVS. In addition, many of the Hurris sent to the Soviets were in well used condition, after service in N Africa or Britain.

2) Because of the poor Hurricane performance on Soviet fuel, in an effort to get more speed, the Soviet pilots typically removed much of the armour plating on these aircraft, both behind the pilot and the armour between the fuselage tank and cockpit and above the tank. For that reason, the Soviet Hurricanes were far more prone to catching fire.

It is a fact that the early production models of dual pitch Hurri used in the pre-BoB phases and to a limited degree in the actual battle itself were not equipped with the armouring on the fuel tank, some used in France did not have the back of seat pilot armour either. These were quite a bit more likely to catch fire. Whether or not the game models these versions without the armour is open to question.

As has been mentioned, the issue of the fuselage tank catching fire as well as the problem of lack of pilot armour came to the attention of Dowding and he took steps to make sure these problems were rectified.

HOWEVER:

In reality, ALL plane engines are prone to catching fire given incendiary AP bullets in contact with oil and fuel, doesn't matter what the make or nationality. The typical smoke you see in a game when a plane's engine has been hit IS fire. In reality the only question was how long it was going to take before it became a raging inferno. The game seems to be a little more relaxed in the tendency for small fires to accelerate. It seems damage either causes a major fire or it doesn't. There doesn't seem to be any modelling which would allow small fires to grow.

[SQB]

I'm seeing some great screenshots here.. why are you guys not posting to the screenshots thread!?

[MD_Titus]

weren't the majority of mcindoe's guinea pigs hurricane pilots?

[MB_Avro_UK]

Originally Posted by topgum

In deed, for instances I can't remember that I went down in a burning Hurricane, shot down by an enemy. So I had a look in my screenshot-folder. It is also rare in other fighters, so I can only show two 109 in flames (different situations), one in a spit.
Attachment 9982
Attachment 9983
Attachment 9984
Except from the infernal ablazing Hurricane external screenshot which I took this afternoon, there's nothing which fits in that criteria. But i couldn't make a screenie from inside because I was dead within seconds. But you have to blow up one of those large storage tanks, though. The smaller ones have just no impact, neither to a Hurri

Thanks for the screenie of the Hurricane on fire from the pilot's view. In all my hours in the Hurricane (100's), I have never seen a similar view. Maybe I'm just lucky?

Best Regards,
MB_Avro,

[Les]

Just remembered this video I made (over a year ago now) that shows a Hurricane on fire. Not sure what the effects are like now, or what the exact circumstances were that led up to what you see in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ttOpBSOE40

[topgum]

Originally Posted by MB_Avro_UK

But try flying the Hurricane yourself. It NEVER catches fire.

....But never when flying the Hurricane, has it burned.

Best Regards,
MB_Avro.

You made me working, man !
Methodic as I am, first I created Dogfighting-mission, 3 Hurris against 4, later 8 109, equipped with IC-ammunition only, #1 Group AI, modified like shown in this http://www.bobgamehub.blogspot.com/2...-of-dover.html to avoi ammowaste, 2# group 2Vets, 2 Average, after very bad expierence that the enemy 109s hit anything in the first tries. See the fotos 8-11, how dificult in this setup it is that a 109 hits me in a Hurricane, and didn't any F16-snaproll!

For some reasons I can't understand yet, the most hits I got made nice piercings in the hurris, but they setted nothing in to fire. Like it is shown in pic 1! I brought this cracked bird back home (I had even a kill in this fight against 8 E4s, good man, topgum), Jerrys still swirling arround me, going on attacking, so finaly, after having landed, I got a hit, died, the tank took fire immediately (read damage report:"Kraftstofftank 3 Feuer!")
For the reason that I was killed, I couldn't take a screenshot from inside, like it is the same in pics 7 & 11
Furtheron, you see the evolution of the fire how it takes the whole plane. Intesting: Pics 3 & 4 are showing how the left wingtip fell off, this happens after 20 minutes, laterone it happens to right wing as well.
I've got the impression, that the direction of the fire-evolution was more dued to the wind direction, come from 30°-angle (Runway heading to 270°, Wimlington)
than to the damages, which was bigger at the right wing.
The 5th pic shows the final state, after more than one hour.
There was no explosion, neither in the tanks, neither in the ammunition. The leaking of the fuel under the wing, however, hasn't stopped.

One word to the pics 6 A & 6B: They are showing an IC-hit at the rudder. Only Scrennshot from inside of a buring Hurricane. After having done that, the external view shows, that it is allready over

1 Topgum_still allive.jpg
2 TG deadafter Groundattack_lighted up 1.jpg
3 TG Fire evolution.jpg
4 TG Fire evolution .jpg
5 TG Fire evolution_Final.jpg

Pics 6A-11 are showed in the following post

I resume:
#1 A Hurricane flown by "natural-intelligenc",lol, in SP-mode takes fire, also by a hit, not only by flying over blewn up fuelstorages!
#2 This happens very, very rarely, because of the poor aiming skills of AI-opponents, even with maxed out aircombatkills! They don't try to fiddle with the rudde a bit, to try to get a laterl hit in the vulnerabele parties.
#3 Shall it happens, you need a direct hit in a fueltank, See pic 2. (German)IC-ammo seems to be quite useless. See pic 1, the hits in the tank area hadn't been harmfull.
#4

Originally Posted by *Buzzsaw*

Salute
... There doesn't seem to be any modelling which would allow small fires to grow.

There is an evolution from a beginning small-fire to an inferno, no explosion caused by it, though.

But aggree 100%. A/C has to be set much easielier in fire, especially the ol'Hurricane!