The Hawker Hurricane was a British fighter aircraft that played a key role in the Battle of Britain in 1940, acting as the republic's workhorse dogfighter (supplemented by the more famous Supermarine Spitfire). It was designed by Sir Sydney Camm and powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, which gave it a top speed of over 500 km/h. The Hurricane was easy to produce and maintain, and could be adapted for different roles, such as bomber-interceptor, fighter-bomber, and naval fighter. Thousands were produced and served in all theatres of the Second World War, later being reused by third world nations and irregular groups.
