Of the myriad aspects of the Hurricane’s wartime service, its use to defend Canada against potential Japanese attack is among the lesser-known — but it is remembered by the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum’s example
Built by Canadian Car and Foundry at Fort William, Ontario, in 1941, BW881 (c/n CCF R32007) was one of a batch of 50 aircraft with serials between BW835 and BW884. Originally intended for use by the Fleet Air Arm, they were fitted with catapult spools and arrester hooks and were essentially produced to Sea Hurricane Ib standard with eight-gun wings, Merlin III engines and de Havilland propellers but, due to production changes already incorporated at the factory, they all featured the longer nose of the Hurricane II airframe.
The first three of the batch were ferried by air from the factory to Royal Canadian Air Force Station Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where the Royal Navy and the RAF’s Merchant Ship Fighter Unit (MSFU) both had aircraft servicing facilities. The second three, flown by the same pilots but in worse weather conditions some 10 days later, all crashed due to shortage of fuel on or near the Nova Scotia coast, so all subsequent deliveries were made by rail.
Fate intervened f…
