Corgi Aviation Archive Collector Series AA35508
Hawker Hurricane Mk II Diecast Model
RAF No.1(F) Sqn, "Night Reaper", Karel Kuttelwascher, RAF Tangmere, England, 1942

1:32 Scale		Length		Width
Hawker Hurricane Mk II		12"		15"

The last Hurricane ever built (of 14,533), PZ865 rolled off the production line at Langley, Buckinghamshire, in the summer of 1944 with the inscription 'The Last of the Many' on her port and starboard sides. The aircraft was almost immediately purchased back from the Air Ministry by Hawkers and initially mothballed, before being employed as a company communications and test aircraft. In 1950, wearing the civilian registration G-AMAU, it was entered in the King's Cup Air Race by HRH Princess Margaret. Flown by Group Captain Peter Townsend it achieved second place. During the 1960s, PZ865 was returned to its wartime camouflage scheme and was used as a company 'hack' and communications aircraft. It appeared in 'The Battle of Britain' film and also made numerous display appearances, often in the hands of the famous fighter pilot and test pilot Bill Bedford. After a complete overhaul, PZ865 was flown to Coltishall in March 1972 and given to the Memorial Flight by Hawker Siddeley. For many years the aircraft appeared as 'The Last of the Many' but eventually the inscription was removed and put on display in the BBMF headquarters.

PZ865 is currently painted to represent Hurricane IIc BE581, 'Night Reaper', the aircraft flown by the Czech fighter ace Flt Lt Karel Kuttelwascher DFC* during night intruder operations from Tangmere in 1942 with the RAF's legendary No 1(F) Squadron. In only 15 night intruder missions 'Kut', as he was know to his colleagues, shot down 15 enemy bombers (3 in one night on 5 May 1942) over their own airfields in France; he also damaged a further five bombers and shot up several steam locomotives and 'E' boats. The single-seat Hurricanes were not radar equipped, so targets could only be found visually and without the benefit of modern aids to night vision. With their Hurricanes fitted with long-range drop tanks, night intruder pilots flew long sorties of 3 to 3½ hours, often in poor conditions and completely alone. 'Kut's aircraft, BE581 'JX-E', wore the 'Night Reaper' motif on the starboard engine cowling and 'Kut' had swastika 'kill' symbols painted under the cockpit on the port side. When his three kills from the night of 5 May 1942 were added there were 11 swastika symbols displayed ('Kut' eventually achieved a total of 18 confirmed kills). The aircraft's rudder and a panel on the port wing had to be replaced with black-painted items from a 'Turbinlite' Hurricane (BD770) due to 'flak' damage incurred by BE581 on that sortie. This is all faithfully replicated on PZ865 as a 'snapshot in time'. 'Kut' survived the war but died in 1959 from a heart attack – he was only 42.

Hawker Hurricane Mk II

© Copyright 2003-2024 The Flying Mule, Inc.

Corgi's 1:32 scale Hurricane is a large model loaded with features. . All of the control surfaces are movable, including the radiator cowl and the inboard split flaps, which reveal inner details when deployed. The landing gear is hinged and easy to position for ground or in-flight display. The upper portion of the engine cowling is removable, revealing a masterfully rendered V-12 Merlin engine, and the cockpit interior and pilot figure are easily viewed with the canopy open or closed. Each release has either four machine gun ports or two Hispano cannon barrels on each side of the wing's leading edge.

© Copyright 2003-2013 The Flying Mule, Inc.

Corgi Aviation Archive Collector Series

The Corgi "Aviation Archive" range presents highly-detailed, ready-made diecast models of military and civilian aircraft. The vast Aviation Archive range has become the standard by which all other diecast airplane ranges are judged. Each Corgi model is based on a specific aircraft from an important historical or modern era of flight, and has been authentically detailed from original documents and archival library material. Famous airplanes and aviators from both military and commercial airline aviation are all honored.

Corgi "Aviation Archive" diecast airplanes feature:

• Diecast metal construction with some plastic components.
• Realistic panel lines, antennas, access panels and surface details.
• Pad printed markings and placards that won't fade or peel like decals.
• Interchangeable extended/retracted landing gear with rotating wheels.
• Poseable presention stand to display the aircraft "in flight".
• Many limited editions with numbered certificate of authenticity.
• Detailed, hand-painted pilot and crew member figures.
• Authentic detachable ordnance loads complete with placards.
• Selected interchangeable features such as speed-brakes, opened canopies and access panels.
• Selected moving parts such as gun turrets, control surfaces and swing-wings.