On the 2nd of October 2016 Hawker Hurricane, Serial No 5481 C/N 60372, C-FDNL, Mk XII / IIB based at the Pays Air Service at Scone, NSW flew at 10.30am for the first time in Australia. The flight lasted about 20 minutes with Ross Pay at the controls. It is the first time a Hawker Hurricane has flown in Australia since 1944! The Hurricane is now registered as VH-JFW, is finished in the color scheme of Pilot Officer John Dallas Crossman, an Australian who flew with No 32 Squadron and No 46 Squadron and was killed on the 30th of September 1940 at 13:30 hrs. He was shot down in his Hurricane I (V6748) at Forest Row, Sussex UK by a Messerschmitt Bf 109E. Crossman was buried at Chalfont St. Giles Churchyard, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, Grave 13.
Although the Hurricane is an Mk XII, it is finished (as stated above) as an Mk 1, V6748 of No 46 Squadron as flown by pilot, John Crossman. Crossman was the son of George Edward and Gladys Allyne Crossman, of New Lambton, New South Wales, Australia. The color scheme of the Hawker Hurricane was specially chosen as it honors the Battle of Britain pilot who was from the NSW Hunter Valley region of Australia close to the Scone base of the aircraft.
The Hurricane arrived in Australia on the 7th of April 2014 from Canada after a lengthy boat trip via the Panama Canal and New Zealand as outlined in our previous news article. It had been very carefully packed and shipped on a purpose built steel cradle with the fuselage and wings wrapped in padding and plastic membrane. The propeller and tail surfaces were individually boxed. At the time of its arrival the Hurricane was painted to represent P2970 as flown by Pilot Officer Geoffrey Page, circa 1940.
Following a full inspection of the aircraft, the decision was taken to send the fuselage to Matt Webber and the team at Luskintyre Aircraft Restoration, NSW. The purpose of this was to have the fuselage woodwork refurbished and new cloth added to the fuselage. This work was extensive, as all the woodwork has been replaced in the process and the rear upper cockpit framing rebuilt including new stringers on the fuselage. A new fabric “bag” was then fitted to the fuselage and then the doping of the fabric and finally the painting of the structure.
The Hurricane fuselage then returned to Pays Air Service at Scone, NSW where the myriad of tasks associated with getting the aircraft airworthy were attended to. These tasks included attending to the hydraulic and electrical systems and replacing any worn items in the airframe so as to ensure the aircraft was in pristine condition. The work progressed well at the workshop and the wings were then refitted after being checked and paint stripped. Finally in early 2016 the aircraft was ready for a complete repaint at Pay’s excellent paint shop where the camouflage and aircraft markings were applied. Warbirds Online has photographed most of the world’s flying Hawker Hurricanes and it must be said that the quality, accuracy and finish of this Hurricane is second to none. It is simply stunning and a great credit to the all of the team who worked long and hard to get her here.
The process from there was largely bureaucratic to ensure all of the appropriate inspections and reports had been carried out and filed with the appropriate authorities. Several minor mechanical issues which delayed her first flight were also overcome.
The Hurricane was due to fly on Friday 30th of September 2016, however the very high winds prevalent at the time prevented this and the flight was rescheduled for Sunday the 2nd of October 2016. Pilot Ross Pay was very impressed with the first flight of the aircraft and commented that it handled well and responded very much as pilot’s notes and other Hurricane pilot’s comments indicated – in short it’s a “typical Hurricane”. There were very few corrections required after the flight and the aircraft is expected to fly several more times as part of the bedding in process. A small crowd of local Scone residents and aircraft enthusiasts were present on the day, as it was the Hurricanes owners and Pay’s preference for the first flight to be low key.
Unveiling the Hurricane to the public
On Saturday November 12th 2016 an event is planned at Scone NSW to officially unveil the aircraft to the public, so that everyone may view this beautiful Warbird restoration. Several other historic Warbirds have been invited to participate in the event and a large crowd is expected to attend on the day. Warbirds Online will be publishing more details and information about this event shortly.
History of Hawker Hurricane Serial No 5481
Hawker Hurricane Mk XII, Serial No 5481 C/N 60372 was manufactured by Canadian Car and Foundry (CC&F) in 1942 based upon the Hawker Hurricane II version from the UK. The aircraft served with various RCAF Squadrons from July 1942 until it was struck off charge in November 1944 and disposed of by Crown Assets in Canada. At some stage in the mid-1980s the Hurricane was purchased by Canadian Warbird salvager Jack Arnold in Brantford, Ontario. The very tired Hurricane was later passed on to famous UK based collector Charles Church who initiated the restoration of the old bird and 5481 made its first post-restoration flight in September 1991 marked as P2970 “Little Willie,” the Mk.I flown by Pilot Officer Geoffrey Page of No. 56 Squadron when he was shot down in August 1940.
The Hurricane then passed on to the USA when purchased by David Price in 1991 following the tragic death of Charles Church. The aircraft arrived in the USA in 1992 and was first flown at Chino California joining the fleet of Warbirds at the Museum of Flying (MoF). With the closure of the MoF in 2002 the Hurricane was sold to Ed Russell and added to his collection in South Niagara, Ontario (ironically coming full circle back to its Canadian roots). In 2014, after advertising the aircraft for sale it came to new owners at Scone and was placed into the hands of Ross Pay at Pays Air Service at Scone NSW to undertake its refurbishment.
Our thanks go to the owner, Ross Pay and the team at Scone for inviting us to attend the historic first flight of the Hawker Hurricane.
© John Parker 2016
Its first flight in the U.K. was in zinc chromate primer and silver dope. It was also fitted with a 4-bladed Spitfire prop as its own was still being restored. The Geoffrey Page colour scheme was applied much later. Full history is in my book “Hawker Hurricane Survivors”, Grub Street, September 2015.
Hi Gordon
Thank you for the information. AFI – we passed on the copy of your book that you sent to us to Ross Pay.
Kind regards
John
Marvellous, simply, bloody marvellous. More power to you great blokes and your passion to preserve these wonderful old Warbirds, which contributed so much to saving our world from the depredations of the Nazis.
What a wonderful, worthwhile project and may you long continue your great work to honour those who built and flew these magnificent machines and give old buggers, like me, who never had the opportunity, certainly, to see a Hurricane, fly, to now do so.
What a shame, the late, great, Col Pay never had the opportunity to put this old girl through her paces, but the family tradition and passion, obviously, continues.
Hi Karl
Yes, its certainly a great achievement and we hope you enjoy seeing her fly this weekend.
Kind regards
John
I am worried. I see the marvellous job you have done restoring this Hurricane. My main concern is that you have put PO on the side of this aircraft. PO relates to a Lancaster Squadron that flew out of Waddington. 467 Squadron did not have Hurricanes. PO-S which is interred at the Hendon RAF musem was flown by my father. He was the last living combat pilot of that aircraft. PO refers to 467 Squadron?????????
Peter
Hi Peter
Thanks for your feedback.
The codes on the Hurricane are correct and you are correct as well. The PO Squadron codes were used by 4 Squadrons during the war:-
PO No. 46 Squadron RAF 46 Sqn
PO No. 104 Squadron RAF 104 Sqn
PO No. 463 Squadron RAAF 463 Sqn RAAF / 463 (RAAF) Sqn
PO No. 467 Squadron RAAF 467 Sqn RAAF / 467 (RAAF) Sqn.
So you are correct when you say PO was used by RAAF 467 from 1942 to 1945, however prior to that 46 Sqn was the user of PO from Sep 1939 – Jun 1941 so the code is correct for the Hurricane Mk 1, V6748 of No 46 Squadron. One thing we don’t know is the individual 3rd letter on the Hurricane for this aircraft however we are still trying to narrow that down precisely to complete this aircrafts finished scheme.
Thanks again for your comments
Kind regards
John
Never has so much been owed by so many…to so few….by such an outstanding aircraft. If ‘the few’.. had not had this work horse,history would written with a different story. …..to all who laid hands upon this aircraft,i salute you……jolly good show ,chaps.’”
Hi Richard
Thanks for taking the time to send us your thoughts.
Kind regards
John
[…] The Hurricane is also undergoing other routine maintenance, and it too should fly again within the next four to six weeks. More history on this aircraft is in our earlier story on the restoration and flight of Hawker Hurricane, Serial No 5481. […]
Hi, what a beautiful machine, thanks to all concerned for restoring it and I hope to see it in the flesh some day – gun ports are covered – is this just a rules thing? Cheers for any info!
Hi Stephen
We do hope you get to see her too. It is not a rules thing, its an aerodynamic feature. The coverings are red dyed linen and are applied before each mission to aid speed. They blow off when the guns are fired however, the aircraft then suffers drag and a reduction in speed as a result.
Kind regards
John