This Hurricane MkIIb was on strength with RAF No.1 Squadron operating
from RAF Tangmere, England, during April 1942.
BE581 known as the "Night Reaper" was the mount of Czech ace Karel
Kuttelwascher.
Kuttelwascher, nicknamed "Kut", was the RAF's most successful
Czechoslovak pilot, and one of the RAF's highest-scoring
I will consider reasonable offers.
One of a number of Rare, limited or
interesting releases I'm putting up for sale over the next few days. I
will happily combine postage, answer questions or provide additional images.
Hawker Hurricane Mk II
Based on the Fury biplane and designed by
Sydney Camm as a monoplane fighter, the Hurricane was first flown on November
6th, 1935. With its wide-set landing gear, easy handling, reliability, and
stable gun platform, the Hurricane was suitable for a variety of different
roles such as intruder, ground strafing and night fighter. Steel-tube
construction meant cannon shells could pass right through the wood and fabric
covering without exploding. The Hurricane underwent many modifications during
its lifetime, including an upgraded Merlin engine and interchangeable
multi-purpose wings, staging twelve 7.7mm guns and two 40mm anti-tank guns and
carrying two 500lb bombs.
Karel ‘Kut’ Kuttelwascher served with the
Czechoslovak Air Force until his country was invaded by Germany. He saw combat
with the Armee de L’Air (most likely scoring two kills and one possible) in the
Battle of France. He also saw action during the Battle of Britain though it was
not until 1941 that he increased his score overall to five confirmed and two
probable. On the 17th February 1942 ‘Kut’ was promoted to F/Lt. Based at
Tangmere, No.1 Sqn commenced night intruder operations from the 1st April 1942
to the 2nd July 1942, during which time they undertook 180 missions, shot down
22 enemy aircraft, and damaged another thirteen. They also destroyed
sixty-seven trains, five boats and one vehicle. The highest scoring pilot was
F/Lt Kuttelwascher. In only fifteen missions, he gained fifteen confirmed
kills, and five damaged airplanes. His aircraft was a Hurricane Mk.IIc, BE581,
which he named ‘Night Reaper’ and decorated it with a Scythe.