SEMIH DURMUS
November 7, 2003
THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE ME 109E AND THE HAWKER HURRICANE MK-1
The Me 109 and the Hawker Hurricane were used in World War II and both of them
became very important for their countries in this war.
The first studies about the Hurricane were proposed in1933 by Sidney Camm who was
an engineer. In 1935, a prototype of the Hurricane was produced. This first prototype first
flied on 6th November 1935. In 1936 RAF ordered six hundred Hurricanes. Later, in 1939,
RAF gave its second order and got a thousand planes. In RAF, Hawker Hurricanes were first
used in December 1935 and then they were developed in one hundred eleven squadrons.
The ME 109 was built in May 1935 but it first flew after six months of building, in
September 1935. Later, they were used in Germany.
The ME 109 and the Hawker Hurricane had some similarities. Firstly, both of them
were fighting planes in World War II even though they were in different sides. The ME 109s
were used by Germany and the Hawker Hurricanes were used by Britain. Also, their cockpits’
capacities were just one pilot.
However, the ME 109 and the Hawker Hurricane had too may differences, too. Firstly,
their dimensions were different. The Hawker Hurricane was slightly bigger plane than the ME
109. Therefore, the ME 109 could nearly land on everywhere. The Hawker Hurricane’s length
was 9.59m, height was 3.96m, wingspan was 12.2m and one wing’s area was 11.46m2. Yet,
the ME 109’ length was 8.64m, height was 3.4m, wingspan was 9.87m and one wing area was
16.16 m2 .
Also, their engines were different, too. ME 109’s prototype’s engine was the Rolls
Royce Kestrel but when Germany air force decided to use them, its engine was changed; the
Daimler Benz DB 601A engine that had twelve cylinder was used in Me 109. The Hawker
Hurricane’s engine was different. It was Rolls Royce Merlin engine that had twelve cylinder
like ME109.
SEMIH DURMUS
November 7, 2003
In addition, their engines and fuel capacity gave dissimilar features to them. The ME
109’s top speed was 560 km/h, but the Hawker Hurricane was slower than ME 109 and its top
speed was just 511km/h. However, the Hawker Hurricane’s range was more than the ME
109’s range even though it was slower than the Hawker Hurricane. A Hurricane could go
740km in one sortie but the ME 109 could go just 660 Km in one sortie. This situation was
giving advantage to the Hawker Hurricane, so, it could stay in the air more than the ME 109.
Also, the Hawker Hurricane’s climbing rate was 10970m but the ME 109’s climbing rate was
10500. It meant the Hawker Hurricane could go up more than the ME 109.
Furthermore, the Hawker Hurricane was lighter. It’s empty weight was 2120 kg and
the maximum weight was 2995 kg but the ME 109’s empty weight was 2665 kg and the
maximum weight was 2965 kg. It means Hawker Hurricane could take more ammunition and
more fuel than the ME 109.
Moreover, the ME 109 had more powerful guns than the Hawker Hurricanes. It had
two 7.9 mm MG 17, two 20 mm MG FF cannons and one optional MG FF cannon in the
engine. However, the Hawker Hurricanes had just eight 7.7 mm guns.
All in all, they became significant for their air forces. 30000 ME 109 and 14231
Hurricanes were produced. Today, these old planes are not being used by air forces; but there
are plenty of them in the places like museum.