The definitive and most-produced fighter-bomber FB.Mk 11 was powered by a single Bristol-brand Centaurus XVIIC, 18-cylinder, twin-row, air-cooled, radial piston engine. The engine had a listed output of up to 2,480 horsepower allowing for speeds of approximately 460 miles-per-hour at 18,000 feet. Cruise speeds fell to 390 miles-per-hour. Other reported performance specifications included a service ceiling of 35,800 feet with a rate-of-climb of up to 30,000 feet in just 10.8 minutes. Range was limited to 700 miles though this could be increased up to 1,040 miles with the addition of two wing-mounted fuel drop tanks.
The Hawker Sea Fury was produced in only a handful of major variants. This began with the Sea Fury F.Mk 10, a single-seat fighter version for the British Royal Navy. These first production examples were fitted with Centaurus XV series engines. The definitive and quantitative FB.MK 11 soon followed, this being a dedicated fighter-bomber derivative for use by the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy (No. 871 Squadron of the HMCS Magnificent). Six-Hundred and Fifteen of this type were produced in all with 31 of these going to Australia and 53 of these to Canada. The T.Mk 20 represented a two-seat trainer for the Royal Navy of which 60 examples were produced. Ten of these were later converted as target tugs for West Germany.
The Sea Fury proved popular on the open market as well with the Royal Netherlands Navy taking on delivery of the F.Mk 50 single-seat fighters and the FB.Mk 51 single-seat fighter bombers. The Royal Netherlands Navy took on 24 such models and then acquired license-production rights to build 24 more locally under the Fokker brand. Pakistan utilized the type as the FB.Mk 60 in its single-seat, fighter-bomber guise as well as the two-seat T.Mk 61 trainer - both systems were used by the Pakistani Air Force. Iraq received the Fury F.Mk I for use as a single-seat, land-based fighter up to which some 55 were built and utilized by the Iraqi Air Force. This Fury became unofficially known as the "Baghdad Fury". Additionally, five Furies were delivered to Iraq in their two-seat trainer forms.
Other recipients of the Sea Fury included Burma, Cuba, Egypt and Morocco. Total production was approximately 860 examples of all aircraft with production running from 1945 through 1955.
Upon entering service in October of 1945 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, the Sea Fury was quick to replace the Supermarine Seafires that were utilized throughout the Second World War. Supermarine Seafires were navalized versions of the hugely successful land-based Supermarine Spitfires - the "aircraft that won the war" for Britain - but were little more than an interim solution (as were Hawker Sea Hurricanes) for the Royal Navy and not at all dedicated naval fighters/interceptors like the Sea Fury.
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) was assigned the F.Mk X Sea Fury into five squadrons (Nos. 778, 802, 803, 805 and 807). This was followed by deliveries of the definitive FB.Mk 11 model (designations were officially changed from Roman numerals beginning with this production model) with their Bristol Centaurus 2,480 horsepower engines, longer arrestor hooks and provisions for rocket-assisted take-offs (RATO) to Nos. 802,280, 804, 805 and 807 squadrons. The Royal Navy Volunteer Reserves replaced their Supermarine Seafire Mk 17s in 1951 with Sea Fury FB.11's beginning with Squadron No. 1822 and followed by Nos. 1831, 1833, 1834, 1845 and 1836 squadrons. The Sea Fury would remain a Fleet Air Arm mainstay up until 1953 with the system retired fully from operational service with the Royal Navy by 1955. In FAA service, the Sea Fury was eventually replaced by the more capable Hawker Sea Hawks and Supermarine Attackers.
The Royal Canadian Navy received their first Hawker Sea Furies in 1956. These Sea Furies numbered some 74 models of the fighter-bomber type and operated between 1948 and 1956 with No.871 Squadron from the deck of the HMCS Magnificent (CVL 21). Canada utilized the Sea Fury from land bases as well.
The Sea Fury was fielded in anger in the upcoming Korean War. These were of the FB.Mk 11 fighter-bomber marks where their multi-role capabilities could be put to good use. Sea Furies operated from various British and Australian carriers (HMS Glory, HMS Ocean, HMS Theseus and the HMAS Sydney) and were launched against ground targets across the peninsula often in conjunction with Fairey Fireflies as the Royal Navy's "heavy attack" element. Like their Tempest and Typhoon counterparts of World War 2, Sea Furies in Korea were used to good effect in the ground attack role. Not to be limited, the Sea Fury was also one of the few piston engine fighters to achieved an air kill over a jet when, on August 9th, 1952, a Sea Fury piloted by Lieutenant P "Hoagy" Carmichael successfully engaged and downed a North Korean Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter. This resulted in the only British air kill of the conflict. In any regard, Sea Fury involvement in the war solidified the aircrafts place in aviation history as one of the fastest and most potent piston-engined fighters ever made.
Cuban Air Force Sea Furies were later unleashed in anger in the American-sponsored "Bay of Pigs" invasion.
By all accounts, the Sea Fury proved a stable mount and a perfect crowning achievement to the Hawker aircraft trifecta when including the Typhoon and Tempest. Despite its cancellation by the RAF, Royal Navy use ensured that the legacy of the Sea Fury would continue. The Sea Fury proved its worth in a major world conflict and smaller global battles to follow until its inevitable retirement. Today, it remains a favorite among aviation enthusiasts and airplane racers the world over.
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