T
aking possession of one of Britain’s
most magni cent ghters was
a boyhood dream come true for
46-year-old James Brown. He
enjoys the rewards of being the custodian of
a Battle of Britain ghter, but the 2017 airshow
season had its fair share of ups and downs.
He took possession of the warbird in 2015
and now owns one of the most signi cant
airframes in British aviation history. His
Hurricane survived the Battle of Britain,
despite serious damage; survived hitting a
lorry; survived service being shipped to India;
and survived being dumped in a crate.
James’s love affair with Hurricanes goes
back to his childhood. He said: “Like most
kids, I was a bit of a dreamer and most of
those dreams seemed to involve aeroplanes.
“Phantoms, Hunters, Lightnings and
Buccaneers hung from my ceiling in glorious
1/72 scale, but the aeroplanes that reallycaught my imagination were the ghters that
won the Battle of Britain: Spit res and – my
personal favourite – Hurricanes. For as
long as I can remember, I’ve dreamt of ying
one of these superb aeroplanes and, all
being well, in 2018 I might just achieve that
ambition.
“Two years ago, having sold my software
company, I took a big step towards ful lling
my ambition by purchasing a Hawker
Hurricane – none other than Hurricane Mk
1 R4118, arguably the most historic British
aircraft to survive in ying condition from
World War Two. Today, R4118 is the most
complete airworthy example of a Hurricane to
have fought in the Battle of Britain.”LUFTWAFFE BATTLES
Built as a Mk I Hurricane by the Gloster
Company at Brockworth, Gloucestershire, in
1940, R4118 was allotted to 22 Maintenance
Unit (MU) in July that year, before being
delivered to 605 ‘County of Warwick’
Squadron at Drem, Scotland, on August- The squadron was ‘resting’, having been
active during the withdrawal of the British
Expeditionary Force (BEF) from France in May.
By September, it was time to get back in
the action, joining 11 Group at Croydon. The
Battle of Britain was in full swing and R4118
was thrown into the ght with squadron OC,
Sqn Ldr Walter Churchill, at the controls on
September 9. Four days later, with a young
(future ‘ace’) Plt Off Bob Foster in the cockpit,
R4118 and another Hurricane were involved
in a ght with a Junkers Ju-88.
The encounter reportedly led to some
damage to the Ju 88, for which Bob claimed
to have had some shots on target. The
aircraft was then allocated to Plt Off Jock
Muirhead who recorded R4118’s rst (albeit
shared) kill on September 24 when engaging
a Dornier Do 215.
Muirhead was killed in action, while ying
another aircraft, so R4118 became the mount
of Plt Off J A ‘Archie’ Milne. Archie was ying
it on September 27, when he shot down a
Messerschmitt Bf 110. The Hurricane ew
a total of 49 sorties during The Battle and
damaged or destroyed ve enemy aircraft
while based at Croydon during the height of
the struggle.
On October 22, R4118 was being own
by Pilot Officer Derek Forde in a dog ght
with some Bf 109s. It was to be the ghter’s
last Battle of Britain action as the aircraft
sustained category two damage (repair
impossible on site) and was sent to the Austin
Motor Company at Longbridge, Birmingham,
for repairs.
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 43Main photo: Antony ‘Parky’ Parkinson ying
R4118 for a photo sortie in 2016 when he was
a member of the Battle of Britain Memorial
Flight. All photos Darren Harbar Photography
Top: James Brown at Old Warden in October
2015 with R4118, shortly after he purchased
the aircraft.
Left: Harvard FE511 departing Old Warden
with James Brown at the controls.42-46_hurricaneDC.mf.indd 43 05/01/2018 14:13