Hawker Hurricane Mk IID / Mk IV
The tank-buster — two 40 mm Vickers S guns, later a universal wing for rockets or bombs · First flight 1941 · In service 1942
The Mk IID was a dedicated anti-tank version carrying a 40 mm Vickers S gun in a pod under each wing, plus one .303 in Browning per wing for aiming. A converted Mk IIB first flew in this form on 18 September 1941 and new-build production began in January 1942. No. 6 Squadron was the first unit equipped, and its IIDs earned the nickname 'Flying Can Openers' against Axis armour in the Western Desert and Tunisia.
The Mk IV introduced a 'universal' wing that could carry the 40 mm guns, eight RP-3 rockets, two bombs or drop tanks, and added about 159 kg of armour around the radiator, cockpit and fuel tanks. It flew ground-attack missions over Europe until early 1944, when the Hawker Typhoon replaced it.
In the Mediterranean, Mk IVs of No. 6 Squadron and No. 351 (Yugoslav) Squadron attacked targets across the Adriatic and the Balkans from Italy and Yugoslavia, and in Burma Mk IIs and IVs continued in the ground-attack role until the end of the war.
