Hurricane: The Plane that Won the War

by Jacky Hyams

Britain’s first-ever wartime fighter plane, the Hawker Hurricane shot down more enemy planes than any other fighter. It was the true aviation hero of the Battle of Britain.

Often eclipsed by the legend and aerial heroics of the Spitfire, the Hurricane was the authentic warhorse of aviation history. Stable, rugged, less expensive to build – and far more easily repaired and maintained than the Spitfire – the ‘Hurri’ as it was affectionately known, proved to be the most fearsome fighter plane in aerial combat – at a time when Britain’s survival was at stake like never before.

During the Battle of Britain in 1940 the Hurricane made its more than half of 1,200 German aircraft were shot down by Hurricanes during the Battle of Britain. At the time, the RAF could call on 32 squadrons of Hurricanes and 19 the Hurricane was, in fact, the dominant British fighter plane, developing a reputation as a plane that could take more than a few hits from the enemy – and continue to fly. The Spit was the aviation thoroughbred, superb until damaged. The Hurri was much stronger.

Using documents, letters and first-hand accounts, this is the historic untold story of the Hawker Hurricane and the lives of the men and women who flew, helped design and construct, fit and worked behind the scenes of the ‘Hurri’, all contributing in ways big and small, to its outstanding success as a legend of World War II aviation.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History

256 pages, Paperback

Published November 4, 2025

About the author

History, especially the 20th Century, is a real passion for me. Yet I didn't start writing about it until quite recently because my career as a journalist and editor took up all my waking hours! I started out as a feature writer, in Sydney Australia, on magazines like Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan and Rolling Stone and my career as a columnist and movie writer took me all over the world for many years until I arrived back where I started, in London, England and various editing jobs on mass market magagines like Bella and Me. Then I freelanced for many years for many major newspapers and magazines. In 2005, I decided there was a real need for an informative self help book for families with older parents and my first book, Time to Help Your Parents was published by Piatkus. At that point, I realised that non fiction writing was even more enjoyable than I'd imagined and since then, I've written six more titles, including The Real Life Downton Abbey and Bombsites & Lollipops -- which some Goodreaders seem to be enjoying!

Reviews

[Mike Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots here that I didn't know. I didn't like the writing style so much, it seemed a little disjointed to me (and pretty vague in parts) but overall I enjoyed it. The author makes a case for the Hurricane being the real workhorse of the second world war, and I have heard from family that it was so. The author also makes a case for the Spitfire unjustly grabbing all the headlines, but some of the testimony she quotes in the book seems to reinforce the view that Hurricanes would get you so far but if you needed to finish the job it required a Spitfire or two.

[Peter Grant · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a rule of thumb that if I get to page 100 of a book, then I ought it must be good enough to warrant the effort of finishing. This book failed the 100 page rule, sadly. I've recently read very good books about the Spitfire and the Defiant and considered this book as a way of completing the set. However, this book, although reasonable well researched, felt like a below average undergraduate dissertation. On top of that, the author seemed to assume that the reader knew little of the relevant military history and felt a compulsion to over explain everything (full throttle means flying as fast as possible; the Low Countries are Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). Furthermore, the book included huge chunks of text lifted from other sources, which felt like padding, but probably assured them a solid 2:2. The ultimate failing though was that there were no archive photos or illustrations - to my mind unheard of in this book. For these reasons, I didn't make it to page 100, choosing to DNF.

[Nicholas Smart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing style. Easy to read.
Decent amount of detail of the overall Hurricane story, given that it covers a wide amount of material. Good insights into the individual theatres where it played its part. I liked the fact it includes connected stories where the Hurricane was initially involved but circumstances led to subsequent acts of persistence and bravery - such as the Bob Johnson’s juggle story.

[Eric GREEN · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting and enjoyable read. Having read quite a few books both technical and biographical involving the Hurricane I found new information in it. It’s been well written and researched. A pleasure to read.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really impressive introductory book on the Hawker Hurricane, charting it's prewar development, its foray into the war starting in France, the Battle of Britain onto Malta and further afield. Includes quotes from the men and women who flew THE PLANE THAT WON THE WAR.