typerated,
Your #70 made me gasp:
"I believe the Miles aircraft - which was cheaper and quicker to build outperformed the Hurricane"
(You
can't mean the poor old Master, which was a nice, comfortable ride, and that was about all ???). Never heard of anything else at the time ('42), but Wiki was ready with the answer:
Miles M-20 ! (Eh?),
"......aerodynamically advanced for their time; the M.20 emergency production fighter prototype outperformed contemporary Hawker Hurricanes, despite having fixed landing gear......"
".....In the event, due to dispersal of manufacturing, the Luftwaffe's bombing of the Spitfire and Hurricane factories did not seriously affect production, and so the M.20 proved unneessary and was cancelled".
Ounce of demonsration, etc
M-20
Second prototype
Miles M.27 Master III (W8667)
Hurricane Mk I (
R4118), which fought in the Battle of Britain
PERFORMANCE COMPARISONS
MILES M-20
Maximum speed: 333 mph (290 knots, 536 km/h)
Range: 920 mi (800 nmi, 1,481 km)
Service ceiling: 32,800 ft (10,000 m)
Climb to 20,000 ft (6,100 m): 9 min 36 s
(2221 ft/min)
Armament
Guns: 8 × .303 inch Browning machine guns
MILES MASTER
Maximum speed: 242 mph (389 km/h)
at 6,000 ft (1,830 m)
Range: 393 mi (342 nmi, 632 km)
Service ceiling: 25,100 ft (7,650 m)
Armament
Guns: 1 × .303 in Vickers K machine gun
HURRICANE I
Max Speed: 328 mph (529km/h)
at 20,000 ft (6,095m)
Armament: Eight .303 in Browning
machine guns mounted in wings
HURRICANE IIC
Maximum speed: 340 mph (547 km/h)
at 21,000 ft (6,400 m) [N 12]
Range: 600 mi (965 km)
Service ceiling: 36,000 ft (10,970 m)
Rate of climb: 2,780 ft/min (14.1 m/s
Wing loading: 29.8 lb/ft² (121.9 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (0.25 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns: 4 × 20 mm (.79 in)
Hispano Mk II cannon
Bombs: 2 × 250 or 500 lb (
110 or 230 kg) bombs
Note: The Master is shown with the instructor's section of the "glasshouse" swung forward, and his seat raised, to see over his pupil's head.
Danny42C.