The Beaufighter
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Speaking of flammability, the Hawker Hurricane's primary structure was metal, however a secondary structure was composed of wooden formers and stringers giving the fuselage a rounded external shape, which carried a doped linen covering. The majority of the external surfaces were linen, save for a section between the cockpit and the engine cowling that used lightweight metal panels instead. Early versions had fabric covered outboard wing sections, however later versions had metal claded outboard wing sections.
Last edited by evansb; 29th Aug 2019 at 15:22.
the pilot effectively sat on the fuel tank
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Sneaking up on the Runway and leaping out to grab it unawares
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The main tanks were not under the pilot's seat, but in the wing roots. Initially they were not armoured or self-sealing.
The problem was that the Hurricane did not have a cockpit floor, thus if the main tanks were penetrated and set on fire, burning fuel could puddle under the pilot's seat. This was further exacerbated by the fact that there was no firewall between the gravity fed tank and the cockpit.
The Hurri' was probably the least fire resistant of the main BoB Fighter protaganists, but as Megan said, on the Bf109 the pilot's seat sat above an (L-shaped) main tank.
Hurricane - apart from the reserve tank, the centre-section main tank was beneath the pilots' seat
