Hobby Master 1/48 HA8604 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I GN-F, Plt Off Tom Neil,, 249 Sqn., England 1940
Hobby Master 1/48 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I GN-F, Plt Off Tom Neil,, 249 Sqn., England 1940 HA8604
The Hawker Hurricane was the first British single-engine fighter and the first single wing aircraft with retractable landing gear as well as an enclosed cockpit and 8 machine guns. The Hurricane went into operational service in December 1937 with the RAF 111 Squadron. The Hurricane is usually over looked as a major player in the BoB because of the Spitfire but 80% of the 1,792 German aircraft shot down were because of the Hurricane. There were 14,533 Hurricanes produced in all variants.
Tom Neil joined the RAF just prior to the start of the BoB. He flew Hurricanes with the No. 249 Squadron stationed at North Weald. In September 1940 Neil scored his first victory shooting down a Me-109. On November 7, 1940 Neil had the misfortune of losing his aircraft’s tail when he had a mid-air collision with his Wing Commander. Neil had to bail out but the WC landed safely. Tom Neil flew 141 combat missions and a total of 12 kills and 4 probables and the DFC with a bar.