Air Pictorial 1957-11
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R.Cross - Fury Fighters
Fury I was second of three prototypes, K1926-7-8. First prototype flew in July 1930 with a 525-h.p. Kestrel IB, did 202 m.p.h. at 10,800 ft. Second and subsequent Fury Is had the 550-h.p. Kestrel IIS.
Fury with 750-h.p. Hispano-Suiza 12NB was another Yugoslav version, with twin 7.7-mm. Spandaus and a 222-m.p.h. top speed at 15,100 ft.
K7275 was twenty-sixth Fury II built (1936), delivered to No. 43(F) Squadron.
Spanish Fury first flew on 7th April 1936, had 700-h.p. Hispano-Suiza 12Xbrs, two 13.2-mm. Hispano guns, did 234 m.p.h. at 13,400 ft.
Fastest of all the Furies was yet another Yugoslav model with twin Vickers, cantilever undercarriage, reduced wing area (250 sq. ft), 745-h.p. Kestrel XVI, and 252-m.p.h. top speed at 16,000 ft. Similar version illustrated here had four guns - note that the wing guns are minus their fairing covers.
Prototype Kestrel-engined Yugoslav Fury was identical to standard Mk. I, but Yugoslav-built production models presumably had Hispano-Suiza.
Prototype Norwegian Fury (401) first flew in August 1932 with a 500-h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIIA having two concentric Townend rings. Length was 25 ft. 10 1/2 in., loaded weight 3,500 lb., top speed 201.5 m.p.h. at 16,400 ft. Guns were two 7.7-mm. Spandau. All other models were built under licence at the Norwegian Army Factory at Kjeller.
High-Speed Fury (K3586) had swept-back top wing and outer-plane "V" struts, first flew 3rd May 1933 with 600-h.p. Kestrel S giving a top speed at 10,000 ft. of 245 m.p.h. Span was 29 ft. 6 1/4 in.
Reworked with 695-h.p. Goshawk III, steam condensers along normal straight top-wing leading edge, and "N" struts, top speed being 238 m.p.h. at 16,000 ft. at 3,708 lb. loaded weight. Much Fury II development was done on K3586, which was finally converted to a standard Fury II and delivered to No. 43(F) Squadron in September 1934. Withdrawn again by mid-1936, it became a Merlin test-bed with Rolls-Royce.
Persian Fury with Bristol Mercury was to have been built in Teheran with the Hornet model - anyway, Bristol delivered forty-two 645-h.p. Mercury VIS2s with cowlings to Persia. Prototype was dispatched in October 1933, did 215 m.p.h. at 16,500 ft. Length was 24 ft. 6 1/4 in.
Interceptor Fighter F.20/27 was re-engined with a 450-h.p. Mercury radial after brief trials at Martlesham Heath. Top speed was 218 m.p.h. at 10,500 ft. at loaded weight of 3,178 lb. Span was 30 ft., length 23 ft. 8 1/4 in.
I-PV3 had obvious relationship to the Fury, was private venture to specification F.7/30 for a four-gun fighter. Flew on 15th June 1934 with 695-h.p. Goshawk III, spanned 34 ft., did 224 m.p.h. at 14,000 ft. at 4,760 lb. loaded weight. Later re-engined with Goshawk B.41 (705 h.p., no wing condensers) which boosted performance to 232 m.p.h. at 15,500 ft. at 4,550 lb. loaded weight.