Hawker Fury & Nimrod

The Hawker Fury was perhaps the most beautiful biplane fighter ever built, and was the RAF’s first aircraft capable of exceeding 200 mph in level flight. Together with it’s naval counterpart, the Nimrod, the Fury served with many air forces right up until the beginning of WWII. In RAF service, the Fury sported the highly colorful squadron markings of the day, and then went into camouflage as war approached.

The book describes the design, development and service of the Fury and Nimrod, with all the forces which used them. It features superb color illustrations of camouflage and markings, walk-around color photos and rare black and white archive photographs. It is essential reading for aviation enthusiasts and scale aircraft modelers.

Considered by many to be the most beautiful biplane fighter ever made, the Hawker Fury served with the elite RAF fighter squadrons prior to the introduction of the Hurricane and Spitfire. It was sold to several other air forces, remaining in service well into WWII.

The Fury’s naval equivalent, the Nimrod, served with the Fleet Air Arm right up to the outbreak of the war, and was also bought by Denmark.

This new book is written by a highly respected historian and best-selling author, Alex Crawford, and it tells the story of these two elegant aircraft in all their versions. It is profusely illustrated with 99 black and white historical photos. There are close-up walk around type shots of the few surviving airframes in museums (104 of these in full color). A few plans and drawings from manuals are shown. It chronicles the design, development and service of the Fury and Nimrod.

From the vibrant colors of the pre-war RAF and FAA, through the drab camouflage of wartime operations (in Spain and WWII), the varied markings applied to these aircraft are fully illustrated with color illustrations.

These include:

• 15 side profiles of RAF marked Fury I’s which include 4 drawings of their upper wing patterns
• Five side profiles of RAF marked Fury II’s and 2 two-views
• A side profile of a Norwegian Fury I with illustration of the upper wing pattern
• A two-view of a Persian Fury II with illustration of the upper wing pattern
• A two -view of a Yugoslavian Fury II
• A side profile of a Portuguese Fury I with illustration of the upper wing pattern
• Four side profiles of Spanish (both Republican and Nationalist) Fury 4-1’s
• A side profiles of a Yugoslavian Fury II in wheels and skis with illustration of the upper wing pattern
• 15 side profiles of RAF Nimrod I’s with 13 illustrations of upper wing patterns
• Two side profiles of RAF Nimrod II’s with illustration of the upper wing pattern
• A side profile of a Japanese Nimrod with illustration of the upper wing pattern
• A four-view and a two-side views of Danish Nimrod’s with illustration of the upper wing pattern

The book also includes 65 x 1/72nd scale line drawings of Fury & Nimrod variants used by the various countries that flew them There are 3 data charts included in the book also.

The book is 168 pages long and in Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) usual 6 ½” x 9” soft-cover format that they use for these series of aircraft books.

There is a BONUS in this book in the form of a large (18” x 12”) sheet that is folded into fourths. It has a 1/48th scale five-view line drawing of the Hawker Nimrod II on one side with a data specification chart. On the reverse side is another 1/48th scale five-view line drawing of the Hawker Fury Mk. I, including illustrations of the fuselage bulkheads and a data specification chart. This sheet is inserted, loose, inside the back book cover.

This is essential reading for all those interested in RAF aviation and biplanes. It is a good reference for aircraft modelers and aviation historians. Highly recommended.

I sincerely want to thank Dr. Roger M. Wallsgrove, Editor-in-Chief of MMP, for this review sample.