The Hurricane has sometimes had the misfortune of standing in the Spitfire’s shadow, but in 1940 it was very much the backbone of Fighter Command. Rugged, comparatively easy to maintain, and with a wide-track undercarriage that made it more forgiving on rough wartime airfields, it was exactly the sort of fighter Britain needed in large numbers. This particular aircraft represents Douglas Bader’s Hurricane Mk.I, V7467, coded LE-D, flown while he commanded No. 242 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. Bader’s story hardly needs much embellishment: having lost both legs in a pre-war flying accident, he returned to operational flying and became one of the RAF’s most famous — and forceful — fighter leaders. With 242 Squadron, a unit largely made up of Canadian pilots and badly in need of rebuilding after the fighting in France, he helped turn a demoralised squadron back into an effective fighting unit.

This Hurricane came as part of an Airfix set with ground crew and service vehicles, but I decided to build the aircraft on its own after finding decals for Bader’s machine. The kit itself is perfectly decent and left very little to complain about. It also left very little in the way of lasting memories, which is not necessarily a bad thing — some builds simply go together, get painted, take their place in the cabinet, and behave themselves. Not unforgettable, perhaps, but a good-looking Hurricane in a scheme with a story behind it.