The Hawker Hurricane was the RAF's first monoplane fighter, and it dragged the air force in to a position where it could defend Britain during 1940. Hurricanes outnumbered Spitfires during the Battle of Britain by three to one, and actually downed more Luftwaffe aircraft than the famous Supermarine fighter. Even prior to it's "Finest Hour" over southern England, Hurricanes had provided the first RAF aces of the war in France during the Blitzkrieg, and they are described in this volume. In 1941 the type was heavily used in the Mediterranean and North Africa, before being flung in at the deep end in the Far East against the Japanese. US Eagle Squadron pilots also flew the type in the early years of the war, and it saw much combat with the Fleet Air Arm and the Soviet Air Force.