
The final 13 flying Hurricane fighter planes that helped defeat the Germans in the Second World War have been recorded in all their glory for a new book.

The Hawker Hurricane was seen as the poor relation to the Spitfire in the Second World War but these stunning photographs reveal just how majestic it was in full flight.

A total of 14,583 Hurricanes were made during the Second World War but, because of the high casualty toll and the fact most were scrapped, only 13 airworthy ones exist today.

Photographer John Dibbs spent 10 years travelling around the world photographing Hurricane fighter planes and visited placed such as Britain, France, the US and New Zealand. Above is a Hurricane AE 977 patrolling the White Cliffs of Dover

Using the skill and experience of highly experienced RAF and civilian pilots, Mr Dibbs was able to fly to within 15ft of some of the Hurricanes - with breath-taking results . Above is a Hurricane painted in the colours of No 303 'Polish' Sqn

Photographer John Dibbs has got up close and personal to the legendary fighter planes in order to capture them like never before.

His 10 year quest for surviving Hurricanes took him all over the world and he photographed them in Britain, France, the US and New Zealand.

Using the skill and experience of highly experienced RAF and civilian pilots, Mr Dibbs was able to fly to within 15ft of some of the Hurricanes - with breath-taking results.

There was a fair degree of skill involved as he took the photos from the cockpit of a Second World War trainer aircraft which was travelling at 200mph while confronting wind blast.

The thrilling photos were taken for a definitive history of the Hurricane which is told by Mr Dibbs and aviation historians Tony Holmes and Gordon Riley in their new book 'Hurricane, Hawker's Fighter Legend.'

The book coincides with the 80th anniversary of the Hurricane formally entering service in 1937.

The single-seat Hurricane fighter aircraft was designed and built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force.

There was a fair degree of skill involved as he took the photos from the cockpit of a Second World War trainer aircraft which was travelling at 200mph while confronting wind blast. This photograph shows an R4118 Hurricane, which fought in the Battle of Britain

The thrilling photos were taken for a definitive history of the Hurricane which is told by Mr Dibbs and aviation historians Tony Holmes and Gordon Riley in their new book 'Hurricane, Hawker's Fighter Legend'. Pictured is a Fleet Air Arm Sea Hurricane

It was beloved by its pilots for its ability to simultaneously take a battering and inflict serious damage from its remarkably stable gun platform.

The aircraft became renowned during the Battle of Britain, accounting for 60 per cent of the RAF air victories in the battle and serving in all the major theatres of the Second World War.

It engaged in many memorable dogfights with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and proved a mortal foe to the Luftwaffe, on some estimates shooting down more than 1,000 German planes during the Battle.

Without the Hurricane the RAF would have probably lost the Battle of Britain because there were simply not enough Spitfires emerging from the aircraft factories and into the squadrons.

The last Hurricanes were made at the end of 1944 and they were seen as 'obsolete' after the war so all but a handful of them were sent to the scrapyard.

Mr Dibbs, 51, originally from north London but now living in Seattle, US, said: 'For me the Hurricane is somewhat unjustly overlooked in favour of the Spitfire when people recollect the Battle of Britain.

'Personally the aircraft for me was the trigger point in my interest in aviation as my father grew up on a street that ran directly to RAF Northolt where the Hurricanes flew and fought from during the Battle of Britain.

Above shows the inside of a restored cockpit of a Hurricane - with a few modern editions like GPS for safety and to make the flights easier for today's pilots

Above shows the Battle of Britain Memorial flight Hurricane (front) leading the Spitfire (back) in the skies over Southern Britain

'My dad was the archetypal "kid on a bike by the RAF fence" watching the Hurri's scramble to fight the Luftwaffe.

'So for me the photos I take are a conduit to tell the story of yesterday's heroes.

'The Hurricane for me epitomises the bulldog nature of that pivotal summer, when Hitler looked likely to reign supreme.

'The Hurricane looked pugnacious and tough and could take tremendous punishment, but with an Achilles heel of having a fuel tank right over the pilot's lap, which cost many a young pilot their lives or horrendously burned them if hit.

'It too though could wield out retribution with its 8 x.303 inch machine guns and claimed more enemy aircraft than Spitfires, ground defences and the rest of Fighter Command combined.

'It simply was the right aircraft at the right time flown by amazing pilots..'

Famous ace, Douglas Bader, who was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged, poses on a Hurricane

174 Hurricane Sqn at RAF Manston, Kent, in 1942. The last Hurricanes were made at the end of 1944 and they were seen as 'obsolete' after the war so all but a handful of them were sent to the scrapyard

Mr Dibbs says he feels privileged to have photographed a Hurricane Mk I, R4118, a true Battle of Britain veteran, having known its wartime pilot Wing Commander Bob Foster who shot down a Ju 88 (bomber aircraft) in this very model.

He also photographed a Hurricane which represents the aircraft of Hurricane Ace Pete Brothers flying over the White Cliffs (the cliffs were the Seven Sisters) which he says 'will stay with me forever'.

The book is dedicated to the late Mr Brothers who rose to the rank of Air Commodore after the war.

Mr Holmes, 49, originally from Fremantle in Western Australia but now of Sevenoaks, Kent, said the purpose of the book was to highlight the 'forgotten' contribution made by Hurricanes to the British war effort.

He said: 'The Hurricane gets kind of forgotten about in the whole round up of the Battle of Britain.

'When you consider it far outnumbered the Spitfires I think it deserves more coverage than it gets, which was part of the inspiration of putting the book together.

Mr Dibbs says he feels privileged to have photographed a Hurricane Mk I, R4118, a true Battle of Britain veteran, having known its wartime pilot Wing Commander Bob Foster who shot down a Ju 88 in this very model. Above are 174 Hurricane Sqn at Manston

This sight would have sent chills up Luftwaffe bomber crew's spines during the summer of 1940 - Hurricane LF363 makes a 'firing pass' of the camera plane

'They entered the RAF front line service in 1937 so this year will be their 80th anniversary.

'They served throughout the war and the last one was made at the end of 1944.

'Throughout the war 14,583 Hurricanes were made yet today there are only 13 air worthy ones remaining.

'A lot of them were lost in the contribution to the war effort, a lot were lost in accidents and after the war Hurricanes were seen as obsolete so they were sent to the scrapyard.

'John (Dibbs) travelled all over the world to photograph the remaining ones and the result is a visual treat.'