Editing Hawker Hurricane (section)

===North Africa===
[[File:Maintenance of 274 Sqn RAF Hurricane Gerawala 1941.jpg|thumbnail|Maintenance work being carried out on a Hurricane of 274 Squadron during the [[siege of Tobruk]]]]
A Hurricane Mk.I undertook tropical trials in Sudan in mid 1939, and a number were hastily tropicalised following [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]]'s entry into the war in June 1940.<ref name="mason 14 15">Mason 1967, pp. 14–15.</ref> These aircraft were initially ferried through France and Malta by air to [[No. 80 Squadron RAF|80 Squadron]] in Egypt, replacing [[Gloster Gladiator|Gladiator]] biplanes.<ref name="mason 15">Mason 1967, p. 15.</ref> The Hurricane claimed its first kill in the Mediterranean on 19 June 1940, when F/O P.G. Wykeham-Barnes reported shooting down two [[Fiat CR.42 Falco]]s.

{{quote box
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| quote = The 109 was faster, had a better climb and much better altitude performance, which constantly enabled it to attack with the advantage of height but the old 'Hurri' provided some considerable comfort in its ruggedness and extreme manoeuvrability. I certainly had the feeling that with this ruggedness and manoeuvrability no one could get me as long as I could see him coming
| source = Wing Commander [[George Keefer]] in ''Hurricane : The plane that saved Britain''.<ref>{{citation |title=Hurricane : The plane that saved Britain| page=290|first= Adrian |last=Stewart |date= 1982|publisher= Canelo History}}</ref>
| width = 26%
}}

Hurricanes served with several British Commonwealth squadrons in the [[Desert Air Force]]. They suffered heavy losses over North Africa after the arrival of Bf 109E and F-variants and were progressively replaced in the air superiority role from June 1941 by [[Curtiss P-40|Curtiss Tomahawks/Kittyhawks]]. However, fighter-bomber variants ("Hurribombers") retained an edge in the ground attack role, due to their impressive armament of four {{cvt|20|mm|2}}  cannon and a {{cvt|500|lb}} bomb load.

From November 1941, beginning in the Libyan desert, it had to face a new formidable opponent: the new [[Regia Aeronautica]] [[Macchi C.202]] ''Folgore''. The Italian aircraft proved superior to the Hawker fighter<ref name="Glancey p. 165.">Glancey 2006, p. 165.</ref> and, thanks to its excellent agility and a new, [[Daimler-Benz DB 601|more powerful inline engine]] licence-built by [[Alfa Romeo]], could outperform it in a dogfight.<ref name="Snedden p. 51.">Snedden 1997, p. 51.</ref>

During and following the five-day{{Clarify|reason=5-day or 5-hours?|date=October 2021}} [[Second Battle of El Alamein]] artillery barrage that commenced on the night of 23 October 1942, six squadrons of Hurricanes, including the [[Vickers S|{{cvt|40|mm|2}} cannon]]-armed Hurricane Mk.IID version, claimed to have destroyed 39 tanks, 212 lorries and armoured troop-carriers, 26 [[Bowser (tanker)|bowsers]], 42 guns, 200 various other vehicles and four small fuel and ammunition dumps, flying 842 sorties with the loss of 11 pilots. Whilst performing in a ground support role, Hurricanes based at [[RAF Castel Benito]], [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], knocked out six tanks, 13 armoured vehicles, 10 lorries, five [[half-track]]s, a gun and trailer, and a wireless van on 10 March 1943, with no losses to themselves.<ref>Bader 2004, pp. 165–167.</ref>

In the spring of 1943, during the German [[Operation Ochsenkopf|''Ochsenkopf'' offensive]] in [[Tunisian Campaign|Tunisia]], Hurricane IIDs conducted many sorties after fog had lifted, helping to blunt the final attack at Hunts Gap.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=War Monthly|title=Hunt's Gap 1943 |date=1974|issue=1–9|page=14|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=waJmAAAAMAAJ&q=hurricane+hunts+gap+1943|access-date=20 May 2015}}</ref>