Editing Hawker Hurricane (section)

===Battle of France===
[[File:C 001234Hurricane1Sqn1940.jpg|thumb|left|Hurricane I of [[No. 1 Squadron RAF|1 Squadron]] being refuelled at [[Vassincourt]], France]]
In May 1940, Nos. 3, 79 and 504 Squadrons reinforced the earlier units as Germany's ''[[Blitzkrieg]]'' gathered momentum. On 10 May, the first day of the [[Battle of France]], Flight Lieutenant R. E. Lovett and Flying Officer [[Newell Orton|"Fanny" Orton]], of 73 Squadron, were the first RAF pilots to engage enemy aircraft in the campaign. They attacked one of three [[Dornier Do 17]]s from ''4. Staffel/[[Kampfgeschwader 2|KG 2]]'' that were flying over their airfield at [[Étain-Rouvres Air Base|Rouvres-en-Woevre]]. The Dornier went away unscathed, while Orton was hit by defensive fire and had to force land.<ref name="Holmes p. 24.">Holmes 1996, p. 24.</ref> On the same day the Hurricane squadrons claimed 42 German aircraft, none of them fighters, shot down during 208 sorties; seven Hurricanes were lost but no pilots were killed.<ref name="Holmes p. 24." />

On 12 May several Hurricanes units were committed to escort bombers. That morning, five [[Fairey Battle]] volunteer crews from 12 Squadron took off from [[Amifontaine]] base to bomb Vroenhoven and Veldwezelt bridges on the [[Meuse (river)|Meuse]], at [[Maastricht]]. The escort consisted of eight Hurricanes of 1 Squadron, with Squadron Leader P. J. H. "Bull" Halahan in the lead. When the formation approached Maastricht, it was bounced by 16 Bf 109Es from ''2./JG 27''. Two Battles and two Hurricanes (including Halahan's) were shot down, two more Battles were brought down by flak and the fifth bomber had to crash-land. The 1 Squadron pilots claimed four Messerschmitts and two [[Heinkel He 112]]s,{{refn|The Heinkel He 112 was never operational in France.|group=N}} while the [[Luftwaffe]] actually lost only one Bf 109.<ref name="Holmes pp. 41-42.">Holmes 1996, pp. 41–42.</ref><ref name=group>Two of the crew of the leading Battle, [[Donald Garland]] and [[Thomas Gray (VC)|Thomas Gray]] were awarded the Victoria Cross for pressing home the attack</ref>

On 13 May 1940, a further 32 Hurricanes arrived. All 10 requested Hurricane squadrons were then operating from French soil and felt the full force of the Nazi offensive. The following day, Hurricanes suffered heavy losses: 27 being shot down, 22 by Messerschmitts, with 15 pilots killed (another died some days later), including Squadron Leader J. B. Parnall (504 Squadron),{{refn|J. B. Parnall was the first RAF flight commander to be killed in action during the war.|group=N}} and the Australian ace [[Flying Officer]] [[Les Clisby]] (1 Squadron).<ref name="Holmes p. 47.">Holmes 1996, p. 47.</ref>{{refn|Australian ace [[Les Clisby]] was credited with 16 individual air victories, one shared and one not confirmed. Postwar research reduced his score to nine individual kills and three shared. According to some sources, he was killed on 15 May 1940.|group=N}} On the same day, 3 Squadron claimed 17 German aircraft shot down, 85 and 87 Squadrons together claimed four victories, while 607 Squadron claimed nine.<ref name="Holmes pp. 48-49.">Holmes 1996, pp. 48–49.</ref> During the following three days (15–17 May), no fewer than 51 Hurricanes were lost, in combat or in accidents.<ref name="Holmes p. 49.">Holmes 1996, p. 49.</ref>

[[File:Hawker Hurricane - Reims-Champagne - Royal Air Force France, 1939-1940. C1731.jpg|thumb|Mechanics servicing the engine of a Hurricane I of [[No. 501 Squadron RAF|501 Squadron]] at No. 1 Repair Centre, [[Reims]], [[Champagne (wine region)|Champagne]], France]]
By 17 May, the end of the first week of fighting, only three of the squadrons were near operational strength, but the Hurricanes had managed to destroy nearly twice as many German aircraft.<ref>Shores, Christopher. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/1_squadron_gallery_01.shtml "France, 1940: 1 Squadron."] BBC, 8 September 2010. Retrieved: 29 September 2010.</ref> On 18 May 1940, air combat continued from dawn to dusk; Hurricane pilots claimed 57 German aircraft and 20 probables (Luftwaffe records show 39 aircraft lost). The following day, 1 and 73 Squadrons claimed 11 German aircraft (three by "Cobber" Kain and three by [[Paul Richey]]). On these two days Hurricanes suffered heavier losses, with 68 Hurricanes shot down or forced to crash-land due to combat damage. Fifteen pilots were killed, eight were taken prisoner and 11 injured. Two-thirds of the Hurricanes had been shot down by Messerschmitt Bf 109s and [[Messerschmitt Bf 110|Bf 110s]].<ref name="Holmes pp. 51.">Holmes 1996, p. 51.</ref>

In the afternoon of 20 May 1940, the Hurricane units based in northern France were ordered to abandon their bases on the continent and return to Great Britain. On the same day, "Bull" Halahan requested the repatriation of the pilots serving in 1 Squadron. During the previous 10 days, the unit had been the most successful of the campaign; it had claimed 63 victories for the loss of five pilots: two killed, one taken prisoner and two hospitalised. 1 Squadron was awarded 10 DFCs and three DFMs during the ''Blitzkrieg''.<ref name="Holmes p. 52.">Holmes 1996, p. 52.</ref> On the evening of 21 May, the only Hurricanes still operational were those of the [[RAF Advanced Air Striking Force|AASF]] that had been moved to bases around [[Troyes]].<ref name="Holmes p. 55.">Holmes 1996, p. 55.</ref>

During the 11 days of fighting in France and over Dunkirk from 10 to 21 May, Hurricane pilots claimed 499 kills and 123 probables. Contemporary German records, examined postwar, attribute 299 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed and 65 seriously damaged by RAF fighters.<ref>Holmes 1998, p. 47.</ref> The last 66 Hurricanes of the 452 engaged during the Battle of France left France on 21 June; 178 were abandoned at several airfields, notably [[Merville, Nord|Merville]], [[Abbeville]], and [[Lille]]/[[Seclin]].<ref name="Holmes p. 55." /><ref name="Holmes p. 23.">Holmes 1996, p. 23.</ref>