MANO8

Trevor Taylor - Lotus25

We knew the Hawker Hurricane was particularly well-armed with its eight machine guns...

The Hawker Hurricane, which did the bulk of the work during the Battle of Britain (it accounted for about 60% of the RAF's victories).

An ultra-stable firing platform: Unlike the Spitfire, whose machine guns were spaced further apart along the wing (which scattered the fire somewhat), the Hurricane grouped its weapons into two compact blocks of four. At the convergence range set by the armourers (often around 230 meters), the concentration of the 8 guns created a veritable “circular saw” of lead, ideal for cutting through the fuselages of German bombers.

Dick Dorresteyn, seen here sliding a pre-unit Triumph at the old Belmont track in San Francisco’s east bay.