The famous white Sea Hurricane Mk IIc “Nicki”, known from many kits from various manufacturers, was not marked with the emblem of a horse, but of a large cat: a tiger!
Thanks to our friend from the Britmodeller forum, Troy Smith, we made contact with Ian Burgham, the son of the pilot of this plane. His father, Lt. Allen. R. Burgham was initially a pilot of the famous fighter 804 Naval Air Squadron. This squadron’s emblem was a tiger’s head on a shield. In the spring of 1943, the 804 flew Sea Hurricanes Mk IIc, marked with this emblem.
Pilots of the 804th Squadron in the spring of 1943. Both planes are marked with a tiger’s head. A. Burgham first from the right
In June, a decision was made to re-equip the 804 with more modern Hellcats, but some of the pilots and aircraft from this squadron were assigned to the 835 NAS. They included Lt. Allen R. Burgham and Sea Hurricane “Nicki.” Retaining loyalty to the original unit, the 804’s tiger emblem was preserved. We learned this from the pilot’s account, given to us by Ian Burgham, his son.
Although the surviving photos of 835 Squadron are not very sharp, they can fully confirm what Ian Burgham tells us: the white Sea Hurricanes from the aircraft carrier Nairana have a tiger head emblem, the same as on the clear photos from 804 Squadron.
This news reached us at the last minute. The boxes and instructions for the model kit have already been printed, but a delay in printing the decals meant we still had time to make corrections! The decal will include the correct emblem!
Soon, in cooperation with Ian Burgham, son of the pilot of the boxart Sea Hurricane Mk IIc “Nicki” fighter, we will publish a longer, illustrated text detailing this fascinating story.
Medal Promotion for 1/48 models
Today you can pre-order Sea Hurricane Mk IIc and other Hurricanes and PZL P.11c in 1/48 scale in the Medal Promotion with a large discount and in promotional bundles. The bigger the bundle, the bigger the discount!
Pre-ordered kits will be shipped after Easter Holidays.
- See all the Medal Promotion Bundles in the Armahobby.com online and order some for yourself!
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Modeller, son and father of a modeller. Loves digging through references and analysing old photographs. He builds aircraft, ship and vehicle models, the older the better. He has a weakness for Polish equipment, but does not despise the RAF, FAA and Great War topics. A journalist by training.
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Thank you Grzegorz and everyone at Arma Hobby and a big thank you to Troy Smith of Britmodeller. I’m grateful for your work in finding me and in making alterations to the emblem providing historical accuracy to the story. Your work honours all the fighter pilots of 835 Squadron, and my father, Senior Pilot Lt. Allen Burgham, DSC, MID, CD.
Thank you Ian! It would not be possible without your great contribution!