Not sure Terry. Most would be wearing gloves, but yes caution required - definitely! Pity the poor crew chief who had to work on these kites in North African Sun. I can literally cook an egg on the bonnet of my car here in OZ during summer, imagine what sorting these things out would do under the Sahara Sun. No fun. Rearming and refueling would also require a climb past the exhaust.
Here a pic from Keith Vizcarra's web blog showing 346th machines out in the sun. Any excuse for a cool pic right? Spot the odd one out - no hints!
Cheers
Okay the Answer:
There is in this P-39 line up a Hurricane in the middle. This is the 346th lineup. From Hugh Dow (350th Pilot): The third Hurricane is in the 346th Squadron line up at Reghaia, outside Algiers, in Algeria, taken in the late summer or 43 by Captain Charles Fowles, 346 Sq Ops Officer. As such, It is the same aircraft at an earlier date, that appears in the photo below after it had been repainted Army OD.