Hawker Typhoon/Tempest

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Mutley

Original Poster:

3,178 posts

260 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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What happened to them after the end of WWII? Have realised I'm becoming a bit of a fan of the aircraft and starting to delve. Design wise I think they look the mutts, and correct me if wrong, but based on the Hurricane to counter the FW190 and were ground attack role.

Have any survived? are they in original and airworthy condition?

tank slapper

7,949 posts

284 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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I believe there is a Typhoon at the RAF Museum, but it isn't airworthy. I don't know of any others.
The Typhoon was withdrawn at the end of the war, so I expect many of them got scrapped then. The Typhoon stayed in service for a few years afterwards, and there are a several surviving examples around, but I don't think any are airworthy.

RosscoPCole

3,336 posts

175 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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There is a Typhoon at Le Memorial de Caen. A superb and moving museum in Caen (obviously) France.


rhinochopig

17,932 posts

199 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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I could have sworn that it was Typhoon that shot down the Mig-15 in Korea, but my memory fails me. It was a relative, the Sea Fury.

The Sea Fury performed air strikes with any ordnance it could carry, including sea mines. Weapons delivery was extremely accurate for the days of unguided weapons, and one Sea Fury even shot down a MiG-15. On 9 August 1952, a flight of four FB.11s from the HMS OCEAN was on a "train busting" mission when they were jumped by eight MiG-15s. The MiG pilots foolishly decided to get into a "turning contest" with the agile Sea Furies, and a Sea Fury piloted by Lieutenant Peter "Hoagy" Carmichael managed to get on the tail of a MiG and smash it up with his four 20 millimeter cannon. Two other MiGs were damaged while the Sea Furies returned safely.

IanMorewood

4,309 posts

249 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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Hendon have a Typhoon to the best of my knowledge thats the only complete one in the UK.

Ginetta G15 Girl

3,220 posts

185 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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rhinochopig said:
I could have sworn that it was Typhoon that shot down the Mig-15 in Korea, but my memory fails me. It was a relative, the Sea Fury.
Developed from the Tempest II.

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

199 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
quotequote all
Ginetta G15 Girl said:
rhinochopig said:
I could have sworn that it was Typhoon that shot down the Mig-15 in Korea, but my memory fails me. It was a relative, the Sea Fury.
Developed from the Tempest II.
Indeed - the Tempest Light Fighter project.

Interesting history of the family here

http://www.vectorsite.net/avcfury.html

IanMorewood

4,309 posts

249 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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Just had a look on the interweb and apparently 7 tempest where recovered from India in the late 1970's a couple of which are undergoing restoration.


Waynester

6,368 posts

251 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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Final evolution of the piston engined fighters the Triumph, Tempest & Sea Fury...awesome & large machines. Not missing of course the Spiteful & Martin Baker (5 was it).

I read an article into the Sidney Camm designs after & including the Hurricane. For a man who had no formal qualifications he designed some amazing aircraft!


350Wedge

2,364 posts

274 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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The Typhoon at RAF Hendon IS the only surviving original Typhoon. The example in France is a replica. There are no others.....

Tango13

8,492 posts

177 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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A late friend of mine fought his way across northern France back in '44.

I remember him saying that the sound of either a Typhoon or Tempest was music to his ears when they came across some well dug in Germans.


aeropilot

34,853 posts

228 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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US warbird collector Kermit Weeks is having a Tempest V slowly rebuilt here in the UK to airworthy standards, and he has at least two complete Napier-Sabre engines as well, but even getting one of these ultra-rare mighty engines even back into running condition let alone airworthy condition, might be a beyond even someone of Kermits wealth.


anonymous-user

55 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
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The engines were known to be unreliable/catch fire and gas out the pilots. The early Typhoons also suffered from tails coming detached from the rest of the plane yikes

Someone bought me an Airfix Typhoon as a Secret Santa present last year, was quite impressed with how it came out smile

Eric Mc

122,167 posts

266 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
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The Typhoon was not originally designed as a ground attack aircarft. However, it turned out to be not that great in its intended fighter role - mainly because it featured a fairly thick wing and the Sabre engine lost power over 10,000 feet.

It's stablemate, the Tornado, fared even worse as it was fitted with the extremely unreliable Rolls Royce Vulture. The Tornado was cancelled but the Typhoon was perservered with and it found its salvation in the ground attack role.

The thick wing was replaced by a Spitfire style semi-eliptical wing in the Tempest. The Tempest V had a version of the Sabre engine (as in the Typhoon) but the Tempest II was fitted with the Bristol Centaurus.

After WW2, all Typhoons were retired and the Tempest Vs didn't linger on for much longer. Tempest IIs continued on, often in the Middle East, until replaced by the new jets, such as the Meteor or Vampire.

Simpo Two

85,784 posts

266 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
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Eric Mc said:
The Typhoon was not originally designed as a ground attack aircarft. However, it turned out to be not that great in its intended fighter role - mainly because it featured a fairly thick wing and the Sabre engine lost power over 10,000 feet.
Not unlike the P-47 'Jug' perhaps!

I'm not surprised a Sea Fury shot down a Mig-15; speed is one advantage but there are others, and if you can dodge for long enough, you may not win but you can get a draw.

Eric Mc

122,167 posts

266 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
Eric Mc said:
The Typhoon was not originally designed as a ground attack aircarft. However, it turned out to be not that great in its intended fighter role - mainly because it featured a fairly thick wing and the Sabre engine lost power over 10,000 feet.
Not unlike the P-47 'Jug' perhaps!

I'm not surprised a Sea Fury shot down a Mig-15; speed is one advantage but there are others, and if you can dodge for long enough, you may not win but you can get a draw.
I think the P-47 suffered a bit because it was big and heavy. But it was also turbo-supercharged, so engine power did not drop off with altitude. P-47s could acquit themselves very well in air combat, provided the P-47 pilot made the most of his aircraft's atributes and avoided getting into a tight turning dogfight.

Mr_B

10,480 posts

244 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
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RAF Museum has the only example, and that only survived because it was given to the Americans for evaluation. It was later given back in 1968 as the sole survivor.See here to download the full history. http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/collections/air...

There is a cockpit section at Duxford and I think part of a rear fusalage in France ? Really quite sad that such an amazing aircraft is so rare. Really needs someone with a ton of cash to commison a correct replica. I know it wouldn't quite be the same without a Sabre engine, but it would be nice to see in the air even with a Merlin or similar.

Ginetta G15 Girl

3,220 posts

185 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
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Eric Mc said:
P-47s could acquit themselves very well in air combat, provided the P-47 pilot made the most of his aircraft's attributes and avoided getting into a tight turning dogfight.
A bit like P38s vs Zeros, or even F4s vs MiG 17s and 19s in Vietnam.

Edited by Ginetta G15 Girl on Thursday 19th August 19:30

Mutley

Original Poster:

3,178 posts

260 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
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Wow, thanks allsmile time to do some catch up reading. I do think it is one of the most overlooked planes of WWII, and knowing now what it went through to become what it was, it deserves more.

Will be planning a trip to Hendon soon then. It is a shame that it is the only one left.

williamp

19,286 posts

274 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
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I had no idea there was just one left. Out of more then 3,000 built.

in Bob stanford Tucks autobiography he wrote about testing a Tiffy, and said they had all sorts of problems with it. He was due to go out in one- the engine had just been started, and if it wasnt flown soon it would overheat, when the phone rang. The orderly was insistant he took the call, so he asked one of the other pilots to take it up

He took the call, then went out and looked up to see the Tiffy fall from the sky. There wasnt much left, but a sample of flesh was analyzed and fpound to have a lot of carbon monoxide in it- enough to kill an elephant, aparently. But for the grace of a phone call...