Hawker Typhoon
Discussion
I think so anyway!
Out enjoying a drive in Essex and stopped off in a pub in the sticks near Ongar, I could hear this fabulous rumbling in the distance as something was doing circuits, couldn't see it until it came over very low with its gear down landing nearby.
I could only see it from underneath and it looked like a typhoon with the kind of bubble engine cowling and protruding gun mounts on the wings, is anyone aware firstly if it was a Typhoon and where it might be based? would like to see more of it.
Annoyed I didn't get any pictures as the sky was suitable moody, was a fabulous event whatever it was.
Out enjoying a drive in Essex and stopped off in a pub in the sticks near Ongar, I could hear this fabulous rumbling in the distance as something was doing circuits, couldn't see it until it came over very low with its gear down landing nearby.
I could only see it from underneath and it looked like a typhoon with the kind of bubble engine cowling and protruding gun mounts on the wings, is anyone aware firstly if it was a Typhoon and where it might be based? would like to see more of it.
Annoyed I didn't get any pictures as the sky was suitable moody, was a fabulous event whatever it was.
I've never seen a hawker typhoon flying. Maybe it's a recent completed restoration project. I had a quick Google and found nothing about any flying uk plane. Could be European owned that had in a uk air display of which would usually be down at duxford. Shame you didn't get even a brief photo of it
100% wasn't a Typhoon 
Bubble canopy and guns in the wings- I'd say Sea Fury as mentioned above or possibly the Seafire 17 SX336 based at North Weald? Griffon engine so sounds different to a "normal" spitfire.
ETA- apparently Spitfire 14e G-SPIT MV-268 (low back, griffon engine, clipped wings) arrived at North Weald yesterday so could have been that.
Bubble canopy and guns in the wings- I'd say Sea Fury as mentioned above or possibly the Seafire 17 SX336 based at North Weald? Griffon engine so sounds different to a "normal" spitfire.
ETA- apparently Spitfire 14e G-SPIT MV-268 (low back, griffon engine, clipped wings) arrived at North Weald yesterday so could have been that.
Edited by lufbramatt on Thursday 13th October 08:21
Eric Mc said:
Tempest.
The Sabre is the main problem with any restorations of Typhoons or Tempest Vs.
From what I've heard it was the main problem with Typhoons and Tempest Vs full stop.The Sabre is the main problem with any restorations of Typhoons or Tempest Vs.
I wandered around Booker airfield a year or two back and saw what I at first took to be a Sea Fury fuselage sitting outside a hangar, then I noticed the faded Indian markings and realised it was a Tempest II. Presumably being used to assist with the Tempest V rebuild.
I'm pretty sure the Typhoon in the RAFM (and currently on loan) is the only complete example anywhere.
I know Duxford had a cockpit section in one of the hangars at one point, and I'm sure I've seen pieces of them in museums here and there.
We've also got the Americans to thank for the one that IS left. It was given/loaned to the US during or just after the war for testing and comparison trials and eventually ended up in the Smithsonian's reserve collection. It came back (to the RAF Museum) in the late 1960s.
Click the link for a PDF of the RAF Museum's known history of... HAWKER TYPHOON 1B MN235
I know Duxford had a cockpit section in one of the hangars at one point, and I'm sure I've seen pieces of them in museums here and there.
We've also got the Americans to thank for the one that IS left. It was given/loaned to the US during or just after the war for testing and comparison trials and eventually ended up in the Smithsonian's reserve collection. It came back (to the RAF Museum) in the late 1960s.
Click the link for a PDF of the RAF Museum's known history of... HAWKER TYPHOON 1B MN235
The typhoon was one of my favourite models as a kid, I had a great 1:72 scale build. I thought it looked fantastic with the big air intake on the font like a big mouth. Mine was loaded up with cannon and bombs and rockets and d day stripes. I don't care if any of this post is historically inaccurate. 
Going a bit off topic, but Kermit Weeks has his Hawker Tempest V ( Napier Sabre engined like Typhoon ) back in the US now and slowly proceeding to rebuild to an airworthy spec ( not clear if he would fly it or even be legally able to ) , but is going to be of interest for those fans of the Sabre engine.
Deptford Draylons said:
Going a bit off topic, but Kermit Weeks has his Hawker Tempest V ( Napier Sabre engined like Typhoon ) back in the US now and slowly proceeding to rebuild to an airworthy spec ( not clear if he would fly it or even be legally able to ) , but is going to be of interest for those fans of the Sabre engine.
Is his fantasy of flight place still closed? He needs to get that opened ASAP.Where would you even start on such a project? What would have happened to all of the original drawings etc? They would have been owned by Napier but that company's engine building work would have been subsumed into all the aerospace mergers that occurred in the early 1960s in Britain.
On the subject of models, this is the old (1974 vintage) Frog 1/72 Typhoon. I like it because it has the original "car door" canopy.
The stripes aren't "D-Day" stripes but special recognition markings that were applied to Typhoons not long after they entered service. The new aircraft was not familiar to many RAF pilots and as there was a Focke Wulf Fw190 scare on at the time, there was a tendency to shoot at anything that wasn't obviously a Spitfire or a Hurricane.
On the subject of models, this is the old (1974 vintage) Frog 1/72 Typhoon. I like it because it has the original "car door" canopy.
The stripes aren't "D-Day" stripes but special recognition markings that were applied to Typhoons not long after they entered service. The new aircraft was not familiar to many RAF pilots and as there was a Focke Wulf Fw190 scare on at the time, there was a tendency to shoot at anything that wasn't obviously a Spitfire or a Hurricane.
Dr Jekyll said:
Getting off topic and I'm sure it's been asked before. But how difficult would it be, technically and legally, to build a few new Napier Sabres? Daren't even think about financially of course.
Relatively easy and legal to build a new engines. Certification would be another matter.
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