This greatly reduced fuel capacity, but Hawker engineers found they could stretch the fuselage 53 cm (21 in) ahead of the cockpit to accommodate more fuel storage in the fuselage. This eliminated the distinctive “beard” radiator associated with the Typhoon and improved aerodynamics, but also displaced fuel tanks that had been fitted into the leading edge of the Typhoon’s wing at the same location. Camm, who was noted for a sharp sense of humor, later remarked: “The Air Staff wouldn’t buy anything that didn’t look like a Spitfire.”Īnother important feature of the new wing was that radiators for the new Napier Sabre IV engine were fitted into the leading edge of the wing inboard of the landing gear. The new elliptical wing had greater area than the Typhoon’s. The cannon were moved back further into the wing, and the wing was extended into an elliptical shape to accommodate the cannon. The new wing cramped the fit of the four Hispano 20 mm cannon that were being designed into the Typhoon. The new wing was originally longer than that of the Typhoon, at 13.1 m (43 ft), but then the wingtips were clipped off and the wing became shorter than that of the Typhoon, at 12.5 m (41 ft). The maximum chord was also moved back towards the middle of the cross section. The laminar flow wing had a maximum chord, or ratio of thickness to length of the wing cross section, of 14.5 %, in comparison to 18 % for the Typhoon. The Typhoon’s thick, rugged wing was partly to blame for some of the aircraft’s performance problems, and as far back as March 1940 a few engineers had been set aside to investigate the new “laminar flow” wing, which the Americans had implemented in the P-51 Mustang. While Hawker and the RAF were struggling to turn the Typhoon into a useful aircraft, Hawker’s Sidney Camm and his team were rethinking the design. The Hawker Tempest was a RAF fighter aircraft of World War II, an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighters used in the war. Tempest Mk V EJ638 W2-B pf No 80 Squadron RAF at Volkel Tempest Mk II Prototype LA602 with Typhoon tail Tempest Vs JF-J and JF-Oof no 3 Sqn Belgium September 1944Įarly Hawker Tempest V Series 1 JN757 in flight Tempest Mk V JN754 SA-A and JN801 SA-L of 486 Sqn, June 1944 Tempest Mk V JN766 of 486 Sqn at Castle Camps February 1944 Hawker Tempest V Series 1 JN735, 6th production aircraft 1943 Tempest Mk V EJ627 SA-E of 486 Sqn at VolkelĬrashed Tempest Mk V XP-P of 174 Sqn at Volkel, February 1945 Tempest Mk V SD-X EJ763, SD-K and SD-W of No 501 Sqn RAF Hawker Tempest Mk V at Langley 1944 – color photo Tempest Mk V JF-M and pilots of 3 Sqn at Newchurch Tempest Mk V JN766 SA-N and Typhoon MN282 SA-R of No 486 Sqn April 1944 Hawker Tempest Mk V EJ714 JJ-W of 274 Sqn at Volkel 150 Wing with Tempest Mk V of 3 Sqn RAF at Newchurch Wing Commander R P Beaumont, wing leader of No. Tempest V series 1 JN729 with protruding cannon in flight Hawker Tempest Mk V Series 2 JN757 in flight Sqn Ldr J H Iremonger’s Tempest Mk V SA-F JN763 June 1944 2 Late series Hawker Tempest Vs in production at Langley 1945 Lt Luckhoff in cocpit of damaged Tempest Mk V EJ880 5R-R, 33 Squadron Sqn Ldr J H Iremonger and pilots of No 486 Sqn on 28 September 1944 Tempest Mk V 2nd production JN730 October 1943 Hawker Tempest Mk V Prototype HM595 on the ground Tempest Mk II EJ518 prototype with Annular Radiator Sqn Ldr J H Iremonger’s Tempest Mk V SA-F JN763. Tempest V JN757 series II 1st production batch in flight 486 Squadron RNZAF, Castle Camps 1944į/O Cullen with Tempest Mk V of No. Tempest Mk V NV657 with drop tanks 1944/1945Īrmorers loading ammunition into a Tempest of No. Pilots with Tempest V 486 Sqn Volkel, 1945 Tempest W2-L “Betty” of the 80 Squadron RAF in flight 486 Squadron RNZAFĪrmourers replenish the 20mm ammunition in a Hawker Tempest Mk V
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