Crowood Aviation Series - Hawker Typhoon, Tempest and Sea Fury

HAWKER TYPHOON, TEMPEST AND SEA FURY

Other titles in the Crowood Av iation Se ries A ich i DJA 1/ 2 Val Airco - T h e A ircr aft Manufacturing C ompa ny

Peter C. Sm ith Mi ck Davi s

Avro Lan caster

Ken Del ve

Avro Shack leton

Barry Jones

BAC O ne-Eleve n

Malcolm L. Hi ll

Boeing 737

Malc o lm L. Hi ll

Boeing 747

Marti n \YJ. Bowman

Boeing 757 and 767 Boeing B- I 7 Flyin g Fortress Boei ng B-29 Supe rfortress Bristo l Britann ia Conso lidated B-24 Libe rator Douglas A -26 and B-26 In vader Douglas AD Skyraide r Douglas Twin jets Eng lish Elect ric Can be rra Eng lish Electric Lightn ing Fai rch ild Republic A -I 0 Th underbolt II Fair ey S wordfish and A lbacore

T hom as Becher Martin \YJ. Bowm an S te ve Pace C h arles Wood ley Marti n \YJ. Bowma n Sc orr Thompson Peter C. S mith T h om as Bcch er Barr y Jon es Martin W. Bowm an Pet er C. Sm ith Bill Harr ison

Hawker H unter

Barry [ ones

Hein kel He II I

Ron Macka y

Jun kers Ju 88

Ron Macka y

Lockh eed C- 130 Hercul es

Mart in W. Bowm an

Lock he ed F- I04 S rarfigh te r

Ma rti n W. Bow man

Luftw affe - A Pictoria l Hi story McDonnell Dou glas A-4 Skyha wk McD onnell Douglas F- 15 Eagle

Eric Mombeek Brad Elward Pet er E. Davi es and Tony T h ornboro ugh

Messerschmirr Bf 110

Ron Mackay

Messerschmirr Me 262

Da vid Bake r

ieuport Aircr aft of World War O ne

Ray San ger

orth A mer ican B-25 Mitch ell

Jerr y Sc urt s

Nort h A me rican F-86 Sabre

Dun can C urt is

North American F- l00 S uper Sabre

Pet er E. Dav ies

North American T-6

Peter C. Sm ith

Panavia Tornado Perlyakov Pe-2 Peshka S hor t S underland T h e Turr et Fighters - Defian t and Roc

A nd y Evan s Peter C. Smi th Ken Delve A lec Brew

V-Bom be rs

Barry Jones

Vickers VC I0

Lance Cole

Vou ght F4 U Corsa ir

Martin W. Bowman

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-AVI-ATI~ON"----~~SER-IES 1\

HAWKER TYPHOON, ~EM P E S T AND SEA FURY KEV DARLING

1 )~CI The Crowoo d Press

First pub lished in 2003 by The C rowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshir e SN 8 2H R www.crowood.com

© Kev Darling 2003 A ll right s reser ved . No part of th is pub lication may be rep rod uced or tran smitted in any form or by any means, elect roni c or mechan ical, including photocopy, recording, or any inform ati on storage and retrieval system, with out perm ission in writing from the publishers.

British Library C ataloguing-in-Publication Dat a A ca ta logue record for th is book is ava ilab le from the Brit ish Library. ISBN 1 861 26 620 0

A c k now led ge me n ts A work of th is nature co uld not be completed without the help of a grea t man y people, for both photograp hs and infor mat ion . As regards ph ot os, Pet er Russell Smith yet aga in let me rampage th rough h is co llec tion for hid den gems, whil e ick C ha lle nor also prov ided man y. Museum curators were ver y gene rous: th us thank s are due to C h ristine G regor y an d her sta ff at the Royal A ir Force Museum , and to Jerry Shore and h is team at the Fleet A ir A rm Museum at Yeovilron. From othe r parts of the globe Thom as Gc n th in Ge rman y delivered a set of rare ph ot ograph s co vering the Sea Fury with the DLB. wh ile from A merica N ick Veron ico came up with illustrations of th e Reno racers. O thers who cont ributed to th is work incl ude Mich ael Baldoc k, W. A . ' Bill' Harrison , David Howley, Den nis R. Jenk ins, Peter R. Arnold, whom I managed to wrench away from h is preci ous Spitfires, and fina lly Dam ien Burke. Inform ation on all thr ee types of aircraft would have been very hard to co me by with out assistance from n umero us organ izat ions and indi vid uals. O rganizations that assisted, either directly or ind irec tly, included th e assoc iations of os 3, 197, 486 ( Z) and 609 Squadro ns . A s eve r, the RA F Museum at Hendon and the FAA Museu m at Yeovilron proved sta lwart allies, as did th e Ai r H istor ical Branch and the Pub lic Record s Office. People who came forward with much needed inform ation and encourage men t incl uded A llan Sm ith , who ca me all the way from Ne w Zea land to figh t and fly in Typhoon s before returni ng hom e; he th en took the time to relat e h is experiences and share hi s photog raphs with me - man y thanks, A llan . 1 am also part icularly grate ful to Dave G ilmo ur, A lan Hall , Les Bywaters, G orden Sumne r and Ray Srurrivan r. O the r sn ippets ca me from people too numerous to men t ion, and to those I say here a big 'Thank You !'. Kev Darling Wa les 2003

Designed and typeset by Focus Pub lishi ng, 11a St Boto lph's Road , Se vcno aks, Kent T 13 3A J Print ed and bo und in G rea t Britain by Bookcraft, Midsomer Norton

Contents H awk er Engineering: Earl y Hi story and Evolution

7

2 A Powerpl anr for the Torn ado

12

3

19

The Typhoon in Development

4 The Typh oon Uncovered

29

5

The Typhoon at W ar

41

6

T h e Dev elopment of the Tempest

64

7 Tempest Under th e Skin

79

8

Tempest in Comba t

92

9

Tempest After th e War

104

10 T h e Fury and Sea Fury

11 8

11

The Sea Fury Described

140

12 Figh ting in the Sea Fury

155

13

164

Hawk ers in C ivilian C lot hi ng

Appendix I

Tornado, Typh oon, Tempest, Fury and Se a Fury Production

176

Append ix III Typhoon, Tempest and Sea Fury Units

180 183

Bibliography

188

Index

189

Appendix II The Survivors

Above Hawker's would build a fighter equivalent of their biplane bombers. this being the Fury series of fighters. Here No. 25 Squadron scrambles, as part of an air defence exercise. Big Bird Aviation Collection Left The Hawker Fury II. K3586, was constructed to Specification F14/32 and could lay claim to being one of the fastest biplanes in military service. After initial flight trials. the aircraft was used as a Merlin test bed; the engine was then installed in the forthcoming Hurricane fighter. Big Bird Aviation Colle ction Below The Hawker Demon w as also used extensively by the Royal Air Force light bomber squadrons . Although the biplane bombers were speedy, their days were numbered due to the advent of the monoplane fighters. Big Bird Aviation Collection

6

CHA PT ER ONE

Hawker Engineering: Early History and Evolution ho m th e era of th e biplan e to th at of th e Jl't a ircraft , the nam e Hawker h as bee n yno n ymous with th e Royal Ai r For ce and the air wing of the Royal Na vy, th e Fleet ir A rm. There is even a co n nect ion , via op with A ircrafr, to th e events th at unfolded be twee n 1914 and 19 18, before a dl'gre e of san ity returned on II N ov emb er 1918. T he forma tion of Hawker Aircraft in 1920 would co me as a sho ck to man y in the world of busine ss as G reat Brita in trugg led to rest art its eco n omy after Wor ld War I. A llied to thi s, the govern me n t appeared to h ave no coh eren t po licies rega rdin g av iat ion of an y kind , and mi lita ry aviat ion as app lied to th e new ly eme rgent RAF in part icular. In to this area of uncertaint y stepped H . G. Ilawker Eng ine ering Ltd on 15 N ov ember, complete with a ca pita lizat ion of £20,000 m £ I sh ares. T h e persona beh ind th is almost ba ld sta teme nt were F. I. Ben nett, II. G . Hawk er, T. O . M. So pwith, F. S igrist .uu] V. W. Eyre, all of wh om had con ne ctio ns with e ithe r eng inee ring or av iat ion ,

or borh. A lth ough H . G . Hawker Engin eering ha d ostensibly bee n form ed to manu facture motorcycles or igin ally design ed and I are n red by F. I. Ben nett , ther e were ink lings to ward s the man ufact ure of airc raft . Howe ver, th is was against a backgro und of rapid contraction of th e Roya l Ai r Force, wh ere operat io nal un its were disband ing on an almost dai ly basis until the air defen ce of G reat Brita in rested on a single squadron of So pw ith S n ipc fight ers. \Vith a deplet ed co mplemen t of fron t-line air cra ft , th e few rem ain ing ma n ufacturers were red uced to mod ifying mac h in es from th e vast surplus left over from th e war for furth er service. O ne of th e co mpa n ies struggling to survive was So pwirh 's, wh ich in or der to exis t h ad turn ed to th e man ufacture of mo torcycles and ca r bodies: Tom Sopwirh

h ad ncvcrth elcss contin ued to advocate th e developm en t of civil aviat ion , to whi ch end th e compan y had placed va rious produ cts on thi s eme rging mark et . A ll would h avc been well h ad th e Treasury not decided to in voke th e Excess War Profits Duty act , whi ch resulted in a large cla im aga inst So pwirh 's, Ad d to the equa tion an in crease in trading losses, a nd it was in evi ta ble that a receiver wo uld be req uired to preserve the in te rests of the co mpan y's cred ito rs. Careful econo mies by th e co mpan y allowed for all debts to be cleared sat isfac tor ily, th us allowing Tom So pwirh to ta ke part in th e forma tion of

Hawk er 's. As pa rt of th e deal , Hawker 's took ove r a substa n t ial pa rt of the Kin gston premises and C an bury Park offices, th e latter rcm aining in usc un ti l 1959. A lth ough th e purported role of th e co mpa ny was th at of suppo rt ing th e mo tor tr ade, Hawk er's quickly en te red th e aviation business when it sec ured co n trac ts for th e refurbishmen t of war-surp lus So pwith S n ipes and var io us de Havilland aircr aft. Hawker En gin eering suffered its greatest loss on 12 July 19 21 wh en Har ry Hawker di ed at th e con tro ls of a N icuport Gosha wk th at h e was testing fro m

Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith Seen asoneof thedenizensof British aviationhistoryThomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith wasborn in London on 18 January 1888. Thomas Sopwiths interest in aviation began in 1906 when, aged 18, hewas hooked bythe bug while racing carsat Brooklands, soon to become famous as one of the earliest aerodromes.His first aircraft wou ld bea 40hpHowardWright monoplane with whichhewould attempt to obtain his pilots certificate. This flighton 22October 1910would end in a crashhowever this minor setback would beovercome bythepurchase of another aircraft, a biplaneof unknown origin. DuringNovember Thomas Sopwith wou ld gain his pilots certificate, No.31, and would ca rry his first legal passenger that same day. Four days laterhewould establish a British duration record of 108 miles in 3 hours 12 minutes. Further aviation success would come quickly as on 18December 1910, he wonthe Baron deForrest prize of 4,000 Lire for the longest flight from England to the Continent, flying from Eastchurch to Tirlemont, Belgium, in three hours, a distance of 161 miles. A trip to the UnitedStatesof America during 1911wou ld see himwinning numerous flying competitions across that vast country. Upon returning to BritainThomas Sopwith would found the Sopwith Aviation Co. Ltd in 1913 as well as a Flying Training School. Also in 1913 Thomas Sopwith would win the first BritishAerial Derby. His company's innovative designs caught theeye of theWar Officewhowould place anorder fortwelve aircraft. Within twelvemonths a Sopwith aircraft would win theSchneiderTrophy in Monte Carlo. The outbreak of the war in Europe in 191 4 wou ld see massivecontracts placed with Sopwith's at Kingstonon Thames for a variety of aircraft designs. Theseincluded such famous names asthe Pup, Triplane, Camel, Snipe, Dolphin, and Salamander which were deliveredin vast numbers. By theend of thefour year conflict Sopwith Aircraft had delivered approxi mately 18,000 machines to the Royal Flying CorpsandtheembryonicRoyal Air Force. However the requirements of the postwar RAFwouldresult in the cutting of outstanding contracts to the bone which in turn led to serious financial difficulties forSopwith Aircraft. Eventually the company was wound upbeing replacedby HGHawker Engineering Ltd. Asa found er member of this orga nisation Thomas Sopwith would become a full director during1920. This wou ld be followed bythe Chairmanship of the Societyof British Aircraft ( later Aerospace) Constructors during 1925to1927. As Hawkers expanded intoHawker Siddeleyit was felt thatthe enlargedgroup would require a well respected figureasits Chairman, a role that Thomas Sopwith would fill admirably from 1936. Further honours wou ld be bestowed for servicesto aviation bytheaward of a Knighthood during 1953. During1979 Thomas Sopwith was inducted into theInternational Aerospace Hall of Fame at San Diego. Always a respectedfigure withinBritish Aviation SirThomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith would pass away at his home at Kings Sombourne on 27 January 1989.

7

IIAWKER ENGINEERING: EARLY IIISTORY AND EVOLUT ION

Harold George Hawker Although he would never livelong enough to seethesuccess of thecompany that wouldbear his name Harold George Hawker would have been proud of theachievements wrought in his name. Bornon22January 'BB9 in Moorabbin, Victoria, Australia hewould undertake a basic educationbefore beginning work as a trainer mechanic at theMelbourne branch of Hall & Warden bicycle depot during 1901.He wou ld stayin Melbourne forIhe next threeyea rs before moving onto theTarrant Motor and Engineering Company where hewould qualify asa motor mechanic. His sojurnwould last from 1905 to 1907 when Harry Hawker wou ld leave Tarrants to set up his own workshop at Caramut in WesternAustra lia. This period in Hawkers life would last for four yearsalthough it was not all work as hefound time to join theSt Kilda Brass Band during 190B. A need for travel and adventure would bring Harry Hawker to Britain during 191 1where, for thenexl twelve months, hewou ld undertake work forthe Crommer Car Company aswell asMercedesand the Austro-Daimler Company. It was during this period that HarryHawker developed a passion for aviationwhich would lead him to the Sopwith Aircraft Companyduring1912where he was involvedwith the SopwithWr ight biplane. Irrpressing Thomas Sopwith with hisskills and strong desireto fly Harry Hawker would soon become theChief Test Pilot for the companyaswell as the chief designer.Thiswouldbe followedin 1913 by his winning a £1,000 prizs for the first flight of 1,000 miles on an outward course. During theperiod Hawker would also find time to design the Sopwith Tabloid whichwould be shipped to Australia during 1914 for the purpose of displaying aircraftas a practica l means of transport and communication. During these displayflights many Australiannotabl es weregiventheir first taste of the potential of aviation. Afterthe warin Europe ended in 191BHarryHawker was oneof those few who graced numerousnewspapers in theimmediate drab postwaryea rs. During 191 9 he would enter a number of speedboat and motor ra:ing events and would win £5,000 from the Daily Mail for thefirst pilot to fly over 1,000 miles of water without touching down. His wou ld be the second planeto attempt thenon-stop crossing of theAtlantic Ocean and the fi'st to fly fromwest to east in the great race. Piloted byHarry Hawker andKenneth Grieve flying theaptlynamecSopwith Atlantic, thiswas a land-based biplane of some350 horsepower. Part of this aircraft could forma boat that could bedetachedin case theyranintotrouble over the ocean. They would depart from a fieldin Mount Pe a ~ on 1B May 1919jettisoning theundercarriage to reduce weight and drag. The wheels were later recovered b¥ local fishermen and are in the Newfoundland Museum in St.John's. Several hours into theflight. problems occurred with thewirelessbeingfollowed byoverheatingprcblems with the engine which forced them to ditch in theAtlantic some 14.5 hours into the flight. They abandoned their plane and were rescued bythe Danish ship SS Mary. Since the Danishship ca rried no wireless, their safe rescue could not bereported and no wreckage wasfound. Word was receivedin Britain on25May with the aviatorslanding on Britishsoila few days later courtesy of the Royal Navy. As theaircraftcompany of hisoldbossThomas Sopwith was encountering financial difficulties HarryHawker formed the HGHawker Engineering Company in 1920. Although there weretough times ahead asHav,ker struggled to findworkforhis workforce andto helpThomas Sopwith out of his difficultieshedidfind time tobe the first person to drive a ca r above 100mph. His untimelydeathon12 July 1921 at Hendon was a result of excessive 'g' forces being applied to a spinal tumo urwhich would cause himto lose control of his aircraft and crash. Althoughnot ce lebrated widely in Britain forhis outstandingcontribution to the Britishaviation h eri ta ~ Harry Hawker is remembered more fondly by thecitizens of the City of Moorabbinwhe rehis exploits arecommemorated by a memorial at the local airport.

Hendon , prior to taking part in an A erial Derby sche duled for some ten days later. Subseque nt invest igations reve aled th at Har ry Hawker had been suffering from a tub ercu lar disease of the pine, whi ch had haem orrhaged uncler a h igh 's'-loaded turn ; so th e pilot was already dead before th e aircraft hi t the gro und. The loss of Harry Hawker d id not dam age th e prospects of th e co mpany, whi ch had reache d firm er finan cial ground having man aged to capture eno ugh aircraft refurbi shm ent con tracts to cont in ue in business. The man agem ent team in 19 22 cons iste d of Fred S igrist, Tom So pwirh , V. W. Eyre, F. I. Bennett and Capt L. F. Peaty, with the appo in ted ch ief design er be ing C apt B. Thom son .

Thom son and hi s gro wing team of dr aughtsmen were somewhat un deremployed , as th e few Air M in istr y spec ification sheets be ing offered to man ufacturer s were at best vague in outl ine, and woul d result in a plethora of proto types to tally unsui ta ble for ae rial warfare. A lso shackling the Royal A ir Force were th e ent renc he d att itude brought over from th e army and Sir Hu gh Tren ch ard, wh ose ongo ing effort to safeguard the RA F as a bom ber force put figh ters of any sort well down the list of priorit ies. The first pract ical design from Hawker 's was the Woodcock, wh ich in essence was no more than a rework of th e Sopwith Sn ipe. W hen T hom son decided to leave H awker's he was rep laced by W. G. C ar ter,

8

onc e the ch ief draughtsm an at So pwith . C arte r's first task was to redesign th e Woodcock from the gro und up. T h is was successfully accomplishe d over the fo llowing six weeks, wh en draw ings for a sing le-bay bip lane powered by a Bristol Ju piter eng ine were produced . O nce proto type flying at Martl esh am Heat h had ended, Hawker's was rewarded with a sma ll co ntract for ten a ircraft , design at ed th e Woodcock 11.

Sydney Camm Jo ins the Team A lt hough C arter had successfully rev am ped the Wood cock for product ion , he would be jo ined in 192 3 by a br illiant yo ung design er named Sydney ammo Dest ined to guide H awk er's for man y years, Sydney Caru m's first contribut ion to th e co mpany was the C ygne t ligh t a ircraft. Fo llowing on from th at ca me a range of military aircraft, includ ing the Dane cock , th e Horsley, the Hedgeh og, Heron and Hornbill. Th e first proje ct in whi ch yd ney Ca ru m was in vol ved as lead design er was th at of th e Danec ock, a re-engin ed ve rsion of the \Voodcock destined for th e Roya l Dan ish Ai r Fo rce . This mach in e d iffered from the RAF o rigina l in th at it was powered by an A rmstrong S idde ley Jagua r engine . O n ly th ree mach ines were co ns truc te d by H awker's; th e remaind er wer e built under license in Denm ark at th e Royal Dani sh Na val Dock yard . Syd ne y Ca ru m wou ld have influ en ce over ano the r Hawker design , the Horsley. T hi s was int end ed as a join t ve nt ure a ircraft for bot h the RA F and the Fleet A ir A rm, whose equipmen t was con tro lled by the A ir Mi n istry. T he premise behind the Horsley was tha t of a medi um bom ber for the RAF and a tor pedo bom ber for the FAA . T he in itia l design of wooden co ns tr uct ion was found to be too bulky for car rier operat ion , and too heav y to carry eno ugh fuel for the a ir force. T he answer put forward by Sydney C amm was to ut ilize a met al frame wor k for the fuselage struc ture that allo wed the ove rall size of the airframe to be red uced whi lst st ill allowing sufficient fuel to be ca rried. T he result of th is rework saw Hawker's awarded a cont ract in 19 26 to supply aircraft to the Royal Ai r Force, del ivered during 1927, and the Fleet A ir A rm , deliv ered th rough out 1928.

HAW K ER E GIt"EERIN G: EA RLY HI STORY A ND EVOL UT IO

C a mm wo uld also put fo rward the idea of ru.mufncturtng meta l framework struc tures Ih,1l would be bolted toge ther instead of I 'ing welded. Not o n ly was th is perce ived ,I an advan tage in co nstruct io n , it also mea n t that th e RA F, sho rt of expe rienc ed meta l workers, co uld maint ain aircraft built III t h is man ner. Developed th rough out 11)2'; by Caru m and S igrist, th is met hod 'o uld he employed on all Hawker aircraft up to 1943, and wo uld lead to the famo us Igrist quote 'Find me a ch ippy with a spanncr and we'l l mend the aero plane' . f he frame wor k de vel op ed co ns isted of In'l or d ura lum in t ubes swaged to a recta ng ular sec t io n a t th e end. Joi nts we re lonucd by rivet ing a steel p late to th e tu be -nds, to wh ich ano the r sim ila r asse mbly ou ld be bo lted . In t h is ma n ner a fuselage lr.unc co uld be co nst ructe d who se tension .llld bracing were co urtesy of cross-bracing wires te ns ione d by tu rn ba rrc ls for any requ ired adj ustments. Two of t he most Luno us ex po n en ts of th e met al fram ew ork .ipproac h were t he Ha rt and the Fur y. The forme r was designed and built as a day bom be r, wh ilst th e la tt er was an inte rceptor figh ter. Both wo uld be see n in pu blic for the first tim e a t O lymp ia in July 1929. T he design of bo th th ese sign ifica n t IIr raft had begun in 1925, bot h in co rporat ing meta l fra me wo rk fo r t he fuselag e I e mbly. O t he r inno vati ons included a k-velopmen t of th e Falco n inli ne eng ine lesigna ted the EX I, wh ich wo uld even tu.rllv evo lve in to t h e Roll s-Royce Merlin I iwe rpla n r. S upplying th e e ng ine was a pum p-o perated fuel syste m instead of th e orig inal gravity feed so po pu la r in ea rlie r mac h in es. Improve ments were also mad e til the un de rcarri age, whi ch emp loye d Vicke rs oleo-pne umat ic shoc k absor bers rrc ngth ened by a cross -bracing strut.

The Success of th e Hawker Hart Del ive ries of t he H awker H a rt began in 1930 , to 33 Sq n a t Eastc h urch. The •ulvan ce in pe rforman ce of th e H awk er prod uc t meant t h at th e to p speed of th e ho mbel' o utst ripped the in -servi ce fighter s hy 30mph (50k m/h) . So successful was th e I la rt th at e ve ry day bomber sq uad ron in the U K was eq uipped wit h it, plus many of those overseas . T he last in -ser vice H a rts Il'ft the front-lin e sq uad ro ns in 1939, ,altho ugh a caree r as tra iners soo n

1

Above The Audax was the epitome of style and aviation grace, as this view exemplifi es. Under the skin. this two-seat light bomber was built around the unique braced tubular framework developed under the guidance of Sydney Camm. Big BirdAviation Coll ection

Sir Sydney Camm Sydney Camm was born in Windsor in lB93. and his aviation career spanned the earliest days of flight. While at thebeginning it was characterized by'stick and string'biplanes, in the year of hisdeath Mach 2 fighters werethe norm, and similar capa bilitieswere under development forthe civil market in theshapeof theAnglo French Concorde. His first venture into the world of aviation design began in 1912, when he anda groupof fellow enthusiasts from the Windsor Model Aerop lane Clubdesignedand built a man-carrying glider. although norecord exists of its success or otherwise. After this initial project. SydneyCamm joined Martinsydes, wherehe would gain valuable experience in the essentials of factory productiontechniques. From herehe was promoted to the design department. wherehe would stay until moving to another earlyaircraft manufacturer,Handasyde Aircraft. in 1921. During 1922, SydneyCamm anda colleague, Fred Raynham, would refurbish a Martinsyde F.3, with which they would gain a creditable second place in the veryfirst King'sCupAir Race. To complement hispoweredflight success. Sydney Cammwould also designand largely build a gliderthat wou ld also prove successful in the International Gliding Meetingat Itford Hill. Having proved his talent, it should come asnosurprise that Sydney Cammwaslured to the design department of H. G. Hawker Engineering Co. Ltd during 1921. Within twoyearsCamm would find himself involved in the development of the Hawker Cygnet, and in 1924 the full responsibility forits continued progress wasplaced in his hands. During 1925 Sydney Cammwould replace E. R. Carteras thech ief designerat Hawker's, his first full project in charge being the Danecock. the re-engining of the Woodcock for export to Denmark. Under Camrns leadership the companywoulddevelop such famous biplanes as the Hart. Nimrod, Demon, Audax. Hind and Fury, before the monoplaneHurricane appeared onthe drawingboard. Having launchedthe Hurricane successfully into RAFservice,where it would become theunsung hero of the Battle of Britain,the Cammdesign teamwou ld turn its attention to creatinganother dynamic fighter. Vi a the Tornado development programme the Typhoon would emerge, with Camm pushing on his team mercilessly. Although a perfectionist and nosufferer of fools, Sydney Cammworked the same long hoursashis team. and was more than willingto listento ideas fromteammembers. Even though seen bysome as a difficultperson to work bothfor, and with, everyone involved with himrealized his brilliance as a designer and engineer. When theTyphoon entered service with theRoyal Air Force, its early teething problems were understandably a ca use of concern forCamm. Hours werespent in tryingto findsolutions to the Napier Sabre enginefailures, while the detachment of the rea r fuselage for no apparent reasonalsogave serious cause for concern. Eventually the formerwould be brought under control bybettermetal treatments, while the tendency for the tail units to come adrift was addressed bythe addition of strengthening plates to the rear fuselage tail unit joint andcareful rerigging of theelevatorcontrols, although there were still some instances of this occurring. Following onfrom the Typhoonwould come the Tempest and the Sea Furyfor the Royal Navy. During 1935 SydneyCamm became a director of Hawker's, and would followthis up postwar in 1949 by being awarded a British gold medal for aeronautics. During the period 1951 to 1953. Sydney Cammwasappointedchairman of the technical board of the SBAC, this being followed in 1953 by a well deserved kn ighthood for servicesto aviation. In the following two years Sir Sydney Cammwould beappointedas the presidentof the Royal Aeronautical Society. while in 1959 he would beappointedaschief engineer for the HawkerAircraft Grou p. Sir SydneyCamm CBEFRAESwould never have the chance to take up any form of retirement, as he would die 'in harness' on 12March 1966. Possibly thebest description of SydneyCamrns work is attributed to the manhimself: 'If it looks right - it isright!'.

9

HAWK ER ENGl . EERI i\G : EA RLY HI STORY AND EVO L T IO N

fo llowed. A fter the Hart came a figh ter development that would be nam ed the Demon : th is was fract iona lly slower tha n th e bo mbe r du e to the increased weigh t of th e install ed Kestrel eng ine. A furt he r developm en t saw the introdu ction of the A udax for use in th e bomber ro le. T h is, too, caused embarrassme n t to th e fight er force, as its dep loyment to the day bomber squadrons brought about ano the r increase in spee d. In parallel with Hawk er' devel opments for the Royal Air Force , the co mpany was also provid ing a ircraft to the Royal N av y: sh ips for the RN were un der the co n tro l of the Ad mira lty, wh ilst a ircraft procurem ent was th e respon sibility of the A ir M in ist ry in a misguided atte mpt at standard izat ion. T he first frui ts of the ir labours appeare d in 1932 when th e Os prey was chose n to equip th e figh ter squadro ns aboard the fleet ca rriers HMS Fur ious, G lorious and Co urageous. C ha nges to th e ori ginal Hart spec ificat ion incl uded fo ld ing wings, for wh ich purpo se each main plan e struc ture was strengthene d , whil st the undercarriage was re inforced to cope with th e shoc k of landings aboa rd sh ip. Furt her trials also in trod uced floats for ope rat ions from non -carrier class warships. The Os prey would leave FA A service at the out brea k of host ilit ies in Se ptember 1939. T he two final Hart var iants to ent er RA F service were the Hi nd and the Hector. T he for mer was a refined version of the Hart , wh ich ent ered serv ice in 193 5 and n umbered some 527 prod ucti on aircraft. The Hector was design ed for use in th e army co-operation ro le, where it would supplant the ea rlier A udax; it rem ain ed in service unt il 1940 , when it was superseded by th e Westland Lysan der. O verall the Hawker Hart and its various offspring provided work for the who le of th e company as well as shoring up th e fort unes of othe rs, whi ch would allow them to con tin ue in busin ess and play their sign ificant parts in the even ts of 1939 to 1945.

N .2 1/26 and E20/27 . Bot h designs seemed un relat ed, as the naval 'N ' requirement called for a radi al-en giu cd aircraft , wh ilst the 'F' spec ificat io n required an aircraft with an inline eng ine. Development of two proto types, kn own as the Hoopoe and the E20/27 int erceptor , would lead on to th e appearance of th e most sign ificant sing le-sea t figh ter able to satisfy bot h nava l and air force requirem ents. Powered by a Roll s-Royce EXIS , the Hornet biplan e - lat er renamed to the more fami liar Fury - was able to ach ieve a top spee d of 200mp h (320km/h) fully fuell ed and armed. ot on ly did th e po wer of the engine co nt ribute to th is excel lent top speed , but careful ae rodynam ic refinemen ts also played their part. T he Fury underwent comprehe ns ive test ing at the A&A EE, altho ugh ent ry in to service wou ld be del ayed as the pressure upon Rolls-Royce to produce enough eng ines , espec ially the Kestrel II , meant that the Fury would not joi n the RA F unt il 193 I . O nce th e Fury had becom e establishe d with the Royal A ir Force during 193 2 it beca me th e e lite fight er fo rce with in th e serv ice. Such was its impr essive pe rforman ce that o verseas sales were soo n for thco ming. However, many of these machi nes were powered by rad ial engines: thus the N orwegian aircraft had the A rmst rong Siddc ley Pan th er engine, the Persian mach ines a Pratt and \X!h itney Hornet , wh ilst a further bat ch for the same co unt ry featu red th e Bristo l Mercury, the most successful of all the conversions.

Th e Hurrican e Makes its Debut Fo llowing on from th e first varia nt ca me the Fury II, wh ich had th e Kestrel VI engine installed , and wh ich ent ered RA F service in 1936 when five figh ter squadrons were equipped. T heir ten ure in service wou ld be sho rt , however, as anot he r Hawker product, the H urricane, was in the process of maki ng its service debu t. Regarded as a developm en t of th e Fury, th e N imrnd for th e Royal N avy was in fact developed in parallel with its land-based counterpart . C hanges includ ed an upper wing th at was sligh tly lowered in he ight , a requ iremen t necessary to clear th e limited roof heigh ts available aboard these earlybu ild carriers, plus a streng the ned airframe to acco mmodate th e fo rces gene rated not only by landing aboa rd a ca rrier, but th ose of being pulled up sho rt by the arrestor hook mount ing po int s. Del iveries began in 1932, and equipped un its aboard th e main fleet carriers HM S Courageous and Glorious. Fo llowing on ca me the imp roved N imrod II, which featured sligh tly sweptback wings; it ent ered service in 1934 and would equip thr ee squadrons. A lthough one of the fastest naval fighters in service, it was sligh tly slower than its land equivalent due to the weigh t of the install ed naval eq uipment . The airc raft th at would foll ow on from th e two se m in a l Hawker biplanes would featu re heav ily in the Bat tle of Britain ,

Below When Hawker's created the monoplane Hurricane it inherited the tubular structure of the earlier biplanes and their ventral radiator. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Th e Fury A lthough Hawker's was a mod est organ izat ion wh en production of the Hart began , Syd ney C amm had always be liev ed that figh ter devel opment was the ca ta lyst for ae rona ut ica l devel opmen ts. Pursuin g th is goa l began in 1927 when C aru m and hi s team began to study two spec ifica t ions,

10

HAW K ER ENGINEERING : EA RLY HI STORY AN D EVO L UT ION

Right The fina l version of the Hurricane was dedicated to the round-attack role. for wh ich purpose the machi ne guns wer e placed w ith cannon. wh i lst extra IIr pow er could be supplied by the Vickers guns under the w ings. Big Blld Aviation Collection

.uu l yet in man y ways it was a co n tin uat ion of a ll th e ideas developed duri ng th e lup lane per iod . T h e airc raft was, of co urse , th e Hawker Hur ricane, crea ted in response to th e spec rhca t io n issued in 1930, F. 7/30 . T hi s h ad l.l lled for a high pe rforma nce fight er .irmcd with four mach ine guns instead of rill' nor ma l two; it was also req uired to have a to p spee d of at least 250mph (400km/h ). The response from Hawker's wou ld be a monopla n e fighter wh ose sta rt mg po int wo uld be the Fury biplane. T he trrst evo lut ion feat ured a low ca nt ileve red wuu; with tapered leading an d trai ling l' Iges wh ich ended in rounded tip s. The powcrplan r was the stea m-c oo led Rol lsRoyce Gos h awk, whi ch would event ua lly Il' d rop ped from th e devel opment prog ram me as tota lly unreli a ble . Th e undercarriage was of th e fixed spatt ed type , wh ilst th e cockp it was cove red by a lid ing hood . Th e rear fuselage and tail Icarhcrs remained virt ua lly un ch anged from the Fury. The proposed arma me n t co ns isted offo ur machine guns, two in th e wing roots and two in th e fusela ge. T he co nstruction of the sa id fuselage was of the rundard Ha wker framework with fab ric cov ering to th e rear , wh ilst the forw ard fusel age was met al clad . A lt hough the design wou ld progress no furt her, the appea rance of th e r v. 12 liquid-cooled engine from Roll s-Royce allo wed C am m to redesign his int erceptor mo nop lane to take th e n ew powerpl an t. I)uring 1934 the Experimental Drawing l )ffice began to rework the design , and thi s would result in th e crea tion of a roth sca le model that woul d und ergo tests in th e Na t ion al Ph ysica l Laborat or y wind tun ne l. A s th e testing proved succ essful, th e A ir Min istry dr ew up dr aft

Spec ificat ion F. 5/34 to co ve r furt h er development. By A ugust th e subm itted design was acc epted by th e A ir Ministr y: th erefore Spec ificat ion F. 36/34 was issued 10 co ver th e co nstruc t ion of one h igh speed monoplan e. O ne bone of co nt ent io n bet ween Ca mm and th e M ini str y was the aircraft's an namcnt, wh ich th e de signe r wanted to incr ease whil st usin g Colt machine guns instea d of any of th e norm a l British favo ur ites. A nothe r area that C am m was push ing was th e ab ility of the new fighter to mount a co mpac t block of weapons in th e relativel y deep wing, whi ch woul d fire from outside the pro pel lor arc. G ive n thi s capa bility, th e proposed e igh t gun install ation was adopt ed instead of th e origin al earlier proposa I. C onstruct ion of th e proto type h ad advance d eno ugh in Septe mbe r 1935 for th e newly nam ed Ro lls-Royce Merlin to be insta lled in th e airframe, the wh o le bein g rolled out \0 public view on 23 Oc tobe r; th e first flight was un dertaken on 6 o ve m ber, The resultant aircraft , lat er nam ed Hurrican e, co nt in ued with the tubu lar ste el framewor k pioneered by th e earl ier biplan es, altho ugh in thi s case th e forward covering to th e fuselage was meta l-sh eat hed, whi le th at from th e coc kpit aft was fabr ic-cover ed . T h is meth od of con str uct ion meant th at th e Hu rrican e was far easier to rep a ir, a boo n to th e figh ter squad rons engaged in th e Battle of Brit ai n . The win g was also of imil ar co nstruct ion , bei ng twin -spa rred wit h int erspar girde rs for streng th and sh ap ing purposes. A s with th e rear fuselage, th e wings wer e fab ric-cover ed, as were th e components att ac h ed to th e rear fusela ge. The arma me nt in th ese ea rly a ircraft was esta blish ed as e igh t .303 Browning

77

machine guns , alt ho ugh thi s would lat er cha nge to four Hi span o can no n , an alterat ion mu ch appr ec iated by th ose units employed in th e gro und-att ac k ro le . O ne othe r major innovat ion th at appeared on th e Hurrican e was th at of the retra ctab le un dercar riage , th e mounti ngs fo r wh ich wer e set quite a distan ce outboa rd. S uch a wide track en sured great sta b ility un der most cond it ions . \X!hile th e H urr ican e was slowe r tha n its conte m pora ry th e Supermarine p itfire , th e stab ility of th e a irc ra ft o n th e gro un d was pu t to good use by j o . 46 Sq n a boa rd th e carrier H MS J/oriolts d urin g t h e ca mpa ign to defend or way in May 194 0 . Both tak e-offs an d lan d in gs we re un dert aken by th e figh ter s wit h ve ry littl e diffi cult y. T h e first version o f th e Se a Hurri can e was dep loyed a boa rd th e cata pult- arme d mer chantmen , but th is was an a lto gethe r h azar dou s duty for th e p ilo ts, as it was a one sh ot flight for th e a irc raft , wh ilst th e p ilo t h ad to take to hi s parachu te and pray for resc ue. A s th is was wast eful in both machines as we ll as th e oc ca sio na l pilo t, an a lte rna ti ve was req uir ed . The adve n t o f the co n ve rt ed me rchantm an a ircr aft carrier fo r escort duti es wo uld provi de th e Hurrican es an swe r, a llo wing th e depl o yed by th e n ow in dep endent Fleet A ir A rm to ta ke off, attack a n y int rud er, an d land ba ck o n th eir bo bb in g and bucking postage sta mp upo n th e ocea n. In th is ro le th e wid e track of th e underca rr iage was a de fin ite bonus, a fact th at wo uld n o t be lost on H aw ker's wh en th e time ca me to develop th e Sea Fury. O t he r inn ov at io n s devel op ed for th e Sea Hurri can e th at wou ld be tak en in to th e Se a Fury in o ne form o r ano th er wer e th e lau nc h spo o ls and arr est or h ook .

CHA PT ER TWO

A Powerplant for the Tornado Most aircraft co nstructors preferr ed to rely upon ded icated man ufacturers to provide powerplant s for thei r lat est design s, apart from th e occas ional one -off by such co mpan ies as de Havill and or Bristol. And even th is area had its ac kno wledged favourites. Rolls-Royce became o ne of the best kn own engine build ers, alt ho ugh A rmstrong S iddelev and ap ier also figured in the plan s of man y a irframe designers, incl uding Hawker's.

Napi er Eng ines apier eng ines had begun to mov e into th e aero engine busin ess duri ng 19 17, aft er years as a ma n ufacturer of c ivil and mili ta ry veh icles. Th is first effort was named th e Na pier Lion and was in itiall y rated at 450hp, although th rou gh furt her developmen t th is was soo n incre ased to 1,400h p. Its arriva l was to o late for th e even ts of 1914-1 8, however it would prov ide a staple for the Royal A ir Force and th e growing civil a irline market. O ne of the best kn own airframes th at th e Lion was bo lted onto was the Fairey lll F series of aircra ft, as we ll as the early ent ries for the

Sch ne ide r Troph y races. The Lion powered th e Su pc rma rine .4 and S .5 racers, plus th e en tries from G losrcrs, the IV and VI. O ne of the Lion eng ines' biggest successes came in 19 27 when the N apier-e ngincd S.5s of the RA F H igh Speed Fligh t were the on ly en tries to co mplete th e course. Con tin ued develop ment by Nap ier resulted in th e appea rance of th e 395 hp Rapier eng ine , the first success ful twin cran ksh aft , mul ti -cylin der aero eng ine. Due to its layout, thi s series of eng ines and their subsequen t developments became kn own as the ' H' vtype powcrp lan t. T he first applicat ion of th e Rapier was in the Fair ey Sea fox fleet spo tter aircraft. A lt hough apier's seemed to have the edge in the developmen t of liquid-cooled engines , th e upstart newcom er Roll sRoyce was well on the way to del iverin g the Merlin eng ine to power the Spitfire and the Hu rricane for RAF usc, the design having progressed from th e earlier Kestr el V via the PV.12. The ch ief design er at apier's, Fran k Halford, had realized that th e Rapi er was capable of furt he r enlargemen t: th us the I ,000h p Dagger was born . Larger, but sim i-

Below The Fairey IIIF se ries II was powered bythe Napier lion engine; it was one of the company's earliest steps into the aero engine business. Big Bird Aviation Collection

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lar to the Rapi er, the Dagger was used to power the Hawk er Hector and th e Handley Page Hereford , a ltho ugh it was not an out-a nd-o ut succ ess. However, th e team at N apier had realized that the 'H 'type engine layou t was capable of further deve lop ment. T h is new design first appea red on th e dr awi ng boards in 1935, and was seen as a 2,000hp slee ve -valve powcrplau t. The eng ine th at fin all y appeared in 193 was a twent y-four-cylin der, twin cran kshaft , liquid-cooled , sleeve va lve powerp lanr , with a two-spee d supe rcharger. T he cylinde r blocks were located on e ither side of the vertica lly split cran kcase in four banks of six in an 'H' formation . The tw in cran kshafts rota ted in the same dir ecti on , being position ed one abov e th e other, with th e two pisto ns on eac h cran kshaft operat ing in hori zontall y opposed cylinders. The piston s were co n nec ted by con ventional plain and fork con necting rods, and each piston had thr ee rings, one a gas ring, the next a gas/scrape r ring, and the third a wedge-shaped scraper at th e inner end . Four sepa rate inducti on manifold s, each incorporat ing a pa ir of coo lan t run s to prov ide co oling flow, were bol ted to eac h bank of cylinders. Exha ust was th rough ejector-type ex ha usts tha t were fitt ed into a recessed face on th e outer side of each cylinder block . The valve sleeves were manufactured from chro me molybden um and were nitrided, a form of met a l hard en ing, an d lapped for hardn ess before assembly. Driving the cran ks were bronze worm wheels, flange-bolt ed into positi on , these being driven in turn by a worm shaft. This assembly was manufact ured in two part s, these be ing joined by an ex te rn al sleeve. The twin torsion shafts ran inside a holl ow-sleeve dr ive shaft th at transmitt ed the power from th e redu ct ion gearing to the supercharger. Located to the rear of th e supercharger was a hydraulic cl utch that tran slat ed the inp ut into the imp eller, usin g e ither of th e two set speeds. Engin e-system lubricati on o il was delivered at a pressure between 60- 90 psi, by a

A POWERPLANT FOR TIl E TORNADO

mg le stage p ump h ou sed in th e sum p. The Illlnary syste m o pe ra ted at maximum ~ re m pressure wh ile th e low -pressure ~ tern, co n t ro lled by tw o pressure -reduc mg va lves, lu b ricated ot he r co m po ne nts uo und th e e ngine. T h ose item s no t overed by direct lubri catio n wer e lu brilie d by bo t h th e sp lashand uu- t-d ispcrsio n me th ods. O il re tu rning to rill' bo t to m of th e eng ine was co lle cted by I " 1 scavenge pu mp s, o ne loca ted at th e trou t of the e n gine to re tu rn o il to th e m.un sump, whi le th e rema ind e r was ollcc rcd and re turn ed to the sum p by th e m.u n scaven ge pu mp . The ot he r primary y rem bo lte d o nto th e eng ine was th e I rcssurized , liq uid coolin g syste m th at na blcd hi gh temper atures to be co mbate d II a ll a lt itudes and speeds . T he a ux iliary om po nen ts for th e e ngine wer e located at rhc to p and bottom o f th e c ra n kcase: the uppe r un it co n ta ined t he d rive sh afts for rhc magne tos , the d istribu tor s, and th e I m irio n se rvo co ntrol un it; and located un d er t he bo tto m co m po ne n t hou sing 'ne t he d rive sha fts and ge a r tra ins for th e o.t, fuel a nd co o la n t pump s. T he way tha t t he var ious systems we re mcc h an ica llv inte rconn ected by lin kages mea n t tha t co n tro l of t he eng ine was I I,s ible by th e use of a sing le le ver ; lit hough the dow n side to suc h a syste m W.IS a te nde ncy for the po we rp lant to be .m ra n ke ro us unde r ce rta in co nd it io ns , J ec ia lly wh e n co m po ne n ts h ad beco me 'o m, The reason in g behind suc h intero n nec t ion s was to re licve so me of t he pi lot's wo rk load, a lt ho ugh pro v isio n was mad e for di sconne ct ion sh o uld th e p ilot so lcsire. T h e sta rt in g of th e e ng ine was by ou rtesv o f th e C offma n cart ridge system, o ns ist in g o f a sta rte r un it , ca rt ridge bre ec h , safety reli ef va lve and co n nec t ing pip ewo rk. T h e sta rte r un it co ns iste d o f a large- d iame te r p iston fitted into a cy linde r tha t ha d a combust io n cha mbe r at its he ad. W h en th e ca rt ridg e was ignited , th e gases genera ted wer e directed into th e cy linde r. The resu lt a nt for ces we re then co n vert ed in to a ro tary moti on , co urte sy of a screw d rive , This in turn ge ne rated enough torq ue force to prov ide a hi gh turn in g ra te st ro ng enough to turn o ver the largest e n gine s, a lth o ugh th e ava ilab le po we r was av a ila ble for o n ly a short peri od of t ime. On a verage, the Coffman sta rte r un it was capable o f gene ra t ing 25h p at its peak of 0 .75sec. As start in g an en gine usin g thi s system co uld be tr icky, th e ca rt ridge br each

Above The Schneider Trophy saw Supermarine building three S.5 aircraft, N219 to N22I, powered by the Napier lion engine to Specification 6/26. The success of th is attempt further cemented Napier's reputation as an engine manufacturer. Big BirdAviation Colleclion

co nta ine d five ca rt ridge s in five sepa ra te bar rel s, each of whi ch, upo n sele c t io n, would ro ta te to th e firi ng positi o n and sea l aga inst the face of th e o u tle t t ub e. O nce in position th e ca rt ridg e co uld be fired fro m th e cockpit usin g a selecto r switc h . To prev ent a mi sfire sho uld for e ign matter become lodged in th e breech , an a uto ma t ic safe ty cut-ou t was inst a lled , th a t stoppe d th e ope rat io n of th e firin g pin . A s the gases ge nera ted b y an igni ted ca rt ridge could reach up to t we n ty tons' p ressure o n th e piston, it was im po rt ant th at safety mechanism s wer e bu ilt in to th e uni t. The first was a d iffer entia l safety va lve fitt ed betwee n th e breec h and sta rte r, wh ich wo uld rel ease t he cor d ite gases sh o uld t he p ressure rise too hi gh , whilst th e fin a l rel ease was a bur sting d isc th at wou ld ru pture sho uld a ll el se fail. This, th en , was th e first of a new type of e ng ine fro m ap ier t h at rejo iced in th e name o f t he Sa bre 1.

The Rolls-Royce Vulture W h ile N apie r were workin g to ward s a h igh pe rforma nce eng ine , Ro lls-R o yce wer e a lso e n gaged in c rea t ing a sim ila r powe rplan t. a mcd th e Vult ure, it was in fact two Kestrel e n gines dr iving a lo ng a co m mo n dr ivc sh aft, the wh ol e be in g arra nged in an 'X ' formation and h aving twe n ty-fo ur cylin de rs in to ta l. The en gine was const ru cted using two a lumin ium a llo y cra n kcases co m plete wit h integral

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heads wi t h ste el cylind e r liner s. Each cylindcr was fitt ed with two exh a ust va lves op era ted by an o ve rhead ca ms h aft. O pe rat io na l d eve lopment and subse q ue nt test ing began in 1937, wit h ni ght -t est in g bc ing un de rta ken in the H awk e r H en ley pro totype.

An Improved Fighter Du ring 193 7 th e A ir M in ist ry began to ca st a bo ut fo r a fighter th at wo uld im prov e o n th e perfor ma nce and arma me nt o f bot h th e H ur rica ne and th e S pit fire. T he spec ificati o n ca lle d for an airc raft capable of reaching 400m ph (640km/h) wh ilst to t ing an arma me nt o f twel ve .303 Bro wn in g machine guns; t h e machine was a lso requi red to be a stable gun p latfo rm . \X!h en H awker A ircraft began developin g an a ircraft to S pec ifica t ion E 18/37 it was d rafted as a sing le sea t inte rcep to r, design ed to be pow er ed by e ithe r th e N api er Sab re o r th e Roll s-R o yce Vult ure, To ca te r for bo th e ngines, Hawker 's wer e co nt rac te d to build fo ur prototypes, th ose for t he Sabre be in g known as th e ' N vtype ' wh ilst th ose fo r th e Vu lture beca me th e 'R vtvpc ': e ve n t ua lly the former became th e Typh oon, wh ile th e latter became kn own as the Tornad o . The pro posal s wer e presented to th e Min istr y in Jan uar y 1937 , be ing accepted o n 22 April 193 8 . A s H awker 's wer e at maximum capac ity build in g Hurrican es for t he Royal Air Force , th e Air M ini stry request ed that

A PO\\, ERPLA:-IT FOR T ilE TOR:-IADO

Above and leh This schemat ic of the Hawk er Tornado show s the Centaurus-equipped version in the side view. whi lst the plan view reveals the different nose contour of the short -lived Vulture install ati on. Big Bird Aviation Collection

a no the r gro up co m pa n y, 'A . V. Roe' , woul d build t he p rodu cti o n Torn ado , a lth o ugh d esign man age ment wo uld rest with th e main co mpan y.

Th e Tornad o Prototyp e Con firma t ion o rde rs for th e fo ur a irc raft were issued by th e A ir Min ist ry o n 30 A ugust 193 8 ; th ey were issued as separa te co n t rac ts for d ev el op ment, with th a t for Vulture -powe red a irc ra ft being given prefe re nce , as ap ier's wer e enco un te ring wit h the Sabre . so me pro blems Cons t ruc t ion of th e first pro to type began in Ma rch 193 8 at th e C ar bur y Par k Road

premi ses, Kingsto n -o n -Tha mes: its pow er plant was th e tw el fth produ c tio n Vult ure eng ine , wh ich arr ived fo r in st a llat ion in Dece mbe r 193 8 . o rn plere wi th its eng ine , th e first h a nd -bu ilt Tornado prototype, P5 2 I 9 , wa ro lled o ut at Kin gston in Decemb er 1938 . Fro m Kingston t he a irc raft was sen t by road to Langley o n 3 I Jul y 193 9 for fin al asse m bly and test in g. U po n a rrival th e a irfra me was asse mb led and tested at th e new expe rime nt a l fligh t de pa rt me n t. Ta x i tri al s o f t he Tornad o bega n o n I Oc to be r on th e Langley grass a irfiel d; these we re co nfine d to sho rt ru n s to test the braki n g and to record th e eng ine tem pe ratures. Sat isfied th at th e b rak es and engine appe ared to be beh av ing normal ly, a se ries of hi gh -speed runs was ca rried o ut o n 3 Oc to be r. Its mai d en fligh t was un d e rt ake n by com pa ny test pil o t P. G . Lucas o n 6 Oc to be r 1939 , an d was d escri bed as un e ven tful. To ge t th e Tornad o a irbo rne requ ired so me im agin a t ive effo rt by Phi ll ip Lucas, wh o dr e w hi s in sp irati on fro m th e p ilo ts of th e Sc h ne ide r T roph y seapla nes. A s t h e To rn ado suffered fro m a lack o f d irec t iona l ta b ilit y a nd excess ive e ng ine to rq ue d ur ing th e ta ke -o ff run , Ph ill ip Luc as would carry o ut e ng ine an d magn e to c h ecks at full po we r a t a n a ngle

14

to th e runwa y. O nce com p le te d, h e wou ld main ta in full pow e r a nd begin hi s t ak e -o ff a t an a rc . By the time th e To rn ad o was po in t ing in to t h e wind , t he a irc ra ft was cl o se to reaching ta ke -off speed. Even wh en first a irbo rne , t he figh te r st ill n eed ed to ac h ieve 150 m ph ( 240 km /h ) for th e rudd e r to beco me fully effec t ive . O f co urse, suc h a tec h ni q ue wa s fin e for t est p ilots suc h as Lucas and th ose flyin g th e Vult ur e -H e n ley; h o we ve r, it wou ld ne ver be a n o p t io n for se rvic e p ilot s, espec ia lly wh e n a irf ie lds wit h conc re te run ways we re buil t. T he eng ine e rs from Roll s-R oyce wer e obv io usly co nce rn ed a bo ut the be h av io ur of the Vult ure eng in e , as th er moco up les h ad been in sta lled o n six of t he e ng ine cylin de rs, th ese being d istr ibu ted be tween a ll four bank s o f cy linde rs. The ir p ur pose was to mo n itor th e wh o le o f the e ng ine's te m perature ra nge th ro ugho ut the fligh t, and the y rose q uit e qu ick ly to th e perm it ted maximum tem pe rature befor e d ropping back sligh tly. T hi s wo uld be mainta in ed until landin g, wh en t he te m pe ra ture rose aga in . O n subse q ue n t fligh ts P. G . Lucas managed to push the To rn ado up to a max im um speed o f 3 70 mp h (595 km /h ) a t 15,000fr (4,5 00m), altho ugh after th is effo rt th e e ngine bega n

A POWERI'LANT FOR TI l E TOR NADO

run rough ly. Inspect ion on the gro und (,.•!l'd tha t th ere were metal pan icle u c in the o il filter ; ana lysis suggested II thes e were co ming from the bearing ('

.

t lround

run n ing was ano the r area "I Irdy, as any po wer run ni ng was lim ited .1 ma ximum of five min utes, ot h erwise I who le aircraft woul d be en veloped in I"u Is of o ily smo ke. In vesti gat ions by 'Ih Hawker's and Ro lls-Royce engine ers l·;dl'll tha t improvements in engineer'" to lerances betwee n the p iston s and , H rr rings need ed tigh ten in g up. O il on-u mpr ion was a lso ca using conc ern , I .msc it wasn 't just being co nsumed by rh leukv rin gs: the overa ll consumption 11(' mean t tha t 50 per ce nt was used after 10 more than th irt v minu tes ru nning. -vcrrheless, o n th e strength of the first til 'Ilt and subsequen t fligh ts, an I" true rion to Proceed was issued , wh ich ont rac red Hawker 's to man ufactu re 500 tornados, 250 Typhoons and ano th er 250 h ines whose po werp lan r wo uld be Il'l.ted la rer,

Ill.'

ta ils of th e Tornad o ototype I he

Vulture was destined to power both

till' Tornado and th e Man ch ester bo mber, Iller to be revamped as th e more famous I .mcaster, Hawk er 's were conce rne d -no ugh to co n vert the Hen ley prototype , , 51 15, to act as an eng ine test bed . A s th is -nuine req uired exte ns ive coo ling , th e I Iawker engineers fit ted a gene m us rad ialilt under the fuselage, wh ile a furt h er mra kc was mounted above th e co wling. T he airframe fo llowed Hawk er 's previous prac tices, usin g a metal-braced tr ucture of tu bular co n struction for th e fuselage, alt ho ugh the or iginal fabric ov ering was repla ced by alumi n ium she et flush- riveted to th e framework . T h e nu mero us access pa ne ls let int o th e fuseI.lge were of close to leran ce, to redu ce .iirflow turbulence . T he cockpit cano py cc t ions were back ed by a d ist in ctive fair IIlg tha t would te rminate in tail surfaces imilar in outl ine to th e ea rlier Hurricane. T he powerplan r in th is pro totype was th e Ro lls-Royce Vulture II, rat ed at I ,760hp , wh ich in turn ena bled th e Tornado to ac h ieve a max im um spee d of 4 23mph (68 0km/h ) at an alt itude o f 23,000ft (7,000m ).

Above One of the most fervent pilot complaints concerni ng the Tornado and the early Typhoons w as the origin al canopy. which featured heavy fr aming and a solid metal rear fairing: both conspired to restrict vi sion . Big Bird Aviation Collection

T h e wings were built as separate assemb lies, and were attac he d to th e fuselag e by four bo lts, two for eac h wing spa r. Each wing sec t io n was cra nked , the inner sec tion with an anhe dra l set at I de gree , wh ilst th e o ute r sec tions featured a d ihed ral of 51 deg rees. Inco rporated into th e in ne r sect ions were th e undercarriage bays, whi ch held th e stro ng ly built under carriage legs. Fuel was carried in self-sealing tanks in th e leading edge of th is sect ion , wh ilst situated in th e oute r panel s wer e the arma me n t bays, and th e landing lights in th e leadi ng edge . O f th e fligh t co nt rols, on ly th e rudd er was fabriccovered , th e fa bric t igh ten ed wit h cel lulose dop e, wh ilst th e remai nder, in cl ud ing th e split fla ps, was met al-

co vered . When att ach ing th e wings to th e Tornado , th ey h ad to be mount ed some 3 in (Scm ) lower, as the Vult ure co uld not be acco m mo dated over th e main spar as th e Sabre co uld .

Test-Flyin g th e Tornad o Pro to ty pe G ive n the sho rtage of room at Hawker's prod uction fac ility, th e major ity of Tornados were buil t at th e premi ses of A . V. Roc at Man chester, after th e ini tial ba tch h ad been co nstruc ted at Hawk er's Langley factory. During ini t ial test -flying th e prototype h ad its radi ato r bath posi-

Below In this view of the Tornado. the windows at the rear of the main canopy are clearly visible. as is the landing light and its cover let into the lead ing edge of the port wing . Big Bird Aviation Collection

15

A POWERPLANT FOR Til E TOR1I:A DO

tioned und er the fuselage cen tre section in a manner similar to the H urricane; however, the onse t of co mpressibility at hi gh speeds was found to cause adve rse a irflow cond itions around th e fa iring , which in turn increased th e engine 's operat ing tem perature. Al so th ere was a sha rp increase in d rag, accompani ed by a violen t sh uddering and vibrat ion at speeds approach ing 400mph (640kph ) lA S .

C onfirming thi s ph en om en on was a seq uenc e of pho tographs th at revea led the wool tufting app lied around the airframe being drawn forw ard s by the tu rbulen ce. To sort out th is problem th e radi at or assembly was mov ed to a posit ion un der the eng ine. In its new co nfiguration , P5219 under took its maid en fligh t on 6 December 1939, th ereby establish ing th e now fami liar, und er-the-n ose radi ator

Above P5224w as the second Tornado prototype built to Specification F18/37. As airflow problem s had been encountered with the ventr al radiator installation. it was moved to the more familiar chin -mounted position. Big Bird Aviation Colle ction Below This side -on view of Hawke r Tornado P5224reveals the supplem entary cool ing intake mounted above the nose cowling panels . and the double row of engine exhausts applicable to the Vultur e engine insta ll ati on. Big Bird Aviation Collection

j

16

position . T hi s modification, plus the associated strip-down and rebui ld, was co mpleted in a week . T he test -flying revealed th at altho ugh th e coo ling aro und th e o il coo ler had imp roved , the down side was that th e lon gitudinal sta bility had dete riorated. To see by how much , wind -tunnel tests using a scale model were car ried out , and these revealed severe airflow instabiliti es just aft of th e radiator exit ven t; th ese were furt he r exac erbated by turb ulence in the vicinity of th e un covered area of th e main whcels when they were retrac ted . In flight thi s was made appa ren t by a low-freq uen cy rumble tha t seemed to reach back as far as the rudder. In an effort to redu ce the se airflow disturbances, small sprung door s were mou nted on th e main gear doors, closing upon retraction . A lthough at slow speeds th is modifi cati on imp roved the handling of the Tornado , they woul d misbeh ave as speeds increased . Even tua lly these door s woul d be rem oved, as th ey had been on the Henl ey, Hurrican e and Typhoon pro tot ypes, as mud and other debri s kept gett ing wedged in th e sprung sec t ion, th us causing th e doo r to rem ain in the airflow. Eventu ally ' D' doors would be mounted on the inner edges of eac h bay, hard by th e ai rcraft's ce nt rel ine. Having spent Janu ar y 1940 test ing undercarr iage improvement s, in the fo llowing month P521 9 was engaged in gene ral handling tri als, whi ch would be foll owed th rough out March by Lucas

A POWERPLA:"T FO R TIl E TORNADO

I • Illng the Tornado to th e edge of th e lit ,h I en velope; th is incl uded its maxi""1111 perfor mance at 20,500 ft (7 ,000m) in I .lIy superch arged mode. A lth ough th e Ir raft reac he d a to p speed of 38 4mph Itl' km/h ), th e co nt rol insta bility was en mo re ma rked ; h owever, an ex tension I the un der-eng in e radiator fairing by III (7 .Scm ) smoot he d out man y of th e utlow insta bilities. By 9 May, P52 19 was till' on ly E 18/3 7 protot ype ava ilab le for 111 ,h I tria ls, as th e pro to type Typh oon h ad Ilkred near catastroph ic struc tural failure 'h.11 day. \Vith th e Typhoon under go ing r bui ld , it was the task of th e Tornad o to III~h l- t es t a rudd er of in creased area: thi s IIr t flew on 16 May, and was an irnmcd iII' success as sta b ility was improved . O n I June a furt he r series of test flight s was unde rtaken to assess the behaviour of th e , l'n t!y added ta ilwh ecl doors, both "" xlificarion s be in g adjudged successful. (lav ing pushe d th e Tornad o fligh t en ve lop' as far as possib le, it was ti me to see if thl' Vulture engine could be pushed turt hc r. To tha t end P5 219 was I patched to Roll s-Royce H ucknall , he re engin e o . 12 would undergo a nes of pro gressive modificat ions cent red ro und the o il co o ling system , and flight tria ls to see if th e Vult ure would perform I 'It er. A fter Ro lls-Royce h ad com pleted the ir modi ficat ions , th e Tornado was returned to Lan gley in mid-Jul y, co m plete u h a Roro l pro pe lle r of 13ft 2.5 in (4m I m) in dia mete r, whi ch see med to Improve the engine output a bsor pt ion. )n 27 July, Tornado P52 19 made its first Il lgh t at its inte n de d all-up weight of IO,225Ib (4 ,63 8kg) : th is co ns isted of th e 1 .isic a ircraft, to wh ich h ad been added a lull fuel load , twel ve Browning ma chine I: III1S, and ballast to represent amm un inon . In th is co nd it ion th e a irc raft retu rn ed a top speed of 396.5mph (6 38 km/h ) at 20 ,80 0ft (6,340m ), wh ile the cl imb-to -h e igh t measur ed to 20,000ft (6,000m ) took just ove r six min utes wh ich was co ns ide red outsta n d in g for a figh ter of thi s power and weigh t. Ho wever, th is pe riod of glory was sh ortlived as the Vult ure would suffer a atastroph ic fail ure on 3 1 Jul y wh en at least two con nec t ing rod s frac ture d . In th e subseq uen t crash landing th e a irfra me would also be damage d, although it was qu ickly repair ed . T h e second prototy pe, P5224, made its ma iden flig ht on 5 December 194 0 and was also powered by a Vultu re II; th is

Above This view 01 P5224 emphasizeshow much 01 the technology behind the Hurricane was adopted l or the Tornado and Typhoon prototypes. This included the concept ol the thick wing to house the armament, and a similar wi ng planl orm. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Above Photographed in October 1941, this official portrait 01 the Tornado P5224 prototype reveals the cranked wing and the delinitive undercarriage door arrangement adopted for both the Typhoon and the Tempest. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Specification - Tornado Type: Powerplant: Weights: Dimensions::

Experimental single-seat li ghter P5219. 1.760hpVulture II; R7936 1.980hp Vulture V; HG641 2.21Ohp Centaurus CE4S Empty 8.377lb (3.800kg); loaded 10.6681b (4.840kgl Span 41ft l l in (12.78m); length 32ft 1Din 11 Om); height 14ft8in (4A7m); wing area 283sq ft (26.29sq m] Performance: Max. speed 398mph (640km/hl with Vu lture V. 402mph (647km/hl with Centaurus; rate of climb 7.2min to 20.000ft (6.000m) with Vulture; 8Amin to 20.000ft with Centaurus; range not specified; serviceceiling34.9001t (10.640m) Armament/fuel tanks: none

17

A POWERPL A NT FOR TH E TO R;\AD O

Above This three-quarter rear view of the Centaurus-powered Tornado reveals that this installation was not as neat as that applied to the Tempest and Sea Fury. Big Bird Aviation Collection

machi n e h ad a Rotal co nsta nt spee d propeller, whi ch in cr eased th e a ll-up weight to 9,6001b (4J55 kg) . O the r cha nges from th e first proto type in cl uded new ca no py wind ows and an alte red rudder. In co n trast to th e first Tornado , th is machine h ad provision for fou r H ispano ca n no n instead of th e ea rl ier air cr aft's twel ve mach ine guns . To simulat e an aircraft with a full weapo ns' load , a full fuel load plus ballast was carried , wh ich pushed th e total operat ing weight up to 10 ,S801b (4, 800k g). In March 194 1 the origina l Vultu re II eng ines in bo th prototypes were replaced by th e int ended produ ction eng ine, th e Vulture V, rat ed at 1,9 Oh p. Testing was un dertaken at A&AEE at th e end of 194 1, and it was esta b lishe d that th is version of the Torn ado could eas ily ach iev e 39 8 mph (640km/h) at an alt itud e of 23,300ft (7, 100m ). In cont rast to th e Typh oon, th e Tornado had bett er lo ngitud in al sta bility, a slower sta lling spee d and sligh tly better vision ove r th e nose.

The Tornad o is Abo rte d A lt hough th e Vultu res in the Torn ados were beh aving reasonably well, th ose in the Vult ure-H en ley as wel l as those insta lled in th e Avr o-M an ch esrer bomb ers were suffering serious problem s, altho ugh it h ad success fully passed its type test in 1939 . These ce nt red aro und fractures of the co n nec ting rod bo lts, whi ch resul ted in failure and in some cases fire; also the coo ling syste m was found to be ineffici ent , wh ilst fa ilures of th e o il lubricati on syste m co n tributed to the big-end failu res, th us

add ing to th e fire h azard . As pressure was mounting on Ro lls-Royce to increase prod uc tion of th e Merl in eng ine, it was dec ided to cease development of th e Vult ure, an d it was abando ne d . A s an alte rn at ive to th e Vulture it was proposed to install th e W righ t Duplex Cy clo ne Type C eng ine , or th e Fairey Mon arch in th e To rn ado . Design work for th is ch ange began in Jan uar y 194 1 at Kin gston , and wo uld co nt in ue unt il July when the Ministr y of A ircraft Product ion orde red th at all such develop ment wor k would cease. N ot all tr aces of the Torn ado progra m me would disappear, however, as Avr o h ad already starte d pro ducti on, co mplet ing its first machine , R7936, at Woodford, wh ich would undertake its ma iden flight on 29 A ugust 1941 . A furt h er four were a lready on th e jigs close to co mplet ion, wh ilst a further set of det a il part s for 100 mor e were in stock at the Yead on facto ry. U n like its predecessor, it was built with th e ch in radi ator fro m the outse t. O nce Avr os had co mpleted test -flyin g of thi s machine, it was flown to Langley. Its stay with Hawk er 's was sho rt, as two days later it was on its way to Rorol Prope lle rs Ltd at S taverto n , G los. From S ravc rto n , R7936 was passed on to de Havillan d Prope lle rs Ltd at Hatfield ; at bot h locat ions its ro le h ad been th at of development test -flying of various types of propc llor, Dur in g an eight een -mont h per iod th is mach in e was the reci pient of a variety of six-b laded co nt ra-ro ta t ing prop e llers from bo th man ufacturers. Bot h To rn ados, R793 6 and R 7938, co n t in ued in use with RA E d ur in g 194 3 , before being with dr awn in 1944 for d isposal.

18

When it beca me obv ious th at the Tornado program me was go ing to be abo rte d , Syd ney Ca ru m h ad suggested th at at least one Tornado sho uld be used in the devel op ment work of th e new Bristo l Ccn raurus eigh tee n-c ylinder engine then und er devel opment at Filron . A s othe r work was taking preceden ce, it was not un t il April 1940 th at furt he r steps were taken to progress this idea, whe n an add itiona l prototype was orde red. In the eve nt , h owever, on ly a new ce nt re sect ion was co nstr uc ted, as th e rem aining major co mpone nts were drawn from sro ck at Lan gley. Sc rialled HG 641, th is new mach ine, co mp lete with a Ce n raurus C E,45 engine rated at 2,2 1Oh p, was rolled out for its maid en fligh t by P. G . Lucas on 23 Octo be r 194 1. Unfort una tel y ini tial test fligh ts revealed serious prob lem s, with th e eng ine s cooling as th e exhaust co llec tor ring was ca rried for ward of the po werp lan r, this culmi na t ing in a sing le ex ha ust wh ich ve n ted under the port wing. To co unte r th is, th e ex haust pipes wer e sp lit in two and vent ed un der the aircraft's ce n tre sect ion , whi le th e co wlings themsel ves were mod ified to accept th e cha nges. A no th er modi ficati on applied to th e co wling was th e o il coo ler int ake, wh ich was ex tende d to th e co wling lower edge to improve the cooling airflow. T h e Ro tol propellor assembly fitt ed to HG 641 feat ured a large sp in ne r th at co vered th e co mplete h ub. After th e mod ificat ions ha d been app lied to HG 64 1, its perfo rman ce and behaviour impro ved mar kedl y, so much so that a small co n trac t for a furt her six was placed in early 194 2. T he revamped engine in stallat ion allowed the Cen raurus Torn ado to resum e flyin g aga in in ovc rn be r 1942. During th ese flights a maximum spee d of 41 2mp h (663km/h) was ac h ieved, at an alt itude of I ,000ft (S,500 m). Although the se test fligh ts were successful, no more would be built: th e six Ccn raurus-powcred Tornad os would be cancelled beca use th e test -flying of a cn ra urus in the Typh oon II was provin g it to be a far more ca pable aircraft. The so le Ccn ra urus Torn ado co n t in ued in usc as a test bed until A ugust 194 4 , wh en it was scra pped . Hawker's new fighter migh t h ave been ca nce lled, but its co nt ribut ion to th e subseque n t Typhoon , Tempest and Sea Fury developm ent progra m mes can no t be und er est imated .

CHA PT ER T HREE

The Typhoon in Development • I he

same tim e as H awke r's wer e busy vloping t he Tornad o, th ey wer e a lso r ce d ing apace with t he alte rn a tive r ion, the n kno wn as th e Type 'N ', bu t 'II to he ren a med t he Typh oo n; th is was I i bc ing h and built by the experi me nta l 'lit at C a n bur y Par k Road , Kin gsto n . 1l11' co n t ract - 8 15 124/38 , for th e tw o f I hoon prototypes to wo rks order No . H - was issued to H awke r's o n 3 Ma rch I >\H. T he resul ta nt pro to type , P5 21 2, 'wned by a Sa bre e ng ine rated at • OOh p, mad e its maiden flight wit h P. G . I III as at th e co nt ro ls on 24 February 194 0 . 10 ge t t he a ircra ft to t his stage th e l l.iwker design tea m, led by Camm , h ad 1,1 110 exe rc ise extrem e ingen uity to sh oeirn the Sabre into th e airfram e. om plica ting th e install ati on was th e 'd to mo ve th e engin e back ward s so me III ( 18c m ) to main tain the ce n t re of gravuv, To acco m moda te this ch ange th e Il/.:lne hea rer str uc t ures, secondary st ructur.il co mpo n en ts, co n nect io ns an d all th e rnous fai ring pa n els und er went co mplete I lesign . Altho ugh thi s so unded co mpliuc d , it did in fact mak e install ing th e .•pie r abre a far easie r task, as it allow ed rill' dele tio n of var io us str uc tura l co rn po11\ n ts tha t h ad bee n req uired for th e I olls- Ro yce Vu lture. O ve ra ll th ese hanges would result in a n aircraft so me IlOlh (5 5kg ) ligh ter and a few in ch es ho rre r. T he down side was th at mo unting rhc engine virt ua lly o nto th e mai n spar I cc n ruated th e effec ts of undampe ned \'Ilgine vibra t io n , a nd led to seco nda ry har mon ics transm itting along th e inb oard wing str uct ure and rear spar to th e ce nt re md rear fuselage.

th at eve n a t 70mph ( 112km/ h ) o n the gro und , th e rudder was so in effective th at t he Typh oon would co n tin ue to tu rn to po rt even with th e rudde r fully deflect ed in t he oppos ite direction. In fact Lucas made strong representations to N ap ie r's abo ut t he vibra tio n a nd n o ise gene ra ted by the Sa bre , altho ugh th ey co nt in ued to de ny hi s allega tions . Eventu ally th e co mplaints wer e written into a forma l report t hat not o n ly men t ioned th ese two major faults, but wo uld also h igh ligh t the fact t h at as t he upp e r ranges of rp m were rea ch ed , th e vibra tion beca me so bad as to make t he co ckpit in str um en ts unreadable , th is bein g accompan ied by a pe rsiste n t, sev e re, low freq uen cy buzz through o ut th e co ckp it. In an a tte mpt to red uce th ese effect s th e in str ument pan el mountings wer e tight ene d , rub ber bun gce gro m me ts were in stal led o n th e p ilot 's scat , wh ile th e wh eel -mo unt ing sp igo ts were sh o rte ne d sligh tly. C ha nges wer e recommended for th e ex ha ust syste m, as it was ad m itte d th at t h ey were inadequ at e for the Typh oo n, a nd also for the engine and its o il syste m. It was suspec te d th a t under proper flight co nd it io ns, t he engine te mp era t ures m ight rise dan gero usly h igh .

T h is machin e led a fa irly ad ve nt uro us life, as it would lose part of its undernose fairing during th e seco nd flight o n I March . The cause was nev er co mpletel y d iscovered , but th e pane l fasten er s wer e ch anged as a preca utio n . During the rem a inde r of the mo nt h t he Typho o n was flo wn a furthe r e igh t tim es, and Lucas was ab le to report t hat th e modifi catio ns had redu ced th e var iou s faults, tho ugh to a bar ely ac ce ptable lev el. During th ese flights Luca s push ed P52 12 to a ma ximu m speed of 3 76 mph (6 05k m/h) a t 20 ,400ft (6 ,220m) . A t t he end of th is seq uence t he eng in e was throw ing oil, ind ica ting th at th e h eade r tank pressure-rel ief valve was blowing off; also fuel co ns umptio n was far hi gh er th an predi ct ed , espec ially a t co nstan t e ngine o ut puts. P521 2 was th en fitted with Sa bre I No . 95005 , a nd test -flyin g was resumed . By 4 A pril a new fuel pu mp , co mplete with lower ed gea ring and simplified piping, was test-flow n , and fo und to give better pe rfor man ce in th e subseq uent test flight. Th is e ngine was then rem ov ed for its twentyfive-hour str ip exa m ina t ion , and re placed with a not he r whose mount ings had been c h ange d from the or igina l so lid type to a

T s t-Flying the Typh oon hrs t tax i tr ia ls we re mad e o n 23 Fe brua ry (940, as wel l as a sho rt air borne ho p th at would co n firm th at th e pro tot ype Ivphoo n , in common with the prot ot ype Ior nado, was short o n lo ngitudina l sta hilIty. In fac t Phil ip Lucas wou ld late r repor t

Above This side-on view of Typhoon lA, R7579, reveals that this first batch was fairly basic in comparison to the versions that followed. Changes included installation of cannon armament, strengthening of the rear fuselage, modification of the elevator control balance, and more significantly, the fitment of a clear vision canopy. Big BirdAviation Collection

79

T HE T YPH OON IN

D E V EL O P ~I E NT

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Above This diagram of the Napier engine shows how compl icated a beast it really was ; fortunately for the pilot. his involvement required no more than the operation of a few levers . Courtesy Rolls-Bovee

damp ened version mount ed on shockabsor bing rubber pads. Coupled to th is fit rn c n t was the insta llat ion of a Vibrograph on the beh est of the RA E. Flying with the new eng ine resumed on 7 May, and Lucas report ed that engine and airframe vibration seemed to have been redu ced. Bur just two days later, on 9 May, wh ilst flying P52 l 2 for Vibrograph tests, the aircraft suffered partial structu ral failure of the rear fuselage at a speed of 170mph (434km /h) at an alt itude of 10,500ft (3, IOOm ). Una ware of the damage caused, the pilot, P. G . Lucas, turned the protot ype to wards Lan gley where he made an excellent land ing, keeping the undercarriage and flaps retracted unt il the last moment , even though the con trols felt loose and sloppy with a distinct tend ency to drift to port. Investigation revealed that two of th e primary structural members aft of th e coc kpit had failed, wh ich in tum had placed great strain upon the monocoque rear fuselage, wh ich had begun to come apart. For his efforts in ret urni ng the protot ype

Typh oon safely to term !illna , Lucas was awarded the Ge orge Medal. Strangely enough it was ded uced th at the primary cause of the failure was th e engine vibration s, which had literally shaken the structure apa rt. The aircraft was safel y recov ered, and rebuilt with redesigned engine mounti ngs; it went on to test nu merous Sa bre engines , incl udi ng th e Mk II S.322 during May 194 2. But on 7 July, P52 12 again suffered an engine failure , obliging the pilot to make a hasty land ing at Langley. Yet again the aircraft was repaired, and whil st in the pro cess of thi s, th e oppor tun ity was tak en to fit an en larged rai lplane to see if it would improve sta bility and han dling. In contrast to the seco nd protot ype, th is machi ne had mountings incorporated for twe lve Brown ing machi ne guns. The in itial te st fligh ts were seen as pro m ising, so Lord Beaver brook , the Min ister of A ircraft Produ ction, made arran gem ents for N apicrs to have en larged premi ses so th at product ion of the Sabre could begin

20

en masse. However, the re would be no avalanc he of engine s, as th e requ isit e airframes d id not exist, there being on ly the two prototypes. T he second proto type, P52 16, made its first flight on 3 May 194 1; it was also piloted by P. G. Lucas, and featur ed extended wingtips, T he eng ine fitt ed for th is fligh t was developmen t abrc No. 950 18, but a few mont hs later it would be rep laced by a production version Sabre II, No. S.322 , whi le ar mament in the form of four 20mm H ispano can non was fitt ed on 17 Ap ril 1941 . By this t ime th e Typhoon had fo llowed the soon-to -be-cancelled Tornado on to th e list of aircraft to be man ufactured for war service; the selec ted manufact urer was the G loster Ai rcraft Company Ltd , based at H ucclccote in G loucester. While production lines were being established for bot h th e engine and airframe, th e prototype Typhoon was runn ing int o trouble, th e main cause centring around th e Sabre engine; th is was proving temp eramen tal, espec ially at altitudes above 20,000ft

TilE TYPIIOON IN

Ill). H owever, th e a irframe was also II.wing less well than expected , as noc uvrabilitv, and espec ially the roll rat e , hIppy. Dur ing 1941 att empts were made un prove the behav iour of the a irframe, I -ing cen tred aro und bot h exte nd ing I lipping the win gtips. Bot h pro ved to be ,Ill' prospects, but ne ither would be 'Ill'll, because th e result an t loss in perforuu c was not accepta ble. Further attempts unprove the beh aviour of the a irframe lu ftotl a six ca n no n insta llation th at was 11 loncd at the mock -up stage , an d an II ursr-driven supe rcha rger tha t was also llcd, hut in th e eve n t was aba ndo ned. hen the second proto type Typhoo n , 16, made its first fligh t in May 1941 , it fitt ed with one of th e recommended 11l.II11ent ins ta llat io ns. in th is case fou r 11111 Hispano long-barrel ca n non , two per 1Il~ . Each wea po n was belt-fed. and each I 140 rounds. C ha nges from the first II raft incl uded th e del et io n of the sma ll III lows in the cano py fa iring, as th ese were md III be of little use. The fair ings for the III lercarriage were a lso mod ified. T h e origII set-up h ad hinged fairings attache d to ma in doo rs. but th ese had a tendency to o rne da mage d by th e build- up of mud I I grass whe n ope rat ing fro m unprep ared rrficlds: a ' D' do or was th erefo re installed at III fuselage win g roo t jo int .

Firs t Production Aircraft I vc n t ho ugh th e Typhoon p roto types wer e I e rienc in g performance and beh av iour tro ubles, e no ugh progress was be in g mad e 'I I h the var io us mod ifica t ions to a llo w

D E V E L OP~ I E N T

Above This underside view of a Typhoon IA reveals Ihe crank built inlo the wing. plus the layoul of flaps. and also the construct ion of the radiator under the nose. and Ihe location of the flap that could be opened 10 improve the airflow on lake -off and landing. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

produ ct ion hy G loste r A ircraft to proceed . T h e first produ ction a irc raft. R 757 6. mad e its first flight o n 27 May 1941, just o ve r three week s afte r th e second pro to type h ad flo wn . T h is ma c h in e was very sim ilar to P5 2 16, excep t th at it featu red mach inc gun arma me n t instead o f the prefer red can non , as t he can non -fee d mechan isms man ufactured by C ha re llera ult were in e riously short supply du e to se rv ice requirements el sewh e re . Afte r man ufac t urer s' flight tr ial s, th e first p roduc ti on a irc raft woul d be ope ra ted ma in ly by the Royal A ircraft Esta blish ment, a ltho ugh so me t im e was spe nt with No. 56 Sq n for

Righi Typhoon IB, R7700. was ployed by the A&AEE for in carbon monoxide ks trials, radio and IFF I Is, engine cooling, fuel ensumption, plus climb and p ed trials. This portrait r veals that this aircraft has d the first tail unit trengthening modification c rried out. This was a onepi ce steel band that was I ter replaced by fishplates. this was a Typhoon IB, the ircraft sports four cannon. nd the first attempt to improve the pilot's vision. Big Bird Aviation Collection

21

fro nt -lin e eva luat io n. To di ffer e ntiate be twe en the mach in e -gun versio n and th e ca n non-a rme d mach in es they we re d esigna ted the Ma rk 1A and Mar k 113 respecti ve ly. A s Bro wn in g mach in e guns were ea sier ro o bta in, mu ch o f the ea rly prod uct io n was deli ver ed as th e Mark 1A variant. When the can non and its feed mech anism s beca me mor e ple ntiful, t he Mark 113 repla ced th e earl ier ve rsio n o n the prod uc t ion lin e. A lto gether 110 lA s were manufactured , Typh oon a ltho ugh so me wou ld later be rew orked to Mar k 113 sta nda rd . It was d uring t h is ea rly pe riod in th e

TI l E TY PHOO N IN

Typh oon 's development th at th e Luftwaffe began to dep loy a figh ter th at was far more potent than the Mcsscrschmitt Bf 109. This was th e Focke- W ulf Fw 190, whi ch was fast er and more man oeu vrable th an the curre n t RA F front-line figh ter, th e S upe rmarine Spitfire V. To find a co un ter to thi s new th rea t, th e fifth and sixth airfra mes were despat ch ed to th e A ir Figh ting Dev elop ment U n it at Duxford , wh ere th ey were flown in co mpe t it ion again st a p itfire V. They h ad to usc th ese two brand-n ew machines beca use all th e others were heavil y inv o lved in tri als work at th e manu factu rers, th e A&AEE and RAE. In the co mparat ive flights between th e S pitfire and Typhoon , th e latt er outperfor med th e former by some 40mph (65km/h), espec ially at alt itud es of 14,000ft (4 ,200m) or bel ow. In co m mo n with othe r agenc ies, the A FDU fo und th e Typh oon to be less man oeuvrab le th an th e pirfirc, a ltho ugh its hi gh speed would be noted as useful in low level co mbat. Even th o ugh th e AFDU report h ad been enc ourag ing in places, overa ll the Royal A ir Fo rce h ad nor yet en visaged a role for such a h eavyweigh t figh ter - wh ich was un fortunate, as th e produ ction rat e at H uccl ecore was increasin g. \X1h ile complete a irc raft wer e stack ing up awa iting usage, th e design team s at Hawker 's and N apier's, as well as at G loster's, were also in th e th roes of tr yin g to imp rove the reliability of the en gine and a irfram e. The first defect to be look ed at was a problem wit h carbo n monoxide fumes leaking back in to the cockpit th rou gh th e front bulk head . C are ful in vest igati on and scaling of th e bu lkh ead h elped red uce th e fault, and pilot s were instructed to wear oxygen masks wherever possible.

Serious Pro blems with St ruc tural Failure T he next fault to appea r was far mor e scriOl IS and took some time to rect ify sat isfactorily. On 29 Ju ly 1942 a p ilot undergo ing co n version tr ain ing wit h No . 257 Sqn was kill ed wh en th e complet e tail unit of h is Typh oon , R8633 , deta ched whi lst the plane was making a turn during a sh allow di ve ; th e machine plunged away out of co n trol, coming to eart h just sout h west of H igh Ercall, Withi n two weeks a furth er tragic loss occ urred when a Hawker test pilo t, Ken Se th -S mith , was k illed

D E V E L OP ~I E N T

wh en hi s Typh oon IB, R 7692, also suffered a catas troph ic failure of th e tail unit ; th e wreckage landed near Sta in es. A t th e time the aircra ft was bei ng put through a series of sp in n ing tri als. A third loss occ urred in the fo llowin g week wh en an a ircraft flying in a No. 56 Sqn formati on disint egrat ed in mid -air, ki llin g the pilot . The react ion to th is fai lure was to gro und the Typh oons imm edi atel y until a fix could be applied . In vest igat ion s reveal ed th at under cert a in flight loadings exc essive pressur es wer e be ing app lied to the tran sport assembly jo int, th e interface between th e rear fuse lage and the ta il uni t. W h ilst wait ing for a fully developed mod ificati on , a tem porar y repair was applied , in whi ch a steel bu tt strap was wrapped aro und th e wh o le joint. Th is, h owever, was h eavy, cumbe rso me , and also caused so me trim probl em s, so ano th er re pair was devel op ed th at was lighter but just as stro ng. Kn own as Mod 286 , thi s cons isted of tw ent y h igh -tensile steel plat es tha t wer e riv et ed to th e ai rfram e at equ id ista n t po int s around th e tran sport join t . T h e civilian wo rkin g parties from th e manufac tur ers wer e main ly assisted in th is task by N o . 13 Maintenance Unit at H cn low: the y undert ook th e pro gramm e on at least 300 a irframes from December 1942 unt il March 1943 . O n th e produ cti on lin e th e modifi ca tion was int roduced as standa rd from th e 820th aircraft on wards. A lt h ou gh th e stress ana lysts at Hawker's and th eir co unt erparts at th e RAE wer e fai rly sure th at th e ta il-sh ed d ing pro blem h ad been reso lved , furt h er inv est igat ions we re mad e . C lose exa m ina t ion of th e recoverabl e wreckage seeme d to indicat e th at th e transport joint might not h ave been th e cause of th e failures. To test out this th eor y, Typh oons fitt ed with stress and stra in ga uges unde rwe n t a se ries of ai rborn e tests; th ese main ly con sisted of divi n g up to maxim um speed , cl ose to 500mph (800km/h), th en exec uting a vio lent man oeuvr e as if to esca pe en emy AAA fire . G iven the speed of th ese div es and th e gyrat ion s und ert aken afterward s, it is im mediatel y obvious th at th ese p ilots wer e putt in g th eir lives on th e lin e for wh at became a set of in conclusive results. Attention th en turned to th e operation al squad rons , espec ially Nos 181 and 182 Squadro ns wh o were usin g th ei r Typh oon s in th e di ve-b ombing role ; close inspect ion of the se ma ch ine s revealed a

22

sligh t buck ling of the rear fusela ge in the are a of the tran spo rt join t. However, gro un d tri als of th ese machines soo n establish ed th at th e struc tures were mor e th an capa ble of accept ing th e load s imp osed . A nother area of th e airframe pla ced un der closer exam inat ion was th e elevat or mass balance , ca rried cent rally in th e fuselage. It was d isco vered th at und er grea t stress the mounting brack et co uld fa il, th us rendering th e elevators un cont roll able due to ind uced flutt er. While th ese in vesti gat io ns wer e proce eding, furth er Typhoons wer e being lost du e to st ruc tu ra l fa ilur e: by Ma y 194 3 t he tota l had risen to th irte en , wit h o n ly one p ilot sur viv ing, a Pilot O ffice r Kilpatrick o f No . 19 2 Sqn , wh o so me ho w man aged to fight hi s wa y cl ear of hi s tumbling fighter to para chute to afct y. Wh at co n fused th e issue eve n mor e was tha t so me of th ese machines h ad un der go n e th e str uc t ura l modi ficati on process. At this point th e investi gators cha ng ed th ei r a pproach, preferring to look at o the r ca uses. Amongst th e ma in areas to co me under scru t in y were th e e levato r an d rudder. The form er was defi ni tely seen as a prim e ca n d idate , as th is was th e part icular surfac e th at h ad been used just befor e th e tr an sport joint fa iled, an d th e ba lan ce mount in g br ack et h ad fail ed . Flutter or h armonic vibra t io ns wer e now suspec te d of being th e pri ma ry ca use o f th e crash es , th erefore th e focu s mo ved to th e ma ss bal ance we igh ts attac h ed to th e el ev ators. Afte r nu mer ou s fligh t t ria ls wit h weights o f di ffer en t III ass and size, a modi ficati on progr am me was und ertak en to fit a ll n ew an d surviv in g mach in es with th e n ew item s. O n th e wh o le it see med to be a succ ess, a ltho ugh th e occasio na l sing le a irc raft, possib ly more , a rrivin g back at base would rep ort e leva tor co nt ro l prob le ms h avi ng exce ede d 500mph (800km/h) in a d ive . When in spect ed, th e ligh ten ing h o les th at th e el ev ator rod s pa ssed thro ugh in th e fuse lage were found to be di storted, and in so me case s cracked d ue to the defl ecti on loads placed upon th e con tro l ro ds wh en pu lling out of a d ive. Eviden tl y thi s situat io n co uld not be a llowed to co nt in ue because of possible probl em s with pilot morale , ' 0 th e deci sion was take n to fit produ cti on Typh oon s with th e Tempest rai lplan e of in cr eased span, wh ich, it was con fiden tly predict ed, would eliminate th e ta il-end failure

T HE TYPIIOO;\ IN

D EV EL OP ~ I E;\T

bove This three-quarter forward view of a Typhoon IB shows the striping under the wings that was pli ed to stop various Allied forces trying to shoot the type down . This aircraft also sports a white nose, Ilhough this modificati on was quickly removed as it compromised the effectiveness of the camouflage . B.g Bird Aviation Collection

omplercly. This modifi cation came on Itea m at th e begin n ing of 1944 , and was tollowed by anot he r lat er th at year, wh ich ha nged the elevator mass balance sha pe lJ.:ai n . O verall th e acc ide nt rate for th e Ivphoon was redu ced co nside rably, .tli ho ugh the re wer e a fina l th ree crashes III 1945: as far as th ese were co nc ern ed , r 'po rts see med to ind icate th at one or I u h ma in und ercarriage un its wer e I 'co m ing un locked in fligh t and droppi ng mro the airflow, and th e ensuing turbuwas suspec ted of plac ing lcnc e unaccepta ble load s upon th e airfram e, wh ich wo uld then break up. However, no turther ac tion would be taken to so lve th e fyphoon 's departing rea r end since it was leav ing RAF servic e in 194 5 as more and mo re Te mpes ts became ava ilable.

The Sabre Gives Cause for oncern W h ilst th e rea r end of th e a irframe was ca using con siderable troub le, thi ngs were not go ing so wel l un der th e eng ine cow lings, eith er. T he Sa bre eng ine , altho ugh powerful, was giving everyo ne co nce rne d th e Typh oon de velopme nt with programme serious ca use for co nc ern . N ot on ly was it tem perament al, but ap ier' s were un able to ma nufa cture enough to keep up with airframe pro duct ion , so

G loster's were faced with the situat ion of e ither h aving eng ine less a ircraft cl utter ing up Hu cclcco re, or remov ing th em to ma in te na nce uni ts where th ey co uld be stored wh ile awai ting powerp lant s. T he latt er was the preferred opt ion , alth ough it did mea n a perp et ua l cycle of eng ine changes, wh er e th e delivered aircraft would land at the M U and h ave its engine rem oved , th is then bei ng re turn ed for use in the next a irfra me. T he eng ine sh or tage a lso ca used problem s wit h the co mplet ion of th e testflight sche d ule, and any rect ificat ion req ui red at turna ro unds tended to be rat her q uick . In front- line service, to o , th e beh aviour of the Sabr e was proving rath er wor rying. T he cause was cent red aro und th e slee ve valves, wh ich were se izing after a few ho urs of flyin g time . To co un ter th is, a rigo rous series of inspect ions was put in place, tho ugh thi s mean t pulling the engine fro m th e airframe every twenty-five hours, wh ich redu ced th e ava ilable ope rating fleer. The situat ion im proved in May 1943 wh en th e inspecti on sche d ule was increased to th e thirty-hour flying mark; however, th is was on ly ac h ieved by careful hu sbandry, wh ich included keep ing the engine warm by the use of externa l hot air blowers. O bviously such a situa t ion co uld no t be a llowed to co n t in ue, and 1 api cr's th erefore began a programme of resear ch to reso lve thi s problem. Consultat ion with

23

Bristol Engines of Filum hel ped prov ide th e answer, as th is co mpa ny h ad ex tensive expe rience in the produc t ion of sleeveva lve eng ines . The so lut ion was to selec t th e right mat eri al for the task, and app ly such treat me nts as n itr iding and lapping th e va lves before asse mbly. O nce th e full perm utation of metal alloys h ad been explore d and th e right one selec ted , N apier's th en em ba rked on a massive mod ificat ion program me to install th e new va lves. This in tu rn temp orarily redu ced th e ava ilab ility of Typh oons, ' 0 th e figh te r squadro ns h ad th eir flyin g h ours c ut to 300 per month, wh ilst th ose undert aki ng th e mo re stre n uo us art of d ive bom b ing were restri cted to 200 ho urs per month . But th e restri cti ons wer e wor th it in th e lo ng run , as Sa bre rel iab ilit y imp roved far beyo nd the ori gin a l ava ilab ility figure - althou gh, in co m mo n with othe r p isto n eng ines, it co uld st ill be a tempe ra menta l beast . In an effort to imp rove the performa nce of th e Sa bre eng ine and th e Typhoon in ge ne ra l, in 194 3 apier's fit ted Tornado R8694 with versio n IV of the Sa bre eng in e. The major cha nge from th e ea rl ier version was th e installati on of an annula r rad iator instead of the char ac terist ic ch in type. Test-flying by Napier 's produ ced a reported top spee d of 452mp h (727k m/h) ; however, beca use th e Tempest pro gra mme was well on in its devel op ment , the Typh oon with its modifi ed eng ine was no mor e th an an in teresti ng side line .

Shortcomings in the Airframe \Vhil e the manufacturers and the various test organi zations were struggling to rectify th e more obvious defects th at had beset the Typh oon, the operat ional uni ts were a lso vo icing th e ir co mp laints - the main one be ing th e terrible all-ro und pilot's vision . T h e first step in resol vin g th is fault involved replac ing th e so lid metal rear cockpit fa irin g th at featured on the ea rlybu ild machi nes with a sing le-piece perspex ca no py. Having deal t wit h o ne area spec ificall y to imp rove th e pilot 's vision, Hawker 's then turne d the ir atte nt ion to impr oving th e rem ainder of th e ca nopy , whose heavy fram ing also restr ict ed th e outloo k. In itially th e plan was to develop a light we ight wind screen assembly with a sma lle r frame, wh ich woul d be allied to a revamped main ca no py. A lthough th e new windscreen assembly woul d eve nt ually be

TilE T YPIIOON IN

introdu ced, th e rem ainder was supe rsede d by a o ne- p iece blown ca no py design ed to slide to the rear ; thi s woul d replace th e ca r door a nd multi -part or iginal. In itial fligh t tri als were undertake n using a irframe R8809; test -flyin g began in Ja nu ary 1943 . Fro m th e o ut set th e new cano py was pra ised by a ll in vol ved with th e tri a ls, whi ch had included pil ot s seconded to th e manufacturers, th e RA E a nd th e A FDU. Further tr ials began at o rtholt in Februar y usin g serv ice pilo ts wh o would a lso h eap praise up on th e red esign ed ca nopy. The mod ified machine was gree te d wit h delight by a ll who flew it; ho we ver , it ac tua lly to ok un t il overn be r 194 3 fo r it to co me o n line . O ne furt her a tt e mpt to ex tend th e pilot's vision was to fit a rear-v iew mirror und er a sma ll perspex bliste r o n to p of th e ca nopy. Howe ver, in service th is was found to be less th an useless beca use of vibrati on, and failures to th e ca no py fina lly led to it be ing ab andone d . In parallel to th e n ew ca nopy being introd uce d on th e producti on lin e, a program me was put in moti on to mod ify as man y of the o lde r machines as possible. Ho we ver, th is d id no t start until September 1943, wh ich meant th at o n DDay so me a ircraft were st ill flyin g o n ope ra tions wit h the or igina l heavy-fram ed 'coffin hood' ca no py assembly. Pilots wer e a lso responsib le for the next mod ifica tio n , wh ich inv o lved repl acing th e or igina l rigid seat wit h a sprung asse ntbly. T h is was needed in order to co un ter the e xcess ive h igh frequ ency vibrati o n expe rie nc ed at certa in e ng ine se tt ings. \X!h en the four-blade d prop el lor modifi cation was int rodu ced in 194 4 it was h oped t ha t th is wou ld co mple te ly el im ina te th e vibra tion; how ever, th e ha nd ling was fo und to be un accepta ble. T h e c ure for t h is wo uld be the in st a llati on of th e Tem pest rai lpla ne, wit h its in cr eased spa n. The modified a ircra ft began to ent er sq uad ro n se rvice from February 1944 . Exce pt for a sligh t te nde ncy for th e ta il un it st ill to co me adrift , th is fina l versio n of the modi fied Typh oon was a vas t imp rov em ent o n t he or igina l. O the r modi ficat ion s were ap p lied as th e war progressed: th ese incl ude d ca n no n barr e l fairings, th e fit men r of ex ha ust st ub fa irings, and the replacem ent of th e aeria l mast by a whi p ae ria l. O n ly o ne was subseq ue n tly rem ov ed , and th at was th e ex ha ust stub fairing s, whi ch we re found to be less th an benefic ia l in use .

DEV EL O P~l E :-:T

Above Standing on pierced steel planking, this Typhoon 18 epitom izes the pinnacle of the type's development: thus it sports the extended span Tempest tailplane, a four-bl aded propeller to better absorb the Sabre engine's prodigious output, a full-blown canopy plus a full spread of rockets mounted on rails under the wi ngs. Of note is the incomple te D-Day stri pi ng under the w ings. Real Wings Collection

Alterna tive Roles for th e Typhoon Alt h o ugh t he Typ h oo n was intended as a fighter or fight er bomber, there wer e a tte mpts to fit it for o t he r ro les, suc h as ni ght figh t ing. In Jun e 1942 Typhoon R765 1 was withdrawn fro m o. 266 Sqn a nd deli vered to th e Fight er Inte rceptio n U n it at Ford for tri a ls in t he n igh t-figh ting ro le . In co nt ras t to t he Spitfires and Hu rricanes tha t h ad a lrea dy been tri ed, t he Typhoon was fo und to be easy to fly at n igh t , espec ially on instruments. H owe ver, to fit it for th e n ight-figh ter ro le prop er, a series of mod ifications was suggested. These included a slid ing cl ea r ca nopy for improved a ll-ro und visio n, im proved and redesigned coc kpit ligh t ing, and im pro ved braking. Furthe r t ria ls in vol ving Typh oon R7 630 were beg un in A ugust 194 2 a t the FlU , in co n junc t io n wit h a Turb in lire tw in -eu gined Bost on . Th is part icu lar type of a ircraft was fitt ed with A l rad ar aeri a ls and a pow erful search ligh t in th e nose; wh e n in range of its target as de tected by th e radar a rray, th e accomp any ing figh te r wo uld th eor etica lly sh oo t it do wn. But th e t ria ls invo lving t he Typh oon wer e a mism a tch, as the c ru ising speed of th e Bosto n was o n ly ju st abo ve the Typhoon 's sta lling speed, whi ch mad e it ex tre mely d iffic ult to mainta in any for m of format ion. Even so, t he hi gh spee d of

24

th e fighte r meant th at it co uld h it a de tec ted target ha rd and fast . In o rde r to remo ve th e d ispar it y, plans were put in h a nd to c rea te a proper n igh tfigh ting Typ hoon . T h e trials air craft was R 7881, co n ve rte d by H awke r's as the prototype Typhoon E 1B. To crea te thi s version t he po rt wing ma in fuel tank was rem ov ed to a llow for th e insta llation of th e A l Ma rk V I transmitter a nd receiv er bo xes, wh ilst th e rada r ae ria ls themselv es were mo unted on th e leading edges of both wings. A lt hough at first sigh t the de let io n of a primar y fue l tank co uld be see n as ret rograd e, th ere was in fact co mpe nsa tio n in t he for m of a pa ir of under-wing fuel ta nk s, eac h of wh ich co uld con ta in 45gal ( 20 5 ltr ) of fuel. A fte r co mpa n y fligh t trials, the Typ h oo n was passed o n to the RA E at Farn bo rou gh in Ap ril 194 3 for assessme n t of the a irc raft , a nd of t he rada r's pe rfo rma nc e. As these tri a ls wer e succe ssful , anothe r se ries of ni ght-figh ter t ria ls was car ried o ut o ve r London by pil ot s of th e FlU . These wou ld prove un eve n tful , with no ' trad e ' be ing a va ilable, a lt ho ugh t he tria ls were deem ed a success. The repo rt after th e tri als was very positive , pra ising as it di d the a ircraft's speed , wh ich a llo wed for q uic k intercepti o ns to be mad e. C o up led to this was th e efficacy of the A I system , whose range was effec t ive betwee n 500 and 9,000ft (I SO and 2,750 m ); and th e a ircraft's man ou vrahil iry th at a llowed

Til E TYP IIOO~ IN

Irrac king of a target during th e inter ,"n phas e. O dd ly eno ugh , although I ha d prov ed th e co ncept of the hllo n nigh t figh te r, th is one machine .11 remain a 'on e-off' , being strip ped of I l.rr equipmen t and th en passed to o. nea l Exerc ise U n it at Honi ley in Ju ly Why the Typh oon was cho sen for r.rsk is a myster y, since th e n igh titer versions of th e Mosqui to and the 11I1Igh ter were much better suited to th e , and as they car ried two crew, were H t ha n up to the task.

Typhoon as Grounclking Fighter Bomber II role that would co me to epito mize the I ho on 's role in RA F service was th at of Illlld att ack as a fighter bo mber. Ithough it was or igin ally co nceived as a Ir in tercepto r figh te r, its performan ce at utudcs above 14,OOOft (4, 270 m ) was not r~ good, whic h meant that its futur e was I.iwcr levels. The or igina l concept of the -hrer bomber had been prov en by th e

D E V ELOP~ I E NT

Hawk er H urricane, once its days as a frontlin e fighter had ended. To see if th e Typh oon was a suitable a ircraft, R7646 was passed to the A & AE E in Au gust 194 2 for tri als. For this purp ose it was fitt ed with a faired bomb rack und er eac h win g, each rated to ca rry one 500l b (22 5kg ) gene ral-purpose bomb. T h e fligh t trials revealed th at in stra ight and level flight th ere appea red to be little alte rat ion to th e aircraft's handling and perform an ce; however, when en te ring a dive, a irframe buffet ing ensued at an ind icated ai r spee d of 350 mph (5 60k mjh), whi ch in turn wo uld place a maxim um limi t ing speed of 400m ph (640kmjh ) on the Typhoon in operational use. W hen flown wit h in th ese limi ts the Typhoon expe rienced no not iceab le cha nge in tr im once th e bo mbs had been released. A s we ll as carrying our tri als usin g 250 and 5001b ( 110 and 225kg ) general-purpose bombs, R7646 was also employed in gun-heat ing tests, and the testing of a signal d ischarger. Further trials were und ert aken in Octobe r using th e same mach ine; by thi s tim e th e a ircraft had been modi fied with extended ejecto r slots un der the win gs to

low This close-up view of the aerial installation fitted to R7BBl also shows the cylindrical 45gal (200ltrl mnl fuel tanks that were permanently carried. as one of the wing tanks had been removed to mmodate the radar transmitter and receiver equipment. Real Wings Colle ction

25

assist in the clearan ce of spe n t can no n ca rt ridges away from the bom bs and mounting racks. O ne of th e first trials und ert aken usin g R7646 was th e measurement of th e Typh oon 's maxim um speed in level fligh t fully loaded . T hi s showed tha t a clea n Typhoon travelling at an altitude of 8 ,OOOft (2,500m) was ca pab le of a Tru e A ir Speed of 3 72mph (599 kmjh) , but wh ilst loaded the Tru e A ir Spee d d ropped to 336mph (540kmjh) . Judged as succe ssful, the fight er-bomber ve rsion of th e Typhoon was passed for pro duction . Hawker 's would begin fitt ing bo mb -ca rrying equipmen t to prod uct ion airframes in mid-O ctob er 194 2, a ltho ugh pro duct ion would be split betw een both figh ter and figh ter-bomber versions un t il the middle of 194 3 , when the figh terbo mber version wou ld become sta ndard. Trials with 500lb general-purpose bombs were successful, although a modifi ed ant ish immy railwh eel and tvre were requ ired, to sto p the ta il wagging with th e heavier load . After service trials in March 1943, the latest modi ficati on s were embo d ied on the produ cti on airframes from the 1,00 Ist aircraft on wards, whi lst as man y as possib le of th e origina l mach ines already in service were brou ght up to th e same sta nda rd. First service deli veries were mad e to o. 18 1 Sq uadro n. Exte nd ing th e Typh oon's capabi lit ies to ca rry a heavier load was th e next step. During April 1943 , th e pro d uc t ion Typhoo n DN 340 , fitted with a fo ur-b lade prop e ller, was passed to the A&A EE for tr ials wit h 1,000 1b (45 0k g ) gene ra lpur pose bo mbs. Wi th a full load of fue l and bo mb s, the Typhoon weig hed in at 13,2501b (6, 0 10k g) AU W. In co nt rast to th e se rvice norm of taking off from grass or PSP plank ed runw ays, th e t rials a ircraft used the concrete runways a t RA E T h ruxton, to e lim ina te the ten den cy of a lo ad ed Typh oon to nose dow n before rotat ion . During th ese t ria ls, take -offs were exec uted with th e flap set at 15 d egrees down . Beh aviou r was sim ilar to a ligh tl y loaded a irc raft without any ex te rn a l wea po ns, a lt ho ugh it req uired a sligh tl y lon ger run . In th e ai r, the a ircraft wit h its inc reased bomb load beh aved much as had the Typ hoo n with 500 lb bom bs, a lt ho ugh the to p speed reached by D 340 was held at 390mph (630k mjh) lA S . T he tr ial report s cleared th e new co mbinat ion for serv ice usage, alt ho ugh doubt s were ra ised about the perfor ma nce of the

TIlE TYPHOO:,\ IN

four-b laded propel ler wit h the shorter span tailplane , and some problem s were ex pe rienced with the bomb-release mech ani sms. Putt ing righ t th ese problems meant th at th e serv ice ent ry of the Typhoon in its modified form was delayed until April 1944 , when o. 143 Wing recei ved the first mach ines. Th e ability to use bot h types of bo mb gave the mission plan ners grea te r tlexibil ity for each tar get. The perfor ma nce and stability of the Typh oon was furt her improved when th e increased span rail plan e of the Tempest was fitt ed, whi ch allowed th e top speed in di ves to be increased . Trials were ca rried out during Ju ne 1944 , and would clear th e Typhoon for a top div e speed of 450m ph (725k m/h) maximum. O n ly one other type of bomb would be cle ared for use by the Typh oon before it was reti red from RAF use, th is bei ng a 5 201 b (235 kg) an ti-pe rsonc l bomb , cons isting of twenty-six 20 lb (9kg) segme nts .

The Typhoon and the Unguided Rocket Having proved itself as a fighter bom ber, it is hardl y surprising th at Hawker's and th e A ir Staff would cast about in an effort to exte nd th e Typh oon's capabilit ies even furt her, and a weapon th at was subsequen tl y ado pted as standard was th e ungu ided rocke t. T he first ope rat iona l use of such a weapon had been und ert aken in 194 2, wh en they were dep loyed und er the lower win gs of the Fairey Swordfish . Dur ing 1943 th e unguided rocke t was also applied successfully to anot he r Hawk er prod uct , th e Hurrican e. Even as th e Hurricane was using the rocket offen sivel y, in Jun e 1943 Hawk er's fitt ed Typhoon EK49 7 with a set of Mark I rocket rails, capable of tot ing eigh t 3 in (Scm) RPs. Aft er its peri od as a tri als machine, EK49 7 wou ld be returned to ac tive se rvice ; however, wh ile on active serv ice with No. I 3 Sq n, it was lost on I Janu ary 194 5 when a US A A F o rth A merican P-51 Mu stan g sho t it down by mistake whil e th e Briti sh figh te r was in c ircuit wait ing to lan d at Y.29 near Asche. Tria l firings und er the aegis of th e A&A EE and th e AF DU were adjudged so successful that an immediat e mod ificat ion pro gra mm e was insti tu ted to co n vert as man y aircraft as soo n as possib le. Run n ing parallel to th e aircraft programm e was one

DEVEL O P ~ IEl' T

to train pilot s in th e use of the new weapon . T hi s entailed learn ing to use th e guns igh t in a new manner in order to pla ce th e rockets on target. Such were th e reso urces put into thi s programme th at th e first un it to equip, o. 18 1 Sq uadron , recei ved its first mach ines in Oc to be r 194 3. By th e t ime D-Day mission s began on 6 Jun e 1944 , the 2nd Tact ica l A ir Force was able to dep loy eleven squadrons tlying rock et -equ ipped Typh oon s that work ed in co nce rt with seve n Typh oon figh te rbombe r unit s. Havin g cle ared the rocke t instal lati on for use, atte n tion now tu rn ed to the rocket ra ils th emse lves. T he origina l Mark I un its were made from steel, whi ch made them ver y un wieldy as th ey we igh ed over 400l b (I SOkg). Such heavywe ight items had a detr imental effec t upon bo th the gro undcrew and the perfor manc e of th e Typh oon , so th ey were quickly redesigned . T he resultant Mark III rai l assemb lies were mad e from alumin ium and we ighed in at 240lb ( 1IOkg) ; th ey were first rest -flown during mid-1944 , and en te red operat iona l serv ice wit h the squadro ns of the 2nd TA F in Decem ber. A nother ben efit of the cha nge to alumin ium in the rails' construct ion was a welcome increase of 15mph (24km /h ) in top speed. T he int rodu ct ion of th e ligh ter rail assemblies was not th e end of develop ment in rocket technology. In an effort to inc rease the firepower av ailable to the Typh oon , tri als were und ertaken with the rocke ts doub le-bank ed ve rt ica lly. In thi s form they were link ed togethe r using a Dup lex No. 2 con necto r, and were laun ched together when the sequence was initiat ed. To give greater flexibility the Duplex No . 3 con nector was develop ed , which allowed rock ets to be fired either sing ly or in salvoes. The first te t tligh ts of th e Duplex rock et -equipped Typh oon were und ertaken in A ugust 1944 , when MN 86 1 was tran sfer red to A & A EE at Boscom be Down for evaluat ion . The post trials report sta ted th at th e handling characteristics were sat isfac to ry, and that th e new ra il assemblies were more th at cap able of withstandi ng div es of 450mp h (725km /h) lA S . Tak e-off perfor manc e from grass runwa ys was also deem ed sat isfacto ry, alt ho ugh it was sligh tly lon ger than before . Further evalua t ions were th en un dertaken by the AFDU at Wit ter ing using Typhoon EK290, altho ugh th ei r report d iffered from tha t prepared by the A&A EE in th at th e take-off and land ing

26

run s were longer, th e c limb-to-he iglit speed was sluggish , and th e top speed had been redu ced to 3 10mph (500km/h). Aft er both report s had been weigh ed up, th e 2nd TA F erred on th e side of ca ution and decided not to proceed with thei r use on operations gene rally, altho ugh some part ial installat io ns were depl oyed against specific target s.

Trials with Napalm Havi ng cle ared fairly co n ve nt iona l weapon s for use by the Typh oon , the AFDU beca me in vo lved in trials inv o lving napalm d uring la te 1944. First test d rops were made ov er the Ho lbeach ran ges, and were foll owed by attacks against dummy tren ches and pillbox fortifica t ion s at Collywcsron. Must an gs as well as Typh oon s were involved in the se tri als, bo th usin g modified version s of th ei r own specific fuel drop tanks . Compare d with the soph ist icated weapon s dep loyed in Vietn am later on , th e bombs tested in 1944 were quite crude in co mpa rison , consist ing of napalm gel in the ta nk s ignited by white phosphorus grena des. The initial tests were co mpleted in Janu ary 1945, and ove rall were seen as d isapp o inting du e to the sma ll quant ity of napalm gel in the fue l tanks. To increase the ir effect ivene ss, new co n ta ine rs contai n ing 1,000 1b (450 kg) of ge l were con str ucted . But service tr ials aga inst live target s were less th an sat isfac to ry, as on th e first run th e ta n ks fail ed to ign ite. The second run was more successful, however, and th e ta rget was comple tely destroyed. A third att ack was made on 12 A pril 1945 : thi s inv o lved eigh t Typh oon s against a ta rget near A rn he m and was eve n more effec tive, espec ially as it was fo llowed up by a bomb str ike. The use of nap alm by th e Royal Air Force was not ex tensive , howev er, and woul d come to an end in early 1946 . C arrying fuel for napalm bombs was not the prima ry role of th e tan ks un der th e win gs of th e Typhoon . Hawker 's heavyweight began trials with und crwing tank s, eac h co ntai n ing 45gal (205 Itr), th at had origina lly been develop ed for the ea rlier Hu rricane. Typh oon R8762 was used for eac h test tlight in December 1942 . \Vithout exte rn al tan ks th e nomin al range for th e Typh oon was some 600 naut ical miles, depend ing on ex te rna l weapon s, eng ine th rottle sett ings and alt itude.

TI l E TYPIIOON IN DEVE I.OPMENT

v

This head-on view of a Typhoon FR.1 B reveals the modifications carried out to create this version :

the outer cannons still remain. the inner one on the port side having been removed to allow for the

,1

of rec onnaissance cameras, whilst the starboard one has been replaced by a forward -facing ra gun. Big Bird Aviation Collection

hen the extern al tanks were install ed, Typhoon's ran ge was exte nded by 50 r cent , the tri als usin g R87 62 showing H 1,090 na ut ica l miles were possible at llhi tude of 5,OOOft (I ,500 m) , alt ho ugh Il hic ve th is th e tan ks had to be dropped I l ' empty. !\fter complet ion of th e convent ional II " ta n k tr ials, R87 62 was th en [lown II h a single d rop tank and a sing le 500 1b I uuh. O nce these were co mpleted, further tll,11s were ca rried ou t usin g a sing le 500 1b I »ub. A ll th ese trials ce n tred upon th e I -haviour of the rudder with th ese var ious 1",llb, the ensuing deflection req uirem ents l.ucr be ing passed on to the fron t- line I dots. O nce produ ct ion plum bin g had I -cn designed, install at ion was started on new build air craft , whil st th ose already in crvice were modified as soon as the oppo rumi rv arose. The inc rease in range the n .rllowed the Typhoon to roa m over France, Holla nd and Germany atta cking design.ue d o r random targets at will.

The Typhoon as Fighte r Reconnaissance W h ilst ste ps were being tak en to ext end the co mbat ca pabilit ies of th e Typh oon, its poss tble usc in the fight er reco nn aissance role was also be ing in vest igated. The

primary aircraft assigne d to thi s nu ssion was th e 1 orth Ameri can Mustan g I powered by th e A llison engine: th e latt er had been found wanting in comba t at alt itude , but had prov ed supreme in th e reco n na issance role. Foll owing th e Mu stan g I in to RA F service ca me th e Mu stan g Ill, powered by a Pack ard -buil t Merl in eng ine , T hi s larrer machine was withdrawn from the figh ter reconnaissance role du e to a more pressing req uirem ent for lon g-range esco rt fight ers. T h is left th e earlier Mar k I to sho ulde r the burd en - a ltho ugh stoc ks of th ese machines were running low, and no repla cem ents were fort hcoming. The A ir Ministr y the refo re cas t abo ut for a suita ble repla cem ent to supplemen t th e surviving Mu stan gs. The first aircraft to feat ure a recon naissan ce fit was jR20 7, wh ich underwent tri als with o. 400 Sq uadro n during j an uar y 1944. Post-tr ial reports were obviously succe 'sful, as produ ction orders were placed for 200 co n version kit s to create the Typhoon FR I.B. The ca mera insta llation cons isted of one 14in (3 5cm ) and two Sin ( 13cm) focal len gth ca me ras install ed in th e port win g inner ca n no n bay. The first co nversion was M 3 15, wh ich becam e th e production prototype in Febru ar y 194 4. T he major ity of th e aircraft were dr awn from th ose eng ineless a ircraft that were st ill held in various ma intenance uni ts

27

aro und the co un try. A lt hou gh the Typhoon FR. I B ent ered service wit h the 2nd TAF, th is organ izat ion decid ed th at th eir greate r priorit y was for ground -attack machi nes: th erefore uirably modifi ed versions of the Spitfire Mark IX and the G riffon- po wered Mark XIV were de ployed instead. Even so, some Typh oon FR. I Bs were depl oyed on ope rat ions from Jul y 1944, wh en o. 268 Squadron recei ved a handful of a ircraft. In se rv ice t he 'Tac R' Typh oons were fo und to be less tha n suitab le for th e ro le co mpared with the Mu st an g I: co mp ar isons be twee n th e two were in var iabl y mad e, a nd th e forme r was fo und want ing. Th e Typh oon migh t hav e bee n a good gro u nd -a ttac k platform a t a reason able a lt itu de , but a t low leve l a nd at h igh spee d it was un sta ble and not as ma no eu vra ble as th e Amer ican produ ct. Coupled to thi s was the vi br ati on ex perien ced a t lo w le ve l, not o n ly in flight, but wh en the ca n no n wer e fired. T h is resu lt ed in blur red and ind ist inc t photograph s, a lso the yaw ca used by the can no n firi ng mu ddi ed th e im ages. o . 268 Sq uadro n cont inued to use th ei r Typ hoo n FR. I Bs unt il love rnbe r 1944 , when the y were repl aced by th e Mu st an g II. O n ly a ha ndful of Typh oo n FR. 1Bs wo uld re mai n in service for use in the post st rike ro le , for wh ic h they were mo dified by the rep lacement o f the orig inal ca me ra in stall ation by a single F.24 long-l en sed ca me ra co up led to th e gunsigh r. In co nt rast to th e st ra igh t reconnai ssan ce Typh oon , thi s ve rsio n was successful and produced exc e lle n t co mbat photograp hs.

TI lE T YPIIOO;,\ IN DEVELOPM ENT

Other Underwing Loads As well as the more co nven tiona l weapons deployed with the Typhoon th ere were trials in vol ving other un derwin g loads. In ea rly 1944, Typh oon JR307 was fitt ed with M. IO smo ke ta n ks for tria ls at A&AEE Bosco mbe Dow n . As th ese were successful in laying clown an effect ive smo ke scree n , it was postulat ed that a force of Typh oons would be ideal for laying a dense smoke scree n to hid e the movements of th e in vasion fleet on D-Day. However, JR30 7 was not so luck y as it bro ke up recoverin g from a h igh speed di ve on 26 March 1944 , the wreckage land ing near C ric he l Down , Dorset . In the event a force of Douglas Bosto n bombers was dep loyed , as th e figh ters were required for a far more aggressive role. Less violent but deem ed just as necessary were the missions in volving the d ropping of ca n iste rs filled with prop agand a leaflets that urged the G erma n forces to surrende r, these beg inning in A ugust 1944. Eigh t mont hs late r Typhoons would be engaged in sor t ies tha t were in d irect support of SAS troop s ope rat ing behind ene my lines. Trave llin g hard and fast, the Typhoons were very successful in the ir mission . Another m ission deemed abso lutely necessary was th at of transpo rt ing beer in barrels mou nted on to th e wing bomb pylon s, a d uty shared with some Spitfires. T he cont ent s were report ed as some wha t metalli c in taste, but welco me neverth eless. O the r weapons tri alied on th e Typhoon by the A&AEE included smoke bombs, Mk.V III mi nes and practise bombs, the latter being adop ted for usc by

the Typhoon trauung uni ts , four being ca rried und er eac h wing. Mu ch of the hi story of the Typh oon revo lved aro und refining the aircraft , its syste ms and its weap on ry; however, on at least one occas ion the type was used by the scie n t ists based at th e Telecommun ica t ions Research Establishm ent at Mal vern for use in th e 'A bdullah' tri als. Th is strange ly named project was engage d in the developm ent of a radar ho ming device that was required to locate G erm an 'W urzburg' rad ar tran smi tt ers. Tr ials undert aken duri ng Ap ril 1944 were carried out using a suitably modifi ed Typhoon aga ins t a captured '\X!urzburg' radar by pilot s of the FlU . The trials proved th at the Ab dull ah det ector was capable of detecting a tran smitt er from 50 miles ( Okm ) away, provi din g that the approach was ove r the sea. O n ly a handful of Typho on s were co n verte d for th is task, and these were used to attack Germa n coasta l radars prior to th e invasion of Euro pe. To ope rate th ese machines o. 1320 Flight was formed , usin g pilot s drawn from th e Figh te r In tercept ion U n it. O n ly one othe r version of the Typhoon was moot ed , thi s be ing the Sea Typhoon , wh ich could be seen as a prec ursor of thi ngs to come . Put forward by the Ad miralt y as Specification . 11/40 , the Hawker P. 1009 Sea Typhoon woul d be powered by a npier Sab re II rated at 2,140h p. Foldin g wings and ar restor hoo k were fitted as sta nda rd , altho ugh th e ori ginal ea rly hard ca nopy was st ill reta ined. Armament was set at fo ur Hispan o can non as per the Typhoon lB , alt ho ugh th ere were drastic cha nges wrought to the wings,

where th e flaps had to be rede signed in to six separate sec t ions, and the und ercarriage was moved furt he r outboard, eac h leg be ing of a longer stro ke th an th at of its ground -based co unterpa rt , and ca pable of absor bing the impact of a ca rrier landin g. A ll th is movemen t of major co mpo ne nts meant th at the wing fuel ta n ks had to be relocat ed into th e deepen ed wing roots. A ll of thi s design work was in vain however as the A d miralty dec ided to stay with th e Sea H urri cane.

Addressing the Shortcomings A lthough the Typhoon even tually made its mark as a ground-attac k aircra ft, th ere were some serious sho rtco mings that need ed add ressing . The problem with th e manoeuvrability and the drag coe fficient generated by th e thi ck wing sec t ion was one that Sydney Ca mm and hi s team were a lready in vesti gatin g. T he resultant redesign of the wing had a sem i-elliptical planform and was far thinner in sec tion. A fte r presenting th is new deve lop ment to the Ministr y of A ircraft Product ion in mid- 1941 , Hawkers was rewarded with a Letter of 1nten t for developmen t spec ificat ion E I0/4 I , wh ich was placed in November 194 1. Designated the Typhoon II, th is machine was seen purel y as a dev elo pment of the earlier Mark I , alt ho ugh th e projected powerp lanr was to be a devel oped N api er eng ine, the Sabre IV. In co mmon with ot her Sabr e versions, th is uprat ed powerplant would also run int o pro blems when testing began in early 194 2. To alleviate the potent ial sho rtage of en gines for th e new airframe, othe r powcrp lants were inv estigat ed . O ne of the first was the Rolls-Royce G riffon II, wh ich was a G riffon 6 1 with a two-stage supe rcharger. A lso considered was th e Bristol C en ta urus rad ial eng ine, whi ch in the eve nt woul d beco me the chose n alte rnative. As the redesigned ai rcraft progressed , it was felt tha t it wou ld be nefit from a renam e to d ifferent iate it from its predecessor. The ch osen nam e was Tempe st - of which mo re anon .

Left The final express ion of the Typhoon wa s this hybrid assembl age of parts better known as HM595. which later bec ame better known as th e Tempest prototype . C. P. Russell Smith Collection

28

CHA PT ER FOUR

The Typhoon Uncovered n it was in it ia lly ro lled o ut, a t first l the Typhoon prese nted a smoo th lvnarnic sha pe to t he waiting wor ld. ver, unde r th e sk in it exh ib ited many Ihl tec h n iq ues d eveloped duri n g the 01 the bip lanes of th e inte rwa r year s, hniq ucs tha t we re car ried o n thro ugh l lur ricane. In or d er to un der stand t h is I IU figh te r bo mbe r fully, it wil l be II cd sect io n by sec t io n .

Typhoon Fuselage \{ fusel age was ba sica lly co nstruc ted in I l' sec t io ns. First was th e for ward uni t , rt IIlg at t he en gine bul khead and mg to the rear of th e pil o t's sea t a t th e mourcd bulkh ead ; it was based aro und a .llIlar fra me wor k. T hi s co nsisted of a 1,IIlgular st ruc ture , t hat in turn mpr ised steel tubes asse m bled toget he r IIh flat plate fittin gs and machined unp ings t ha t we re co vered by a llo y sk in mcls mou n te d o n c urved fra mes. The aft sect ion to the rear of the pilot's • kpi t was a rnonocoque stressed struc ture , onsis t ing of stra igh t longitud ina l stringers nvered to shaped fra mes, all being cove red I y an alloy skin flush -riveted to redu ce d rag. This sect ion terminated in a tran sport jo int , II I wh ich was riveted a quite muscular butt trap on wh ich th e ta il sec t ion was mounted. Ihis was the last section of th e Typhoon's III c lage, and incorporat ed the fin with in its make- up. The fin itself had hor izon tal ribs ,.hllve the upper surface of the fuse lage, which were rivet ed to a vertic al fin post. T h e who le was co vered by an a lloy skin, with the lead ing edge be ing pro tected by shap ed and tormed pa nels. Fitt ed on th e fire-proof eng ine bulkhead were the mountings for the eng ine and th e con ne ct ions fo r the fuel and elec trical systems, plus th e lin kages for l'ng ine man agement. Bo lted o n to the lo wer port io n of thi s bulkhead were th e tu bular frames that supported much of the engine 's weigh t. U nde rn ea th th ese bea ms we re the mo un t in gs fo r th e rad iator asse mb ly, as

fitt ed to the produ ct ion Sa bre e ng ine s. C o ve rin g th e eng ine a nd its anc illaries was a se ries of specially sha pe d panel s and fai rin gs, th e latter being rem o vabl e for access to th e en gine itself. The ch in rad iator was also co vered by a spec ia lly ma n ufac t ured and sh aped fa iring, wh ich feat ured a retractable flap to t h e rear. G ive n t he st resses and st ra ins sur ro und ing th e e ngine a rea , it is h ard ly sur prisin g t ha t many of th ese pane ls and fa irin gs wer e subjec t to c rack ing; the refor e man y h o urs wo uld be spe nt in repair and maintenan ce .

Wing Assemblies A s t he Typh oo n was a lo w-wing cant ile ve r mono plane , th e correspo nd ing att ac h ment po ints were se t low o n the fusela ge. Each was man ufactured as an indi vid ua l it e m , an d featured pr imary and seco nd ary ma in spars t ha t tape red fro m th e roo t to th e t ip. A t th e o ute r end of th e wing wer e th e mou n t in g points for t he rem ov a ble

ro unde d wing- t ips, wh ilst at t he inner end were th e fusel age/wing mo un ting po ints. These we re attached to th e fusel age by cl ose tol er a nce bo lts th at fitt ed th rou gh ste el bu sh es th at wer e d esign ed to a bsor b man y of th e st resse s and st ra ins ge nerated by com ba t flyin g. To ens ure t ha t the bo lt s sta yed in p lace , t he y te rm in at ed in castel lated n ut s fixed with a split pi n . A lo n g th e lead ing edge o f the win gs were specia lly sha ped rib s th a t wer e rive ted to th e fro nt face o f th e fo rward main spar. Be tween each o f th e spa rs were six h ea vy-d uty ma in rib s intersper sed with lighter ribs th at sh aped the win g a nd pro v id ed furt h er mo unti n g points fo r t he a llo y sk in . The inner sec t io ns o f the spa rs were extrude d d uring manu facture an d were' '-sh aped in sec t io n. Ou tb oard o f th ese in ner sec t io ns the spa rs we re o n a n extr ude d 'T'vsec ti on with a sin gle web plate rive ted to th e lo wer face. A s t he gun ba y by its ve ry req uir em ent was a rel at ivel y lar ge o pe n space, a sing le '0 '- ec t io n member to ok the torsiona l loads and

Below This cutaway model of a Typhoon was prepared by Hawker's to show the internal construction of the aircraft and equipment fitted. It was last reported at the Science Museum . Real Wings Collection

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TIl E T YPIIOON

i':COVERED

FRAM E'K'

BUTT STRA P

FUSELAG E SKIN

TRANS PORT J OINT

Above In the early Typhoon years a pilot's greatest fear was the tendency for the rear fuselage to fail . thus casting the rudder and elevators adrih. In most case s the results were fatal, although at least one pilot managed to survive this cat astrophe . The modifications carried out to fix the problem included strengthening of the interface between the centre and rear fuselage assembl ies. and a complete rework ing of the elevato r balance system to reduce control surface flutter. Big Bird Aviation Collection

prov ided strucrural streng th . C lose by, th e wing root forw ard of th e spar was the space for the win g fuel tank , whi ch terminat ed at th e rib; this in turn provid ed th e oute r edge for the ma in und ercarr iage bay. The out boa rd sections of the win gs were of normal stressed sk in construc tion , with reinforci ng stringers for strength and to maintain th e win g's sh ape. T he lead ing edges of th e win gs were cl ad in spec ially sh aped alloy skins tha t featured cutouts for th e land ing ligh t glazing , and removab le panels at th e front of the gun bays. T he type of armame n t ins ta lled in th e gun bays would depen d on wh eth er the pan el req uired two cle aran ce ports, or six. O n early producti on Typh oons there was a lso a cuto ut pan el on th e oute r sec t ion th at allowed access to the ca me ra gun. Mount in gs wer e pro vided on th e win g's trailing edge for th e Frisc-rypc a ilero ns and the split flaps.

The Tail Unit The Typh oon railplane was of th e can t ilever type with two spars, o ne mainl y for struc tu ral streng th , the o the r to mou nt th e elevat ors on . To give strength and sha pe to the railplanc s a series of ribs was placed betw een the spa rs, wh ile spec ially

sh aped ribs were rivet ed to the for ward face of th e front spar. Overall the rai lplane was clad wit h a lloy skin n ing , with access panels for the flight cont ro ls and assoc iated tr im tabs. The leading edge was manufactured from spec ially .h aped panels th at were rivet ed to the ribs. Mounting was courte sy of cl ose-t oler an ce bo lts in a sim ilar ma n ne r to th e mainpl an es.

Flying Controls The a ilerons, eleva to rs an d split- type flaps wer e of all-meta l construc t ion, whil st th e rudder cons isted of a metal framewor k covered in fabric stre tc he d tigh tl y ove r th e surface hy the act ion of a cellulose lin en dop e. Each of the primar y surfaces was construc ted in a sim ila r mann er : a spar to whi ch were arrachc d ro unde d ribs to the fore, wh ile aft of th e spar th e ribs were more ta pered . To redu ce we igh t, each of the ribs was pier ced by ligh ten ing h o les, a tec h n ique practised throughou t the entire airfra me wh erev er possibl e. Let in to eac h flight -con trol surface was a trim tab. O n th e a ilero ns and elevators on e ta b was a gro und -on ly adjustable bal an ce ta b, whil st the oth er, a trim tab, could be adjuste d by th e pil ot . T h at on th e rudd er was adjusta ble by th e pi lot for ba lanc e and

30

trimming. O pera tion of th e fligh t co n tro ls was by ca ble: th ose to th e eleva tor s and rudder led up to bcllcr ank s th at led in turn to torque tu bes th at moved bot h the rudd er and elevato rs, the [atrcr be ing co upled toge the r and held in p lace by lock ed nu ts and bo lts. Prot ecting th e cables were guides th at prevented any form of exc ess movemen t, and pro tected th e a irfra me struc tu re from rubbing. Operat ion of th e rudde r was achi eved by th e use of rudde r pedals, whil st th e eleva tors were co n trolled by fore and aft mov emen ts of the co nt rol co lum n . The ailero ns wer e also cable-o perated , runn ing from th e cockpit to th e flight surface itsel f. T he cables termina ted in ch ange- of-d irec tion pu lleys, from whi ch furt her cables were att ache d to th e co nt rol surface itself. T he pilot -ad justable trim tabs were also ca bleopera ted, and wer e attache d to tr im-wh eel s in th e cockpit and to mechan ical rot ary jacks close by th e relevant co ntro l surface . T he trim-tab rotary jacks were co n ne cted to th e port eleva tor and th e starboard ailero n respectiv ely. A lso part of th e flight-control syste m was th e elevator bal an ce we igh t h oused in th e rear fuselage, and that for the rudder affixed to th e forward face, The ran ge of mov em ent for eac h of th e flyin g co nt rol surfaces is as foll ows: ailerons deflected up 18 degrees, and down 18.5 degrees about th e da tum, wh ilst th e el evator s deflected 24 de grees up and 24.5 degrees downward s. Rudder deflec tion was 27 degrees eac h way. The flaps wh en set at fully down reached 80 degrees. The final fligh t-contro l surfaces wer e th c h ydraulicall y driven flaps. These wer e opera ted by a lever locat ed on th e lefthan d slop ing panel , be ing mov ed to the rear to deploy th e flaps. The flaps co uld be set in any position when th e lev er was reset to the 'va lve sh ut' positi on, all being displayed on an indicator fitted int o th e instrumen t pan el. In th e eve nt of an eng ine- pump fa ilure th e p ilot was recom mended to pump them dow n using th e hand pump .

Th e Und ercarriage Both main and tail und ercarriage uni ts wer e retractabl e, all be ing h oused in spec ially sh aped bays und er th e win gs and ra il uni t , Those under th e win gs retra cted inwards and were enc losed by fairings ; th e

TI lE TYP HOON Ul' COVERED

v

Wi th its engine panels removed, this on IB exemplifies the final state of the type,

I ring the extended span tailplane, the four-

d propell er and the one-piece blown canopy . d Howley Collection hI Typhoon IB EK183 was serving as 'US-A" of Sqn w hen this portrait was taken . It was I r operated by No. 609 Sqn, before being retired

1 J uly 1945 as 5323M. Big Bird Aviation cuon

fairings were attache d to eac h leg, hi lsr th e in board doors retracted sligh tly I fer in th e seq uence , courtesy of a hydra ulic jack. O rigina lly th ere was no mbo ard door on the proto type, the wheel I Il1g covered by spring-loaded fa irings mounted at the base of eac h door. l lowever, rough field trials found th at mud o llecred around th e doors and caused I he m to jam, so they were qu ickly re mov ed nd the un dercarr iage bays redesigned. Fhe ra ilwheel leg retract ed forwards. Product ion aircra ft were not fitt ed with Luring doors, altho ugh the pro to type was fill ed with them . The ma in legs were l arried on rei nforced mountings, th e forward of wh ich was attached to th e rear LICe of the front spar. T he tail leg was mount ed on spec ially reinforced attach men ts, all thr ee un its incor por at ing hearings to reduce wear. I1l.1 l11

Each main undercarri age leg was man ufactu red by Vickers; th ey were of the oleo-pneumat ic shock-absor be r type, and were fitte d wit h Dun lop wheels and tyres coupled to pneu mati c brake s. The tail wheel un it was manufactur ed by Dun lop-E ct a, and incorporated a wheel and pneumat ic tyre man ufactured by the same co mpan y. O perat ion of the und ercar riage was by a selec tor lever located o n th e left-h an d side of the pilot's panel. T hi s lever ope rated in the natura l sense: th us 'up' required it to be push ed up and forw ard s. To raise th e un dercar riage, th e knob mounted on th e

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lever ha d to be rotated clock wise to release the lock. Furt he r insurance aga inst an inad vertent 'u p' selec t ion required that a safety catch be moved to the 'free ' position; thi s auto mat ica lly return ed to the 'lock' posit ion when th e lever was moved to the 'd own ' posit io n. In th e eve nt th at the und ercarri age would not lock down , th e first cho ice of act ion was to switch to the secondary set of indicat or ligh ts. Should th ese st ill no t show red for an un locked undercarr iage, th e pilot was blithely instru ct ed to use th e hand pump or emergency release ped als. O pe rat io n of the former requ ired th at the

TilE TYPIIOO;-': UNCOVERED

undercar riage be left selected in the 'down ' position wh ile the pi lot pumped unt il he felt resist ance . At th is po int, in theory, the ligh ts sho uld be gree n and th e gear down and lock ed. T he un lock pedals were required if the undercarr iage ligh ts failed to illuminate afte r twel ve strokes of the hand pum p. To be effec tive th e pilot was adv ised to fly straigh t and level with out pulling any 's' force s, although he was allowed to push either pedal separatel y or toge the r as needed. T he range of movemen t needed to ope rate th is rele ase mechan ism was some 3-4i n ( 7-IOCl11) . In th eory th is sho uld release the undercarriage 'u p' lock mech an ism. To assist th e und ercarriage in locking do wn , the pilot was advi sed to skid the a ircra ft from side to side, th e forces gene rated be ing estimated as eno ugh to lock the legs down and prod uce the req uired green lights. U ndercar riage ind icat ion s were both electrical and mech ani cal. T he electrical visual indicator was mou nt ed on the main instr ume nt panel , and co mprised th ree gree n ligh ts for both th e main and ta il und ercar riages, plus two extra for th e main legs on ly. To furt her co nfirm to the pilot that each und ercarri age leg was down and locked , th ere was a mech anical ind icator button tha t protruded th rough th e upper wing skin when the cor respond ing main leg was down. To sto p our in trepid aviato r from making a mistake with th e undercar riage selec t ion , there was a warn ing horn located beh ind the headrest, where its impact would be strongest. T he re was also
Primary Sys tems T he primar y services aboa rd the Typhoon cen tred abo ut the h ydrauli c, pneumati c and elect rica l syste ms. T he h ydraul ic 'ystem was powered by an eng ine -d rive n pump that was capable of maintai ning a syste m pressure of 1,800psi. This syste m d rove the undercar riage legs and the in ner door s, plus the wing flaps and rad iat or sh utt er. Pneu mat ics also pla yed an important part in prov iding services aboa rd the Typhoon . As wit h the h ydrauli cs, the pum p was eng ine- driven , and main ta ined a wor kin g pressure of 450psi. Systems that utilized th is serv ice incl uded the ma in whee l-braking and gun- firing mech an isms. Ind ications for the pilot ca me via a triple-pr e sure indi cating gauge mo un ted in the cockpit instrument pan el. O pe rat ion of the whe el brakes was by a lever mou n ted onto th e cont rol co lumn spade grip, with d ifferenti al braking be ing achieved by a relay valve co nne ct ed to the rudder bar. A ca tch to hold th e bra ke lever in the park ed posit ion was located near the brak e lever piv ot . Ind icat ion of th e syste ms pressure, and th at for eac h brak e, was pro vided by a trip le pressure gauge in the cockp it. T he on- board electr ica l system was based aro und a 24-vo lt, eng ine -mo unted gene rato r that charged two acc umulators

that operated the complete electrical system. Con tro l was via a ma in on-off switch complete wit h voltmeter moun ted on the righ t-hand side of the cockpit. O n later-bu ild aircra ft a 'p ower failure ' ligh t ca me on when th e genera tor was not cha rging the acc umulators. T he fuel system co ns isted of four selfsea ling ta n ks in each rn ai n pl an c , wit h the fuel being del ivered to the carburetror by an eng ine- d rive n pump . To supplemen t th e main fuel syste m, prov ision was made for two aux iliary jcttisonablc ta n ks, one under each wing. T h is modificat ion was on ly ava ilable on the Mark I B, th e ea rlier mach ine gun- eq uipped Mark IA not having such provision s. Tran sferen ce of fuel from these tank s was ach ieved by th e use of air pressure from the eng ine- driven pu mp . The to ta l fuel load without d rop ta n ks was I54gal (700 Itr), whil st with d rop tanks fitt ed the total increased to 244ga l (I , I09lt r). The fuel was ca rried in two main wing ta nks capab le of holding 40gal (I 801 tr) each , whil e the two nose tanks co nt aine d 3 7gal ( 168Itr) . T he auxiliary tanks were rat ed to ca rry 45gal (205 Itr) eac h. In co mmo n with ot her fighters of the per iod, the fuel aboa rd the Typhoon was suscept ible to bo iling off in warm weat her at h igh alt itudes. To co unter thi s possibility - wh ich co uld result in the eng ine cutt ing out - th e tanks co uld be pressur-

Below This view of the Typhoon cockpit shows the main fly ing panel. situ ated above the control -co lumn spade grip ; directly above is the gunsight and protective padding. Damien Burke

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T HE T YPH OOi': Ui"C OVE RED

IIr ho ugh th is was on ly effec t ive 2O,000ft (6,000 m ). W hen th is , W,IS operated, it impa ired the effecof the self-sealing of rhc fuel therefore its usc was recom mended he n the fuel pressure had fallen 1.5psi, when the warning light 1l1011cd, or when th e auxiliary fuel ere emptied. urolli ng the fuel system was a sing le I "Ir ion switc h that could selec t r •he nos e tank s or the main tan ks for tn'd. hu t no t at th e same t ime. tr ill of the aux iliary tank s was via lu-r th ree-way coc k that catered for I isit io ns: 'po rt' , 'sta rboard' or '0 ((' . hy th is co ck was the tan k jettison ..rlr hough it co uld not be operat ed I. he system was set to '0((' . W hen the I was operated , the air supply was un.u ically cut off.

oc kp it coc kpit is locat ed in the fo rward non of the fuselag e, and con ta ined -cn the fireproof bulkhead and the I rrmoured bu lkhead. As such there was tloo r to th e coc kpit , there be ing a pair 101liplates that led from under th e pilot's I 10 th e rudde r ped als. T he pilot's I was adjustable in the up and down r t ions, and was sprung to red uce I vibrat ions generated by the Sabre nne. Fac ing th e pilot was a primary II( I co n ta in ing th e major instrument s:

the airspeed indi cator, the art ificial horizon , rat e-of-cl imb ind icato r, di recti on in -d icator, and the turn -and -bank ind icator. O n each side of the primary panel were the seco nda ry panels: the starboard one held th e engine instr uments, whilst the port co n ta ine d the instrum entat ion for the bra kes and rad io , amo ngst other systems. Located on the left-hand side of the coc kpit was a sem i-angled panel that housed th e engine con tro ls, abo ve wh ich were th e canopy wind ing han d le an d the weapon s sele ctor for the Mar k 1B. O n the right-han d side in a similar position were th e fuel system co n trol co cks, th e cylinde r prim ing pump, and the Ver y pisto l and its ca rt ridges. Down and to th e right of the pilot were located th e switc hes for the Typh oon's ele ctrica l syste ms and the rad io cont rol box . Protecting the cockpit was the canopy. O n earlier mach ines, access was ga ine d via a car-type door located on the sta rboa rd side of th e fuselage. However, the ve ry first prod uct ion Typh oons had an even mo re co mplicated assembly co ns ist ing of two car doors, one per side , bo th with wind ablc windows, and all being topped off by a hinged top pan el. T he rear cano py fairing on the first-b uild Typhoon s was an alloy struct ure, a ltho ugh th is was soo n cha nge d to perspex, being kno wn as the 'St age B' mod ificati on . However, the heavy framing was frequen tl y complained abo ut by pilo ts, th erefore a sing le-piece blown perspex ca no py tha t slid back for access was

ht This forward of Typhoon 18 Is it to be a nd-slage v rsion machine. It , dy sports the first mpl at improving pilot's vision. as II as 0 pair of od rwing 45gal Itr)fuel tanks. I Wings Collection

33

pro vided whi ch imp roved a ll-round visibility dram ati cally. The ca nopy was opened by a handle located on the port coc kpit wall. To open the hood a kn ob was pulled out and the handle rota ted an t iclock wise. The hood could be locked in to an y in termed iat e position by releasin g the kn ob . To escape from a doomed Typhoon co uld be q uite a d ifficult exerc ise, especially in the early aircraft fitt ed wit h ca r doors. In an eme rgenc y the door would need to be jettisoned, therefor e levers were provided on the front and rear door posts, wh ich needed to be pulled down and inw ards simultaneously to rele ase the door. To gain greate r purchase for release it was recommended that a crossed ar m position be ado pted, as fa ilure to release the door wo uld sto p the roof pan el from auto mat ica lly detaching. To escape from a later-build aircraft with a slid ing canopy, a sing le lever needed to be pu lled: th is was locat ed at th e bott om of the instrument panel close to th e blind flying pan el. In the eve n t of need ing to ditch wh ilst flying over th e sea, the cano py or door need ed to be jetti soned ; however, it was reco mmend ed th at ba lin g out was a far bett er option . If h itti ng the sea was inevita ble , it was suggested that the pilot sho uld pull the aircraft nose up wards. While th e a ircraft was climbing, th e Sutton harn ess and th e hel met plus the R{f plug had to be d iscon nect ed. O nce thi s was ach iev ed, it was recommen ded that a fina l ba ilout atte mpt be made. If thi s

Til E TY PIIOON UNCOVERED

Powerplant

Abov e An excellent shot of Typhoon IB JR128 'HF·L: when it was serving with No. 183 Sqn. On 18 August 1944the aircraft was shot down by flak near Livarot. The pilot, Flying Officer W. Grey, was taken as a prisoner of war. Big Bird Aviation Collection

was st ill not possible du e to c ircumsta nce s such as en gine failure, th e flaps sho uld be lowered to th e halfway po int, and th e crash landing made wit h th e ta il held as far down as possible.

Armam ent The Typho on 's fixed armame n t co nsisted of twelve Brown ing O.30 3i n mach ine guns as install ed in th e Mark l A, six pe r win g. T he guns in each bay were set out in an arc, bo th bank s being located outside th e propel ler 's diamet er. In a sim ilar man ner the Mark I B had its ca n no n mounted in the same gun- bay location , two pe r side, the magazines being located outboard. To remov e th e empty ca rtr idge cases after firing, eac h ca n no n was fitt ed with a clear ance ch ute; th is was designed to clear any exte rna l mounted un derw ing armamen t. Access to both sets of arma me n t was th rough a large removable panel in th e upper wing surface. C ontrol of the win g guns was via a push but ton o n th e co n trol co lumn spade grip; the guns th em selves operated pn eumaticall y. A Iso in sta lled in the Typhoon was a came ra gun; th is was or igina lly located in the port outer win g, but was mo ved into th e radi at or fa iring because pilo ts co mpla ined th at it was not ca pable of record ing results ac curatel y from th at loca tion . It was ope rated by the same push but ton as for th e wing guns. \Vh en

th e butto n was d epressed , a succ essio n of expo sures was mad e un til the button was rel eased . To h el p th e pil ot gauge the con ten ts of the camera gun magazin e the re was a footage ind icator and an apert ure con t ro l switch in th e co ckpit close by the camera se lec tor co nt ro ls. There was a lso a button o n the spade grip th at -wou ld ope ra te the ca mera gun inde pend entl y, sho uld th e pilo t h ave so wished. Exte rna l weap onry was on ly ca rr ied by th e Typhoon 113, most of it on a sing le pylon und er eac h wing. This aerody namic fair ing was plumbed for a manu al release mech an ism, fuel and pn eumat ics. T he stor es th at co uld be carried included a 45gal (205Itr ) fuel ta nk, a I ,OOOlb (450 kg) bom b, a 500 tb (225kg) bomb , a 250 lb ( I IOkg) bo mb, plus a practice bomb rack capable of car rying small smo ke and flash bombs. T he bombs wer e released mech ani ca lly wh ile the fuel ta n ks required th e fuel and air con necto rs. In place of the win g rack s, four roc ke ts rails could be install ed und er eac h wing, these ca pable of ca rrying either 25tb (II kg) , 60 lb (2 7kg) or armour-piercing roc kets. O rigina lly th ese were mounted sing ly, alt hough late r developm ents allowed for car riage in pairs. Rel ease of the bom bs for th e Typhoon 113 was co n tro lled by two selec to r switc hes, one for each side , plus two nose and tail fusing switc hes. The bo mb-release push button was in corp orated in th e top of the thro tt le lever.

34

Powering th e Typhoon was the 24-cylinder N api er Sa bre II AIB, rat ed at 2,200h p, an H vtype liquid-cooled sleeve valve eng ine th at was mou nt ed onto the fron t spar and was suppo rte d by a braced can tilevered tubular structure th at was also bolted to th e front spar. To prov ide a housing for the rad iat or and th e o il coo ler there was a low veloc ity du ct assembly mounted below th e engine . The powerplant dr ives a de Havillan d th ree-or four-bladed Hydrom at ic prope llor depend ing on mod ifica tion state . Lubr icati on o il for the engine was housed in a tank located aft of the fireproof bu lkh ead th at co nta ine d 16gal (721tr) of o il and a [gal (4.5ltr ) air space. Ind ication for th e pi lot was courtesy of gauges in the cockpit, whil st the coo ler form ed an int egral part of th e rad iat or matrix. The coo lant syste m was therm osta tically co nt rolled, with the rad iator be ing kept in bypass mod e until the coo lan t had reached its nominal operating temperatur e. Con trolling th e airflow around the ch in- mo unt ed rad iator was a lev er in the coc kpit that used a narrow bore h ydraul ic jack to move the radiator flap . W hen 'd own' was selected th e hutter opene d, wh ilst 'up' moved it in th e opposite dire ction . Sho uld the h yd raul ic syste m fa il for any reason, the flap could be operated by use of th e hand pum p in the coc kpit. A ltho ugh the Sabre engine was th eoret ically capable of be ing operated by the use of one lever, the coc kpit was fully equipped with a selection of levers and co n trols th at allowed th e pilot a fair amo un t of flexibility. Princip al amo ngst th ese were the th rottle and mixture con tro ls. Dur ing ope rat ion th e th rottle was moved forwards to the cl imb and take-off positions, th e latter being gated against inadvert en t selection . Incor porat ed into th is was a friction adj uste r that also man aged the propeller control. O n the Mark I B a ircraft a bombrelease but ton was inc orpora ted in to the top of the lever. Locat ed close by the th rot tle lever was a mixture lever th at was mov ed forwards to operate. The fir t selectable location was for a weak mixtur e th at auto matically became rich when the th rottle lever was betw een th e closed and 14-degree position. Bet ween th is po int and fully open, th e pilot was able to set th e mixtu re cont rol as he saw fit to ma tch th e c ircumstanc es. O n earlier aircraft th e mi xtur e lever moved to the rich posit ion

TI l E TYP HOON UNCOVERED

hoon 18 DN406 was serving with No. 609 ·F in May 1943. Its career was short from s it wa s tra nsferred to No. 56 Sqn and k

0« charge soon aft er. on 31 August 1943.

AV'B lion Co llection

Napier Sabre engine in all its glory, w ith engine bearer frame; promin ent are loads to both banks of cyli nders. Real Wings

This c lose-up view of a Typhoon reveals tai l. even though the engine is running . The climbing into the cockpit after one of the crow had got the cantankerous Sabre In .

Prominent in this photograph is the oil

r in undernose air intake. David Howley

non

35

T HE T YPHOON UNCOVERED

Flight Cont rols

Abov e No matter what the we ather, the servic ing went on, as this scene of engine fitters in the snow show s: even they have been coated by the blizzard . David Howley Collection

when the th rot tle was moved beyond th e climb position . The pilot also had a lever to co n tro l th e propeller sett ings. T he speed cont rol lever in the engine con tro l box varied th e gove rn ed speed from 3, 700 down to 2,OOOrpm. A nd just to co nfuse matt ers, some lever slots on early aircraft were mar ked with the legen d 'Posit ive Coarse Pitch ', altho ugh the re was in fact no such sett ing available on the propel ler. To give th e Sabre engine an extra boost, a supe rcharger was installed . The lever in th e engine co n tro l box was moved downwards to select th e 'full' (S ratio ) supe rcharg ing , and upward for 'mode rate ' (M ratio) supercha rging. To assist the pilot in eng ine sta rt ing, th ere was a start ing and slow-run n ing cuto ut con trol, located on th e left-h and sloping pa nel. This had three positi on s: 'start', 'no rmal' and 'cutout'. When 'start ' was sele cted, a stop was int rodu ced in to the th rottl e quadrant to give th e th rottle sett ing for sta rt ing, although there was a safety catc h th at had to be deselected so that 'start ' co uld be used . A lso part of th e engine sta rt sequence was the pr iming of the cylinders and carburett or. Two pump s were provid ed for th is task, the in ner of which prim ed the cylinde rs, whi lst the outer did the same for the ca rb urc t to r, To operate the pump s th ey

need ed to be released by first un screw ing and th en screwing back down aga in aft er usage. Eng ine start ing was co ntro lled by the igni tion switches located on the lefthand side of th e instr ument panel. T hese were preven ted from mov ing by a slid ing bar that was integrat ed with the un dercar riage indi cator , whi ch in turn was req uired to be in the 'on ' position. C lose by the eng ine igniti on switc hes were those that con tro lled th e cart ridge st arter. There were two switc hes, one of wh ich co n tro lled the cart ridge sta rt er itse lf, whil e th e othe r operated th e booster co il. To be effect ive, bot h switches needed to be dep ressed at th e same t ime othe rwise th e eng ine would not start , being inclined to misfire if incor rectl y ope rated. A s produ cti on of th e Typhoon co nt in ued, th e switches were moved across to the righ t-h and side of the instrument pan e l. To move th e cart ridge se lec tor th ere was a reloading cont ro l th at was also located o n th e right-hand -sid e sloping pane l, and was used to ro tate the cart ridges into the starter breech . T h ere was one other switch in th e cockpit th a t frequen tl y co nfused pilo ts, th is be ing an o il d ilut ion switch locat ed on the right -h and conso le. However, it wasn 't until lat e in th e prod ucti on run th at thi s syste m was insta lled .

36

T he pr imar y flight con trols were operated by a spade -grip pa tt ern co nt rol column attached by ca bles to the ailero ns and elevat ors, wh ilst the rudd er was operated by two position rudd er pedals that co uld be adjusted for reach using a foot-op erat ed wh eel on the rudder ba r. Incor porated int o th e con tro l co lumn spade grip were the gun- and can non-firing but tons, dep end ing on th e model of a ircraft. A s unr estrai ned fligh t co n tro ls can cause dam age to an a irframe in hi gh winds, the Typh oon ca me complete with its own surface -co n tro l locking kit th at was hou sed in a bag o n th e left-hand side of the co ckpit. This k it co nsisted of a h inged clamp and four cables. T h e clamp was used o n the co n tro l co lumn , its locating lugs co m ing int o con tact wit h th e aileron for k end locking nuts of the t ie rods. Two of th e ca bles were cl ipped from th e hi nged clam p to the rudd er ped als, wh ilst the othe r cables were clipped onto th e clamp , th en to th e seat , whi ch had to be ra ised to the th ird not ch from the to p v ia th e adjuste r lever. C able- tens ion ing was achi eved by ex te nd ing th e rudd er ped als and raisin g th e scat.

Flying the Typ hoon Prelim inary Inspections The Typh oon was like any othe r pisto npowered a ircraft in that it could be a handful if not han d led correc tly. Except for emergency scrambles when it was necessar y to get a irborne as quick ly as possible, pilots foll owed a set seq ue nce of actions before ta king to th e skies. As always, each pre-fligh t began with a walkround, wh en th e pilot inspect ed the en t ire air craft for defects such as loose o r missing panels, cracks and den ts, and any th ing else tha t might be a poten tial pro blem. C lose atte n tion was paid to th e undercar riage, and in part icular the tyres for wear, cuts and embedded debri s. O ne fina l check befor e boarding was to ensure that th e elevato rs, ailerons and rudd er moved in a full and free man ner. O nc e sat isfied with th e serviceability of the a ircraft, its fuel and weapon s load, and happy with th e pap erwork, th e pilot wou ld sign off the F. 700 form accept ing th e Typhoon . En tranc e to the coc kpit was achi eved v ia the star board win g root tra il-

TIl E TYPHOON UNCOVERED

lJ.:l' . To assist a ir-and groundcrew to II the wing safely, a retractab le st irruploo ts tcp extended below th e fuselage • IP II 1I . O nce settled into the cockp it , I 'd in and co n nected to the mic -tc l , I he first task was to chec k th e posi01 I he unde rcar riage lever: thi s had to III rlu- 'down ' posit ion , with the lockin g h In the 'lock' position . O nce he was tal'll tha t the mech ani cals were t1y set, th e pilot would then turn on unde rcarriage indi cat or to ensure th at rrcc n ligh ts illum inat ed. ext was to ' life tha t th e cabin roof pa nel was l I properly on bot h sides, also that the I II doors were locked , and that the ll'p was in the retract ed position. I th is po int the pi lo t would establish rhc r h is aircraft was pre-, or posthtrca t ion 293. If th e former, the pi lot required to fit hi s oxygen mask and III breath ing the gas straigh taway at a 11llJ.: of 15,OOOft (4,500m ). Th is was Ill\(' there was a ve ry real risk of ca rbo n noxi dc po iso n ing in aircraft that had lx-cn mod ified , and whi ch th erefore I 1\111 have the bett er sea led eng ine 11111 ing bulkhead. I Ill' final check befor e eng ine sta rt was I [just the rudder ped als to a co mfor tIt 'l, tt ing th at wou ld a llo w for full tlccr lon of th e surface to co un te rac t pro pel ler tor q ue generate d on a full wcr ta ke-off.

O nce satisfied with the co nd ition of th e a ircraft, th e pilo t would signal th e ground crew to po in t th e Typh oon int o th e wind . Sho uld th e engine run be required for engine ering purp oses, th e ta il had to be tied down with restraints. In any even ' , ot he r aircraft and personnel should be well clear of th e mach ine wai ti ng to sta rt .

Starting Up To sta rt the eng ine , th e following seq uence had to be followed. First , the ign it ion switc hes needed to be in th e 'off' position, as did th e fuel coc ks for th e ma in tan ks, and the pressur izati on and underwin g drop tanks . If the Typhoon was of a lat e eno ugh build or modification , the mixture control had to be set to 'rich ', whil st th e propeller speed co nt ro l need ed to be fully forward. A lso requirin g a presta rt chec k was the supe rcharger co nt ro l, whi ch had to be set at 'm od erate', whi lst the rad iator sh utt er had to be in th e 'd own ' posit ion . O ne o the r po int th e pilo t needed to note was the req uirement for the fuel syste m to be set to nose tanks sho uld the main fuel syste m be less th an half full. T he en gine wasn't alway easy to sta rt in co ld weather i'i indeed the Sa bre was ren own ed for being exce pt ionally cran ky if no t nu rtu red in adverse cond it ions. Dur ing the early days of th e Typh oon 's service any a ircraft req uired for flight th e

w Up on j acks, panels are off, flaps are down, and the Typhoon 18 MN716 'F3-A' - named 'Diane' of No. il dcat' Sqn, RCAF- undergoes much-needed maintenance. David HowleyCollection

37

next day was either lagged to keep the co ld at bay, or kept warm by a hot a ir blower. A s th e engine becam e more reli able, th e on ly instr uction given to the pi lot was to sh ut th e radi ator flap to prevent the rad iator coo lant free zing. Before sta rt ing the engine the pilot had to ensure that there was no live cart ridge in th e breech ; on ly then wo uld he signa l for th e pro pe ller to be turned over by th e gro undc rew. The sta rt ing lever woul d be moved to 'sta rt', and th e throttle advanced to th e sto p; th en th e carburctto r co uld be prim ed until the fuel pressure reach ed a mini mum of 1.5psi, afte r whi ch the pum p would be screwed down. The next step was to load th e cart ridge starter, I hen swirch on the igni tion . O nc e all thi s was don e, the cylinders needed to be carefully prim ed with th e priming pump. If the aircraft had been sta nd ing for less than half an hour, on ly o ne pum pful would be needed , o the rwise two were required at an y po int und er the hour. O nc e priming was co mpleted , the booster co il and start er button s needed to be pushe d simult aneo usly and held in whi le furth er prim ing of th e cylinde rs was ca rr ied o ut usin g th e o the r hand . O nce the eng ine was runn ing ste ad ily th e priming co uld sto p, the bu tt ons be re leased , and th e start lever se t to normal. G iven the Sabre engine's propensit y to misbehave, a fo llow-on sta rt d id no t req uire any furt her prim ing , o therwise the possibili ty of fire was increased - alt ho ugh vigoro us pri m ing was recommended onc e the engine h ad ca ugh t.

T HE TY PHOON UNCOVERED

\X/ith all thi s fuel pn mlt1g it was not surprising that th e grea test fear of any pilot was fire. If the Typhoon eng ine did sta rt to burn, the groundc rew would warn the pilot , who had to turn the ign ition switches to 'o ff'; he would then place h is hands outside the cockpit to sho w th at the engine was safe, after whi ch the fire ex t in guisha n t was released down the rad iator int ake. Ass um ing that the fire was o n ly excess fuel burn ing off, and that it was successfully ex t inguishe d, the pilot was ad vised to run th e eng ine in the 800- 1,000rpm range unti l the o il pressure had dropped below 100psi. O nce th is point was reached th e th rottl e could be furt her adva nce d to 2,000 rpm, wh ich had to be maintained un til the o il tem peratu re had d ropp ed to 4OC. O nce sat isfied tha t th e engine was behav ing co rrec tly, whateve r the circumsta nces surround ing the sta rt , the pilo t was recommend ed to test all the eng ine con tro ls and syste ms with the prov iso tha t full power was only applied for the briefest of t imes. O nce clea red to depart , the pilot wo uld taxi out of the d ispersal with the warning not to use th e brakes too much as they co uld easily over heat and beco me ine fficien t, th is being exace rbated sho uld th ey be new.

mixtur e co n trol to rich , the propeller co n tro l to fully forwa rd, fuel-pressurizing coc k to off and th e dro p ta nks to off, flaps to 10 to 15 degrees down for nor ma l a irfields, and to 30 degrees for sho rte r run ways. T he fina l two checks were to ensure that the supercharger was set to moderated, and the rad iator sh utt er in the 'do wn' posit ion. Even th is phase of th e departure had ce rta in ex igenc ies: +4psi boost for tak eoff, and th e tail had to be held down for as long as possible, thu s allowing the aircraft to fly itself off th e ground. Furt he r instr uct ions were issued to cover th e ta ke-o ff perform an ce, with the flaps at the 30 degree position. At th is sett ing, however, the Typh oon had a strong ten den cy to swing to star board, and to co un te ract th is depart ure the th rottle needed to be adva nced progressively, which allowed the rudder to ma in tain control effect ive ness up to take-off. O nce airborne , the flaps needed to be raised bet ween 200 and 300ft (60 and 90 m ); a steep cl imb was not to be undert aken un t il a speed of 150m ph (240km/h) was reached. The recom mended speed for maximum rate of cl imb was 18 5mph O OOkm/h ) lA S up to 16,000ft (4, 800m ).

The Typh oon in Flight Preparing for Take-Off Havin g negotia ted the perimet er trac k, the pilot then had to prepa re the Typhoo n for take-off. T he mn em on ic for th e seque nce of acti ons required in thi s pro ce dur e was TM PFF: tr im tabs, e levato r to neutral and rudder fully offset to port, the

In fligh t the Typh oon 's beh aviour was very stable d irecti on a lly and laterally, although th ere was a sligh t tende ncy for it to be unstable longit udinally; this improved , ho wever, as its speed increased . T he ail ero ns remained ligh t and responsive throughout the speed ran ge up to the

maximum, altho ugh they were known to be sluggish at very low speeds and wh en carrying bombs. Elevator co n tro l was co ns ide red rath er ligh t for an aircraft of the Typhoon 's type, and pilots were warn ed not to operate them to o harsh ly although th at ad vice was not always heeded if there was an Fw 190 in pur suit. In a loop the Typhoon had a tend en cy to t ighten up as the loop pro gressed, wh ich co uld induce a black -out. In tha t situa t ion the pilot, h aving recovered , was ad vised to move the co n tro l co lumn for ward to stabilize th e aircraft. Tr im changes wh ilst flying the Typhoon were fai rly minor in natur e, th us lowering th e flaps prod uced no cha nge; on the othe r hand , when the undercar riage was lowered and the rad iator sh utte r retract ed , the a ircra ft ha d a tendency to pitch nose down . O the r factor s th at co uld affec t th e trim of th e Typhoon includ ed variat ions in airspee d and thro ttle sett ings; th us th e rudder trim tab wou ld be used to avo id the possibility of sideslip. However, pilot s were warn ed tha t the trim tab had to be used carefully, as it was very sensitive. To reinforce th is fact , over-use of th e tab co uld ind uce changes in fore and aft trim of th e a ircraft - th us left yaw produced a tendency for the no se to drop, and right yaw had the opposite effect . The pi lot was also warned tha t the rad iator sh utter sho uld be in th e 'up' position except for tax iing, take-off, cl imb ing, and flyin g with flaps do wn, and that care ful att ent ion needed to be given to th e engine's o il tem peratu re. Fina lly he was advised to use the main fuel tanks first, to mai n tain a sta ble ce n tre of gravity. Flying at varying speeds also pro duced a whole raft of regulat ions, th e most importan t of wh ich co nce rne d var iatio ns in altim et er readin gs at hi gh spee d. Low speeds in the region of I 55mp h (250km/h) lA S , wit h th e flaps set at betwee n 30 and 40 degrees, requ ired the radi ator flap to be ope n , and th e propel ler co n tro l adjusted to prod uce a spee d in th e region of 3, 100rpm. When flying in form ati on , howev er, the prop eller spee d co ntrol need ed to be main tained at abov e 2,600 rpm. .

Left Captured running up to full power is Typhoon 18 MN264 of No. 222Sqn, on the ground at Ein dhoven. Prominent under the wings are a full set of rocket projectiles. Peter R. Arn old Collection

38

TI l E TYPIIOON UNCOVERED

I iblems: Stalling and Spinning I LIVing got hi s Typhoon into the a ir, our nrrcp id aviato r had other things to onrcnd with , one of which was stalling, he n either win g wou ld drop sharply with up or down . W ith bombs loaded and crv th ing up, the limi t was betw een 90 to I mph (145 to 160 kmph ), whil st in I ndi ng co nd it ion thi s dro pped to 70 to , mph ( 113 to 120kmph) . When flyin g at mna l we igh ts without exte rna l sto res, hl'sl' figures dro pped by 10mph ( 16kmph ) f"'S the board; a furt her drop of IOmph l urred when th e Typh oon was f1 ying Irtua lly unladen. In common with man y combat aircraft I the period, th e Typh oon co uld be rn luced to spin ; however, th is was no t 'l'rly reco mme nded , and was completely I -rbidden wh ile car rying bombs or exterI.t1 fuel ta n ks. In th e allowed co nd it ion Ilw spin had to be und ertaken bet ween I ,000 and 20,OOOft (4,500 and 6.000m ), Ith recovery act io n to be in itiated wit hi n Ill' rotat ion . O ther factors also govern ed the behaviour of th e Typh oon in the spin : nc of these was ap plying full rudder in th e ppos ire dir ecti on, whil st the co n tro l olu mn was pushed forward slowly until the spin sto pped. To assist in co unterac t11\10: a spin to the left , the engine co uld be II -d, although in practic e it was not necesIry. T he Typhoon was know n to have a ten de ncy to en ter a f1 at spin at alt itudes hove 25,OOOft (7 ,500m) . To coun ter this, the pilot needed to app ly full opposite rudder, and th e cont rol co llimn had to be rocked fore and aft n alt hough it was om rnon ly recogni zed that thi s was diffililt. as movement was restricted in thi s kind of spin. In theory th ese movem ents ho uld force the nose down, by whi ch tim e une ,000 to 10 ,OOOft (2. 500 to 3 ,OOOm ) 01 alt itude would have been lost. In all ascs, the dive aft er th e spin had to be mai nt ained unt il a speed of 200 mph ( 120kmph ) lA S had been reached , otherwise the Typhoon might sta ll again.

'I"

ontroll ing a Dive I)uring co mba t missions the Typhoon was frequen tly placed in to a div e to att ack dec ted targe ts, and even thi s manoeuv re required ce rta in ac tions by th e pilot , the most impo rta nt be ing to ensure th at the r.uliaror sh utte r was closed in th e 'up' posilio n. Trying to do th is when the di ve was

Specification- Typhoon Type: Powerplant: Weights: Dimensions:

Single-seat fighter/f ighter·bomber 2,100hp SabreI. 2,180hp Sabre IIA. 2.200hp Sabre liB, 2,260hp Sabrelie Empty8,840lb(4,OOOkg); loaded 13,2501b(6,000kg) Span 41ft 7in(12.67ml; lengthTyphoonIA 31ft lOin(9.7ml, Typhoon IB 31ft 11t in (9.74ml; height15ft 4in(4.67ml; wing area279sq ft 125.92sq ml Performance: Max. speed with SabreliB412mph(663km/ hl; rateof climb 5min 50sec to 19,OOOft (5,800m); range 510miles 1820km) with 2 x 500lbbombs, 980 miles(1 ,580kml with 2 x 45gal (200ltrl drop tanks; service ceiling35,200ft (10,730ml Typhoon IA 12 x Browning 0.303in machineguns with 500 rounds each, Armament (fixedl: Typhoon IB4 x Hispano 20mmcannon Armament(disposablel/ Typhoon IAnone, Typhoon IB8 x rocket projectiles or2 x 1,000lb bombs or 2 x 45gal (200ltrl drop tanks fuel tanks:

already begun would result in a violent nose-down pit ch . In co n trast, during a norm al dive, speed increased and th e Typhoon becam e ta il heavy - altho ugh not to th e ex te nt that rc-t rimming wou ld be requ ired, especi ally as th e elev at or tab s were ver y sens itive. Trim ming of th e rudder would be nece ssary as the speed increased, however, as th e aircraft had a tendency to yaw to po rt.

Aerobatics Th rou ghout the co n ve rsion pha se th e trainee Typh oon pilo t would be enc o uraged to practi se aeroba t ics, trai ni ng th at would serve h im well in co mba t. Du rin g th ese manoeuvres, large amo un ts of he ight could be lost o r gained , alt ho ugh th e Typhoon was easy to han dle. Loop s had to sta rt with full engine power and a mi n imum speed of 350mph (560 kmph), and th e con tro ls operated gen tly othe rwise a hi gh -speed stall might ensue . If the a ircraft was to be ro lled. the forw ard speed need ed to be at least 250 mph (40 0kmph) , and th e roll needed to be 'ba rrelled ' enough to keep the en gine running and to maintain o il pressure. Furt her loops and ro lls were author ized, altho ugh a speed of 400mph (640kmph) needed to be maintain ed to keep up forw ard momentu m. Ae robat ics were officially ban ned when the a ircraft car ried ex te rna l loads, although dodging f1 ak and figh ters might induce the pilot to forget th ese instru ctions. Finally, a shor t , ba ld sta teme nt at th e end of th e pilot 's instruct ions sta ted ca tegorically that 'Flick manoeuvre are no t pe rm itted ',

Preparing to Land Having survived h is f1 ight , our pi lot then had to co mplete ce rta in che cks before he

39

was allowed to land , First, he had to chec k th e state of the fuel tank s: if the main s were less th an half full , th e nose tan ks had to be selec ted in order to maint ain th e aircraft 's tri m. O nce the a ircraft's speed had reduced to 160mph (260 kmp h ), the und ercarri age was selected 'down ' and che cked for three gree ns, th e mixtur e con trol was moved to rich , the pro pe ller co nt rol was pushed fully forw ard, and the superch arger to mod erat e. Fin all y the f1aps had to be placed in the fully 'down' position , whi lst th e rad iator sh utte r also needed to be 'do wn' . The pilot by thi s time in hi s tra in ing regime was aware th at the aircraft would yaw as th e und ercarr iage moved to the 'down' posit ion, a ltho ugh sta bility returned wh en th e gear was down and lock ed . The f1 aps also had quite an effect upon th e beh aviour of the Typh oon, as th eir size when presented fully down to the ai rflow wou ld increase th e rate of descent dramat ically. O nce th e aircra ft had to uche d down, th e pilot was expec ted to bring it to a sta ndstill before pro ceeding to dispersal. Dur ing thi s short break the flaps would be raised.

Shutting Down O nc e in th e cor rec t parking spac e . the eng ine would be sh ut down . To do th is successfully th e throttle need ed to be ret ard ed to th e slowest speed possible before be ing blipped up to I ,OOOrpm, th en the start ing lever moved back to cut off. O nce the engine had sh ut down th e ign ition switche co uld be switched to 'off', as co uld the fuel coc ks. A ltho ugh th e fo regoi ng migh t make th e Typhoon see m a bit of a beast , it was in fact see n as a stea dy and reli able gro und-a ttac k a ircraft by the pilots that flew it.

Above and left This general arrangement drawing shows the Hawker Typhoon in its final form, complete with four -blade propeller, incre ased-span tailplane and fully blown perspex canopy. Big Bird Aviation Co llection Below This portrait of Typhoon lB R8831 reveals an early -build aircraft assig ned to No. 181 Sqn, complete with 500lb bombs under the wings. After its service with the front -line, on 14 June 1943 R8831 was assigned to ground training duti es as 3694M. C. P. Russell Sm ith Collection

Left This rear quarte r view depi cts R8224, a Typhoon 1B. This was one of the few air craft act uall y built by Hawker's, and w as paid for by public subscr ipt ion . It woul d carry the name 'Land Girl' on the port co ckp it door, wh ilst the starboard door had the name plus badge appli ed. Wh en thi s portrait was taken the ai rcraft w as on the strength of No. 56 Sqn: it

moved on to No. 609 Sqn, It w ould

be w ithdrawn on 13 September 1943afte r being overstressed during aerobatics. RAF Museum Co llection

40

CHAPT ER FIVE

The Typhoon at War I ' lIlg the first unit to recei ve a new type I .urc raft is an unnerving e xpe rience, I -ciallv for th e pil ots, and it is qu ite a h'l'p lea rn ing cur ve for th e gro undc re w, "'. No. 56 Sq n , com ma nde d by Sq n Ldr 111l'r Prosse r H an ks, at Du xford, rece ived II first Typhoon lA s o n II Sep tem be r I )4 1, with the oth e rs arriv in g th ro ugh o ut mo nth ; th e last o ne flew in at t he 'gll1n in g o f Octo be r, ro make sixteen o n Irl'ngth . T he sq uadron was co nve rt ing trom anoth e r H awker prod uct , t he Hurricane.

'''.II

Initial Pro blem s an d t he ir utcom e lhe sq uad ro n was soon placed on a lert by ligh te r Com ma nd for O perat io ns C ircus IIld Ramrod cross-Ch an nel ra id s, but in 1.11 I th is n ever h app ened because t he I 'phoo n was ex h ibit ing so me di str essin g 1.lllltS, espec ia lly t h e ab re engine, a nd th e urfra me was also man ifesting se rio us hortc om in gs. N apie r's finest pow e rplan t, I yet unt ried and un tested in co mb a t, had I 'gun to ex h ibit a d ist ressin g ha bit of fa ilIIlg in t he most em barrass ing man n er. T h e rroundc rew did the ir best to a llev iate this

prob lem by wrappin g it up in blanke ts and rugs, and usin g hot a ir blo we rs to keep th e e ng ine warm and th e o il mo vin g free ly, bur it was di scov ered th at the proble ms ce nt red aro und the lubricat ion syste m , a nd putt in g it right wou ld in vo lve se rio us inv est iga t io n . Furt h e r, th e sq uad ro n 's pilo ts co m pla ine d abo ut poor visibility, e ng ine -sta rt ing di fficul t ies, an d dr a ughts in th e coc kpit. When o . 56 Sq n fina lly began to un dert ake comba t m issions with its Typh oons, anothe r prob lem appeared. Thi s ce nt red a ro und t he d rag coe ffic ie nt o f t he th ic k-sec t io ned wi ng, wh ic h was te nd in g to serio usly co mp ro m ise the a irc raft's performance a t alti tude. T h e ability to perfo rm at a lt it ude was v ita l in th e a ir war be ing waged a bove Euro pe, an d th e failure of t he Typh oo n in thi s respec t meant t h at it need ed to be fo und anothe r ro le. Furt hermor e , its man oe uvrabil it y by co mpa riso n with t he Spitfire and the Hu rricane , and hence th e figh ter s o f the Luftwaffe , was a lso ca using co nce rn a lt hough to its cre d it the a irc raft was a ve ry sta ble gun plat fo rm. These ea rly Typh oons wer e b ui lt with heavil y fra med coc kp it ca no p ies a nd, in t he ea rliest insta nces, a rear fairing o f metal co ns t ruc t ion . T h is ar ra nge me nt

Right Typhoon 1B 8852'US-Y' of No. 56 qn w as an i ndi rect victim of structural I ilure w hen it w as hit by pieces of the disint egrating DN265 w hich wa s flyi ng in the same formation. The pilot of R8852 w s fort unate enough 10 bale out of his

d maged aircraft; that of DN265 was less fortu nate. RAFMuseum

Colle ction

41

a llo wed th e pilot reaso nab le visio n to th e front, a lt ho ugh to th e rear, a ny man ner o f view was co m ple tely obscure d. Give n th ese obv io us shortcomi ngs , it is surp rising th at th e Typhoo n ac tua lly p rogressed any furt he r in Ro ya l A ir ' For ce se rv ice; how ever , t h e type h ad a few sav ing graces, th ese being a h ea vy arma me n t in th e ca n non ver sio n , o utsta nd ing acce lera t io n in th e dive , good sta bility as a gun platform , and a n o ut tanding turn o f speed at lo w leve l. Tr aini n g fo r th e pilots o f o. 56 Sq n co nt in ued un abated until I Nove mbe r 194 1, whe n on e o f th e ir a irc raft cras he d with fatal co nse q ue nces: t h is was R7592 , pi loted by Pilo t O ffice r ] . E Deck. In vest igat io ns revea led th at th e Typhoon cockpit was ve ry vulnera ble to ca rbo n mono xide fumes , whi ch in th is case h ad co mp letely ove rwh el me d th e occupa n t. In an atte m pt to rect ify th is proble m th e port access door was pe rmanen tl y sea led , th e ex ha ust stubs were exte nde d, and the e ng ine b ulkhead sea ling was improved . These modificat ions d id a llevia te this defect to a certa in deg ree, a lt hough a ll pi lo ts we re urged to wear oxyge n masks fro m ta ke -off to land in g. C ur ing th e car bo n mono x ide leaks mean t t hat th e sq uadron's a irc raft were gro unde d for a

TIlE TYPHOON AT WAR

Above Paid for by subscription by the good citizens of the Boro ugh of Sutton and Cheam, this Typhoon IB R8199 was part of the batch built by Hawker's. R8199 was on the strength of No. 56 Sqn as 'US·E'; it was shot down bV Spitfires on 1 June 1942 near Dover. and the pilot killed. Big Bird Aviation Collection Below Seen from above. this Typhoon IB of No. 56 Sqn sports identific ation str ipes over the w ings in an attempt to dissuade anti -ai rc raft gunners and All ied fighter ai rc raft from shoot ing it down . Big Bird Aviation Collection

month; however, flyin g resum ed from Duxford in December. A t the begin ning of 194 2 a seco nd unit at Duxford was reo equ ipped with the Typh oon , thi s be ing N o. 266 (Rhod esia) Sq uadron, whi ch had previ ou sly flown Spitfires. O ne be nefit of No. 56 Sq uadro n's experience was soo n evide nt on the pro duct ion line where, from the 163rd a ircraft on wards, th e rear cockpit fairing was modifi ed , the or igina l meta l asse mbly being rep laced by a cle ar pe rspex o ne, wh ilst th e armour pla te behind the seat was cut and resh aped to allow for bette r vision a ll round . As the newly modi fied machines beca me ava ilable, th e or igina ls were withdrawn for modification ; by th e middle of A pr il 1942, No. 56 Sqn had e igh te en on streng th . O ne furth er modi fica tion also came on line at thi s t ime , namel y th e H ispan o cannon -equ ippe d Mark I B version of the Typh oon , whi ch woul d qui ck ly repl ace th e ea rlier mach ine gun- fitted Mark IA mach ines.

Into Com bat O n 10 April 194 2 the fina l un it that was requ ired to form th e Duxford trium virat e began to exc ha nge its Spitfires for the Typho on IA. T h is was No. 609 (W est Ridi ng) Sqn , previou sly based at Digby in Linco lnsh ire . The fo llowing month th e Wing began co mbat ope rat ions wh en a O . 266 Sq n machine was lau nc hed to intercept an incom ing target - wh ich turn ed out to be a Spitfire. T hese so rt ies and th ei r atte nda nt train ing missions were not with out incid ent , ho wever, as 56 Sqn found wh en two of th eir Typhoo ns were sho t do wn by Spi tfires, both cha sing a group of incom ing int ruders. On th e tra ining front, all thr ee un its were losin g aircraft, some to eng ine prob lems and othe rs to airframe fault s; the final n umb er was eight all to ld in th ese early days. A ltho ugh the first Typh oon Wing was experienc ing problem s, the con version process would con tin ue in July 194 2. The first to co n vert was o . I Sq n, based at Ac kling ron, and it was q uick ly followed by 0. 257 at Hi gh Erca ll, and No. 486 (N ew Zea land ) Sqn based at Wittering; all of these relinq uished H urricanes for the new type, and became operat ional in Se pte mber. Their intended origina l role was th at of ni gh t figh ting , in conce rt with Turbinlite Boston s: however, th e Typhoon was to o fast for th e con ve rted

42

T HE TYP HOON AT WA R

l.rv l-omber, and the experime nt was soon

b.uidoned. Combat success even tua lly came to th e

f phoon , on 9 A ugust 194 2, when a pair I pa trolling a ircraft from No. 266 Sqn III,maged to in tercept and sho ot down a ]u o ver the o rt h Se a. Furt her sort ies 111\" living the ava ilable Typhoons too k pl.uc over wart ime Europe, culminating in Ilwir part icipat ion in Operation Jubilee, 1111' land ings at Diep pe that began on 19 IIgust 1942. A uthorization for such nu-sions was req uired from o. 12 Group 11(>, and because th e author it ies didn 't .mr an y of the new aircraft to fall in to nc mv han ds intact , pilot s of str icken m.rch in es were req uested to aba ndo n them II he igh t, and over th e sea if possible.

pe rat io n Jubilee f lus was to be Fight er Command 's biggest vcr air-defence operation of World W ar

II, and it involved th e whole of the I)uxford \Vin g. T he first sort ie departed at 11 .00h r, local time, and it req uired the f yphoons to act as a fe int ing probe rownrds the enemy forces grouped aro und l ).,tl'nd. A lthough th ere were no Luftwaffe r.rkcrs, the en t ire win g co nt in ued it patrol Ix'fore returni ng to West Maili ng for refu.Iling. A fter a re-brief and a qui ck lunch , th e Wing's Typhoons were in the air again , at 14,OOh r local t ime. T heir designat ed opc r.u illg alt itudes ranged betw een 15,000 and 17,OOOft (4,5 00 and 5,000m) , and the three squadrons patrolled from Le Touq uer III Le Trepo rr with littl e ene my trade .rlrhough th ey did try a hi gh speed, low leve l run over Dicppe in an effort to open the Typhoo ns' co mbat acco un t over Europe. In the resultan t me lee, Fit Lt (lawso n of j o. 266 Sqn cla imed one confirmed, whil st anot he r pro bable was cla imed by Pit O ff Munro from th e same q uadron. O the r ai rcraft from the Duxford wing would cla im bits of var ious Fw 190s, although there were no mor e confirmed. O n their way home th e Typhoon s ran mto the perenni al prob lem of be ing misident ified for the very ai rcraft th ey had bee n h unting, the Fw 190; th is time it was Fit Lt Daw on who took the brun t of thi s mista ken attack. A th ird and fin al mission was flown by the \Vin g th at day, although thi s was unevent ful as th e cloud co ver had spread across the ent ire area. O ne of the pilots of

Wing Commander Roland Beamont CBE D80* DFC* Possibly one of themost famous pilotsever to grace a cockpit wasWing Commander Roland Beamont CBE. DSO and bar. DFCand bar. Born in Chichester Sussex on 10 August 1920 he would experience his first flight in anAvro 504K at the ageof seven. Roland Beamont would be educated at Eastbourne College but would need to spend his final period at the college cramming forhis RAF Entrance Exam. Having passed this he applied for a short service commission being posted to White Walthamand NO. 13 ElementaryFlying Training School on2January 1939. Completingthis period of training successfully a posting to NO.13 AdvancedTraining School at Drem followed beforemoving to StAthan to joinNO.11 GroupFighterPool Operational Conversion Unit. This would befollowed bya posting to NO.B7 Sqdn on 16November 1939which. at the time. waspart of theBritish Expeditionary Force thus Lillein France would behisdestination. Roland Beamont wou ld shoot down hisfirstenemy aircraft. a Dornier Do 17 - in May 1940 and wou ld be embroiled in further engagements before thesquadron was withdrawn back to Britain on 20May. After taking part in the Battle of Britain NO.87Sqdnwouldcha nge its role to that of night fighting howeverRoland Beamont would depart to Hawkersat Langleyin December 1941. Here hewould be employed asan experimental test pilot flying both Hurricanes andthe Typhoon. Fromthis respite Beamont wasposted to NO.609 Sqdn in November 1942 as Squadron Commander. A return to Hawkers occurred in May 1943 for test flying of Typhoon's and Tempest's. He would undertake his first flight in a Tempest. the Mk.1 prototype HM599. on 2June 1943. During this periodhe would share the flight test dutieswith Bill Humble- these including the development flights forthe Tempest V. Promoted to Wing Commander (Actingl he would take over theformation of NO.150 Wing in time for 0- Day. Two days after the landings theWing wou ld encounter Me- 109's - shooting down three of themwithout loss. As well as taking onGermanfightersNO.150 Wing wasalso engaged in shooting down 'V1' flying bombs. During August the Wing would account for638 of these pernicious beasts with Beamont accountingfor 32 of them. On 2 October 1944 would shoot down hisninth and final enemy aircraft before being shot down himself on 12 October by flaksouth-eastof Bocholt. Captured and imprisonedin StalagIII he would remain incarcerated until returnedto the westin September 1945. In theimmediatepost war period Roland Beamont would serve at the Central Flying Establishment at Tangmere before a posting to NO.2 Wing at Chilbolton flying Tempests. In November 1945 Roland Beamont took over the comma nd of the Air Fighting Development Unit at West Raynham howeverthis command wasshort livedas in January 1946 he left the Royal Air Force. A period of rest and recuperation followedbefore Roland Beamont joined English Electric as Chief Test Pilot. During this period he would beresponsible formuch of the test flying for theCanberraand the Lightning development programme and would beheavilyinvolved with thatof the TS R2. During the period1970 to 1979 Beamont was Director of Flight Operationsandwasheavily involved with the Tornado programme beforeretiring. Roland Beamont diedon19November 2001 .

N o. 609 Sqn invol ved with th ese sort ies was a certa in Fit Lr R. P. Bearnont : afte r the war he would make h istory as a test pilot with Hawker's and its successors.

A Gen eral Mov e-Around A lt hough Typhoon operat ions to dat e had engende red some success, it was obvious that greater result s could be ac h ieved. To thi s end a report was co mm issioned from the Typh oon squadro n co mmande rs, in which they were asked to describe both th e good and bad po ints of the type, and how th ey th ought it sho uld be depl oyed. T he crux of the plan was a suggestion that th e Typhoon squad rons sho uld be redeployed to Coltisha ll. Tangmere and Exet er, with d ispersed sec t ions at ad vance d landing gro unds. Fighter Command seemed ha ppy with thi s ide a and sanctioned a gene ra l move-aro und ; th is began on 18 Se pte mber 194 2 with the

43

d isband ment of the Duxford Wing. No . 609 Sq n moved to Riggin H ill, o. 486 Sqn took up residence at N ort h Weald, No . 266 Sqn dispersed to W armw ell , No . 257 Sqn moved west to Exeter, wh ilst No. 56 Sq n was based at Matlask in orfo lk. Wi th th e establishe d Typhoons safely ensco nc ed at their new bases, it was the turn of os 1 1 and 182 Squad rons to trade in the ir or iginal Spitfires and W h irlwind s for Typhoon s. o, 181 Sqn, co mmanded by Sqn Ldr Denn is Cowley-M illing, began reequipping at Duxford on 7 September, wh ilst N o. 182 Sqn d id the same at Mar tlesham Heath on 12 September. Both un its were int ended to act in th e figh terbomber role, although the aircraft they received to begin with were a morley co llection th at had cen better days. But this was on ly a temporary arrangemen t, as Hawkers were h urriedl y manu facturing bomb racks for th e new aircraft th at both un its were scheduled to receive.

T il E TYP IIOON AT WAR

Above Surrou nded by the debris of maintenance i s Typhoon

IB JP380. seen on th e ground at New Romney

w hi lst in serv ic e w ith No. 182 Sqn. After comb at use the Typhoon saw service w ith No. 56 OTU. before being str uck off ch arge in 1946. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Furth er Pro blems Othe r co nce rns were also sta rt ing to occ upy th ose at Fighter Command and Hawker's. The first was th e tenden cy for home-d efen ce figh ter un its to sho ot at the Typhoo n, due to its resem blan ce to th e Fw 190. In an atte mpt to iden t ify Hawker 's produc t, Fighter Comma nd stipulated th at a yellow band sho uld be painted around th e win gs, alt ho ugh th is was soo n cha nge d to a sky ba nd around the rear fuselage , and yel low leading edges to the main plan es, the wraparo und band s being dispen sed with . The othe r prob lem that appeared at thi s tim e was far more serious in nature: it co nce rne d the d istressin g tende nc y for th e rear fuselage to fail. In it ially the squad rons did not kn ow wh y o rn e of their pi lots were failing to return from the ir assigne d mission s. Th is cha nged, however, when at least one format ion, flying straigh t and level , saw one of its nu mber suffer a cata stro ph ic failure of the rear fuselage. Once thi s weakness in the struc tu re becam e co mmo n know ledge , th e morale of the pilot s plumm eted quickly in response. In itiall y a steel band was used as a tempo rary fix, until a more perm anen t so lut ion was inst igated , the defin itive , moraleboosting fix kn own as Mod 286, featuring fishp lat es riveted aro und the joi nt. Although thi s mod ificat ion in fact had on ly a limited effect on th e rate of srruc-

rural failures, it d id see m to reassure the pilots. \Vh ile the Typhoon was still suffering from eng ine prob lem s and struc tural failures - tho ugh was still out looking for defen sive figh ters and ant i-aircraft gun ne rs to shoo t down - prod uct ion rat es were increasing enough to replace losses and allow new uni ts to form. T h us duri ng N ov em ber and Decemb er of 1942, a furt her five squadro ns ca me on strea m: N o. 183 Sqn at C h urch Fen ton on 1 N ov ember; 1 o. 195 Sqn at H utton C ranswick on 27 No vember; No . 19 7 Sqn at Drem on 28 Novembe r; No . 198 Sq n at Digby on 8 December; o. 193 Sqn at H ar rowbeer on 18 December; and 0.2 45 Sq n at C ha rmy Down on th e penu ltimat e day of the month.

A Cha nge in Role: Night Flyin g T he Typh oon squad rons were begin ni ng to have an effect upo n th e Luftwaffe's low level raide rs. In those last two mon ths of 1942, a j u 88 and n um erous Fw 190s were to fall to th e can nons of the Typh oon . A furt he r change to th e type's role was put forward by Sq n Ldr Rolan d Beamont, who suggested to Fighter Comma nd that possibly the Typhoon migh t return to its n igh t-figh ter role . Havi ng carried out

44

sim ilar mission s with some succe ss whi le flyin g Hurrican es, he post ulat ed that the Typhoon co uld ca use havoc amo ngst ene my forc es dur ing n igh t attacks. Bea mont hi mself would fly the first mission , codenamed Wlltbarb, on 17 N ove mber 194 2, whe n he and h is small force att acked a tra in near Ab bev ille. The succe ss of thi s mission was eno ugh to co nv ince Comma nd th at furt her pilots sho uld be trained in n igh t flying and attacks. Thus o. 609 Sqn co ncen trated upon th e ni ght-ti me O perations Wlltbarb, wh ile o. 56 'In wo uld do th e same dur ing daylight hours. The latt er's first sort ie in volved strafing Messersch mi tt Bf 109s on th e ground near Vlissingen : th e result of th is was that not on ly were en emy a ircraft destro yed, but more importantl y, co nfusion was ca used amo ngst the ran ks of the G erman forces as they realized that th ey were now vulnera ble to attack at any ho ur of th e day. W h ile th e Typhoon units were making thei r presence felt acro ss Europ e, they were also co ping rat her well with the co nt in ued flood of Luftwaffe att ac kers. Dur ing December, pi lot s from both Nos 4 6 and 609 Sq ns successfully bro ugh t down at least four Messerschm itt sing leseate rs, a pai r of Dorn ier Do 2 17 twin -cngined bo mbers, and four Fw I90s alt ho ugh at least one Typh oon was lost in these co mba ts.

Typ hoon Stre ngt h in 1943 A t the beginni ng of 1943 th e future of the Typhoon was in doubt, as co n tin ued losses du e to structura l failure and eng ine sh utdowns were st ill giving rise for con cern; therefore a meeting was held at Fighter Command HQ at Bentley Prior y to d iscuss the type's future. Man y at the meeting were for rem ovin g the Typh oon from the in ven tory st raigh ta way; however, other argume n ts were put forw ard co nc ern ing success already achieved , and thi s led to a stay of execut ion so the aircraft co uld be furthe r eva luated. Recom men dations were mad e co ncern ing improving th e Typhoon for the gro und- attack mission : these incl uded structural stre ng the n ing so tha t a greate r weapons load co uld be carried , and the provision of a bett er ca no py for allround pilot vision . Typhoon streng th at the beginning of 194 3 stoo d at fourte en sq uadro ns, e ither operat ional or about to ac h ieve ope ra-

TIl E TYPIIOON AT WAR

The code 'PR' indicates that this Typhoon 7752, is on the strength of No. 609 West , Sqn. The nominated pilot for the aircraft qn Ldr R. P. Beamont, and it would remain until struck off charge on 25 August 1943. Museu mCollection 11 Typhoon IBJR504and its pilot await r nce to start. The codes worn indicate rship by No. 197 Sqn, who would pass it on . 137Sqn, where it became 'SF-E'. The ft's fate was to be shot down by flak on In Day 1944 near Schlieden. C. P. Russell Collection

lllna l ca pa bility, divided in to four co mba t IIl pS. T he first of these was N o . 10 .rIlUp, whose area of responsibi lit y wercd the so ut h- west of Brita in . T h is r IIII' co nsisted of four flyin g un its: o . 7 Sqn based at Exet er, N o . 26 6 Sq n at .m uwe ll, 0 .2 45 Sq n at C ha rmy Dow n , n I o. 193 Sq n at H ar row becr, At th e 'II'I isite swing of th e co mpass was N o. I I .ro up, whose defensive responsibil ity wc rcd th e so ut h- ca st of th e UK; it onsisred of just two o pe rat iona l uni ts: N o . ) Sq n at Manst on , and No. 486 Sq n at I.mg rn ere. T h e M idlan ds wer e th e responrlvili tv of o . 12 Group, co ns isting of six [uad rons (a lt hough three of th ese were on ' rest and recupera tio n ') : o . 56 Sq n .1\ based at Ma tl ask, o. 18 1 Sqn at n.ulwe ll, o. 18 2 Sq n . o ver at .iwbridgcwo rth , a nd o . 183 Sqn at ( h urch Fento n . The fin al two un its in th e

gro up were No. 19 5 Sq n a t Hutton C ranswick, a nd N o. 198 Sq n a t Digby in Lincol nshire . T h e fin a l gro up was N o . 13 G roup, wh ose respo nsib ilit ies incl uded th e north of Brit a in; it had two un its: No. I Sq n at Ac klington , a nd j o . 19 7 Sq n o n re t and recup erat ion at Drem. T he yea r 194 3 would prove to be signi ficant for bo th a ir fo rces inv o lved with th e Europea n co n flic t . For t he Luftw affe thi s mean t a rc-j igging of th e un its engaged in th e hit-an d-run str ikes ac ross so uth and eas t Brita in . The two o rigin a l spec ialist [ agdgeschw ardcn , N os JG 2 and JG 26, had th e ir prima ry ro le ch ang ed to th a t of a ir defen ce, whi lst the raiders, eq uipped wit h th e bo mb-ca rrying Fw 190A -4/U . we re tra nsferred to G ru ppen I and II of Sch uc llkamp fgesch wadcr 10, wh ose prim ary ai rbase was loc ate d at A mi ens.

45

Th e Typh oon in Air Defen ce Patrols A c ross t he C ha n n el , reorgan izat io n was a lso the orde r of th e da y for Brit ain's a ir defen ce forces. A ltho ugh bo th t he cha in h ome low -level radars, as well as the ir co unte rpa rts in th e Royal Navy surface wa tch pa tro ls, were picking up incom ing ra ide rs, t he lack of an IFF syste m meant that eac h ta rget had to be in vestigat ed . To he lp co un ter th is waste of man -h ours and materi a ls, O pe ration Touei was co nc e ived. T h is required the assistance of th e O bse rve r C or ps and th e coastgua rd, wh o adde d th e Mark I to th e defence cha in . T he premise was th at wh en an int ruder was spo tted, a large pyrotechn ic roc ke t, kno wn as an 'Eyeba ll S nowflake' , woul d be launch ed, to indi cate th e position of th e

T HE TY PHOON AT IVA I{

Above 'ZX-N' was a Typhoon IB belonging to No. 247 Sqn when this photograph was taken. The pilot had obviously not read the pilot's notes, as the undercarriage has been retracted very quickly after take -off . David Howley Collection Left Seen after their interception of a pair of Messerschmitt Bf lD9s over the Channel are Frank Murphy on the left, and Allan Smith to the right, pictured at Tangmere. Both ended the war as Squadron Leaders. Allan Smith Below Although the camera has stopped the propeller's rotat ion in this photograph , this Typhoon IB, RB3B9 'IB-P' of No. 440 Sqn RCAF, prepares to depart on another miss ion. As this is a precision strik e mission. the ai rcraft is armed with a pair of tail -fused 1,OOOIb bombs. David Howley Collection

46

T H E T YP HOON AT WAR

nhr med int ruder. A rchai c as thi s may 111.1 to mode rn co nceptions, thi s system 1lI,.l ly worked qu ite well, and enabled patrolling fighters to in tercept in rrudwho migh t have evaded th e defence net

mplcrelv, 'he primary aircraft assigned to these nd ll1g air pa tro ls was the Typh oon, the uv be ing kno wn as 'a n t i - l~h ll barb', th e t -rcnc e be ing to their own h it-an d-run I k This mission on ly to ok effect du ring I~ ligh t ho urs, and req uired pairs of If r,lft to patrol off the coast on a regular I I' . The Typhoon 's beat s typically ""Isted of Ra msgat e to Dungeness, II1ge ness to Beachy Head , Beach y Head Shoreham , Shore ha m to Sclsev Bill, n I Selsey Point to St C at he rine's Poi nt. he r patrols cov e red the co ast line sec tors reached to S tart Point in Devon . hho ugh see mingly a quiet ex iste nce , I l' pat rols were not with ou t peril, as th e h uu de most were flown at was bet ween to 200ft (3 to 60 m ) abo ve sea level. hi kind of flying required a hi gh level of -nccn trarion , but it was necessary .iusc the Luftwaffe raider ' ca me in at 1(0 l' he igh ts; but afte r 75min of it , pilot s rc glad to return to base.

I,"

ire Pro blems with the ( bre Engine we ll as the eve r-presen t dangers of uhc r flying in to the sea, or int o th e guns 1,111 Fw 190, th ere was also th e apprehe nIon that was felt co nce rn ing the Sabre 1ll.:lI1e'S lack of rel iabi lity: if it fail ed at •h.lt altitude, it mean t ce rta in deat h . ln r lcr to assuage pilot s' fears and imp rove , lIahility, a regime was inst itute d that , [uired eac h engine to be pull ed after • -c n t y-five hours of run n ing tim e fo r a om plere strip-down and ov erha ul. bviouslv th is placed a great stra in on th e 'rou nd eng ine ering team, altho ugh th e om plern en r of eng ine ers on each un it was IIll reused to mat ch th e workl oad. A lso uu reused was the num ber of Typhoon s per luadron , so th at typically, each boast ed 11 ex tra 50 pe rce n t above establish men t. In an effort to improv e ava ilability, -rvicing proce dures for the Sa bre eng ine "ere mod ified sligh tly, wh ich allowed 'u n n ing ho urs to increase to thi rt y Ihho ugh th is would soon be compro m ised whe n Napier's began th e Sa bre engine mod ificat ion pro gramme. T hi s would

result in a sha rp redu ct ion in available flying hour s per squad ron , eac h of wh ich was limi ted to no more than 300 hours per mont h in roral . Fort unat ely the Germa ns were not fully aware of the parlous sta te of Brita in 's air defences durin g th e ope n ing months of 1943 , ot he rwise [abo ac tivity would most ce rta in ly have been higher. cvcrthe less, eve n with the restri cti on s on flying hours in force, and th e massive amount s of maint enance being ca rried out on eac h Sabre, losses due to engine failure cont in ued to mount : fifty a ircraft crashed du ring th ese ea rly months of th e year, wh ilst o the rs were damaged d urin g heavy lan di ngs and were rem oved from the ac t ive in ven to ry for rep air s.

Typ hoon Succ esses So me co mpensat ion for th ese losses in a ircraft and pilots were the successe scored by the Typhoons of Nos [0 and I I Groups: thirt y-two Fw 190s, eigh t Messerschm itt Bf 109s, plus a sing le Ju n kers [u 88. O the r co mbat clai ms incl uded probables aga ins t four Fw 190s, one Bf 109 and a sing le Dorni er Do 217 . Damages incl uded a furt he r eleven Fw 190s and a Do 2 17. T he h igh sco rer in thi s ta ble was No. 609 Sq n , whose tally incl uded nineteen Fw 190s and th ree Bf 109s; whil st at th e o the r end of th e sca le,

the N ew Zeala nders of N o. 486 Sqn brought down thr ee each of Mcsserschmirts and Focke- \X1u lfs, plus a single Ju 8 as th e ir co nfirmed ki ll tall y. O ne of th e most successful in te rce pt ions of 1943 was made on 29 April , by the the n Fg O ff A llan Sm ith (a major cont ributor to thi s book). Based at Tan grnere with o. 4 6 Sq n , A llan Smith and hi s win gman Fit Sgt Frank Murph y were scrambled on the orde rs of ' Blackgang', a cha in home radar stat ion locat ed at Blackgan g C h ine on the Isle of W igh t. As was th e norm for th ese flights, the in tercept ing pair flew low acro ss the water whilst awa it ing orde rs from th e plotters assigne d to ' Blackgang', Th e orde rs soon came, as 'band its' were plotted co ming from the south; a navigation 'vector' was therefore issued, that put th e pair between the 'bandi ts' and th eir rout e hom e to the Fren ch co ast, Two furt her 'vecto rs' came from 'Blackgang' that wou ld pu t the Typh oon s behi nd the 'ba nd its'. O nce in posit ion th e co ntro llers issued th e code ' Buste r': thi s was to go for full th rottle and the fina l run -in to the int erce pt. A s the fighters began thei r run-in towards the incom ing 'bandi ts', A llan mirh rad ioed the 'tallyho ' 'ignal to the Blackgan g controllers, meani ng th at the ene my a ircraft were sigh ted and being int ercep ted. A s the two Typh oons closed in , the 'b andits', by now ident ified as

Squadron leader AllanSmith DFC* Born in Auckland, New Zealand on January 12th 1921 he wou ld grow upduring the depression yearsandwhen his secondaryeducation finished started work with the NZsubsidiary of the American Meat Packer; Wilson & Co attending classes at Auckland University at night where he graduated asa Bachelor of Commerce in 1940. He joined theRNZAF in March 1941 doing his elementary training in New Zea land. hisWings trainingin Canada where hecame topof hiscourse and hisOTU training in England. In March 1942 he was posted asa foundation member of No.486I NZj Squadron and stayed with this Squadron until his tour of operations was completed late January 1944. During this period the Tangmere Typhoon Wing was ledinturn byDes Scott and Denys Gillam. Smith was a Flight Commander on No.486 Squadron and on 29 April 1943 was credited with one Me 109 destroyed over theEnglish Channel. Inthelattermonths of 1943 the Wing were converted toTyphoon bombers and made a number of dive bombingattacks on the V-l sitesin NorthernFrance. Ona rest period Smith was posted asa Test Pilot to GlosterAircraft Co and during this period married Irene Duddleston who had been a WAAF transport driver attached to 486 Squadron. From July1944 to December 1944 hewas theCommanding Officer of NO.197 Typhoon Squadron flying from the Normandy Beachhead. Lille and Antwerpasclose support ground attack forthe Canadian Army. He ledtheNO.5 Squadron attack which destroyed the German 15th Army Headquarters at Dordrecht in Holland on October 24th 1944 killing 2 Generals 70Officers and 200 other ranks. Smith flew over 400missions and was finally shotdown byflakon December 31st 1944 duringa low level bombing attack on a bridge in Holland. He crash landed successfully and was taken POw. Squadron Leader Smith wasMentioned in Despatches in 1944. awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1944and in 1945 a Bar to theDFC. Back in New Zealand afterthewar Smith resumed his position with theWilson Company and in 1955 was made General Manager for New Zealand operationsand retained that position in the highly successful Company until heretired in 1987.

47

TIl E TYP IIOO N AT WAR

Messerschmitt Bf 109s, began to tak e evasive ac tion, whi ch included a turn to wards th e Fren ch coast. In A llan's word s, 'We tu cked in behind th em , whi ch made it di fficult for them to cove r each ot her's tai ls as th ey were flying too close together.' A t a heigh t of app rox imatel y l Oft O m ) abo ve th e sea, and racing onwards wit h th e Sab res bellowing un der full th rottle, A llan S mith d irect ed hi s wingman to tak e th e trailin g Bf 109 , whil e h e dealt with th e lead aircraft. Howev er, hi s win gman, Frank Murph y, was having serious problems wit h th e reflect or guns igh t, and was red uced to track ing the ca n no n shel l strikes on th e water's surface to bring h is guns to bear on th e fleei ng German fighter. Rud imentary th ough th is method was, it had some success , as shell strikes were see n on th e wings and fuselage. Damaged, th e Bf 109 pull ed away to port and int o the guns igh t of A llan Sm ith , who prom ptl y opene d fire. O bv iously these sho rt bursts were eno ugh to d isable th e Messersch mitt co mpletely, as it cras he d soo n afte rwards. Returning to the leader, A llan found himself dea d aste rn of the rem ain ing Germa n fighter. From such an adva ntageo us posit ion he prom ptl y opene d fire , the she ll strikes pepp ering the wings and fuselage, with panels be ing literally blown clear. As the dam aged figh te r began to lose airspeed, A lla n Smith man oeu vred hi s Typh oon alongside th e stricken G er man: ' It was my first face-to -face meeting wit h a German , and I will remem ber tha t face till the day I die.' He remembers think ing at the ti me, that had he bee n in a sim ilar posit ion he wou ld have tried to ram hi s ene my; however, the Bf 109 pilot appea red to be un ab le to do so, therefore th e Typh oons pulled clear and tracked th e G erman figh ter unt il it crashe d in to th e sea ; afte r wh ich th ey returned home to Tangm ere.

Furth er Engagements Comba t patrols by th e Typhoon unit s co n t in ued , with N o. 25 7 Sqn , operat ing out of War mwell, picki ng up the pat rol duties in th e Portl and to Isle of Wight sec tor. It was duri ng the ant i-Rhubarb period of the Typh oon's hi story th at it was realized that it was up to IOOmph ( 160km/h ) faste r at lower alt itudes tha n its Luftwaffe opposit ion. T h is adva ntage

ca me to th e for e when an unan nounced attac k was made on Torquay by a twentystrong force of '[abos'. A five-sect ion scramble was made from Warmwell to int ercept the depart ing fighter bombers. The Typhoon s gave ch ase at low level across the chan ne l. A s th eir top speed was approach ing 350mph (560 km/h) they began to overhaul th e fleeing Fw 190s, whose top speed was limited to a maximum of 320mph (5 10km/h) . In the engag emen t that fo llowed at least one enemy fighter was brough t down , wh ilst ot he rs were claimed as dam aged . In a furt her en gagem ent on I June 1943 , at least five Focke-W ulf Fw 190s were shot down by pilot s of No. 609 Sqn. T h is was to be the h igh po int of th e German h it-and run raids upon Britain, as th e main units in volved were th en posted to S icily to reinforce Luftflottc 2, leavin g on ly th irty figh ters in Fran ce to co nt in ue th e raid s upon Britain . This reduction in th e nu mber of attacke rs, plus the improvemen ts made to radar detection and repo rt ing procedures, meant that airbo rne sta nd ing pa trols co uld also be redu ced, to a pa ir of Typhoon s wa iting in read ines at the end of various adva nce d land ing grounds, the pilot sitt ing in the coc kp it. Jo in ing the origina l Typhoon squadro ns were No. 197 Sqn based at Orem, whi ch re-eq uipped with th e Hawker fighter during ove mbe r 194 2, and o. 19 Sqn, formed at Digby on 7 Decembe r 194 2; later it was moved to Man ston to jo in o. 609 Sqn . N o. 193 Sqn becam e operat iona l at Harrowbeer, reli nqu ishi ng its Hurricane night figh ters duri ng January 1943 befor e mov ing to G ravese nd. T he final sq uad ron to jo in Fight er C ommand d uring th is per iod was N o. 174 Sqn , wh ich changed ove r to the Typhoon in A pril 1943. The fin a l defen sive comba t und er tak en by the Typhoon squadrons took place on 2 1 October 1943, when a pa ir of a ircraft from o. 1 Sqn shot down a sing le Fw 190 off Beach y Head . From thi s mom ent on, the Typh oon squadrons would switch to th e att ack ro le , taking th e war to th e enemy in preparati on for th e invasion of Europe.

Combat in Europe T he ini tia l att acks upo n target s of opp or tun ity in Europe were undertaken as Rhubarbs. T heir imp act had more of a pro paga nda value than tact ical, as losses

48

due to flak were higher tha n th ose due to eng ine or struc tural failure . The n um ber of raid s at th e end of 1942 and the beginni ng of 1943 was also affected by th e winter weather, whi ch was q uite severe. However, from A pril and as spring advanced, Rhubarb mission s increased . The RAF also created a who le raft of co denam es to cove r a num ber of mission s th at vari ed in target type and th e number of aircraft deployed . The first of th ese offensive sort ies was ca lled C ircus: it inv olved a handful of bom bers th at were essen t ially being used as bait, accompan ied by a sign ificant force of figh ter s, the purpose of the ope ration be ing to dr aw int o combat as man y enemy fight ers as possib le, and destro y th em . T he gro und- att ack version of thi s was called Ramrod , and placed the emphasis on the bom ber force dest roying a gro und ta rget. For tar get s at sea the codcname was Roadstead; it essen tially feat ured a lowlevel attack on sh ipping and coasta l defences. The next two operat ions were pur e figh ter swee ps, th ese bei ng Ranger, a freelan ce figh ter swee p with no spec ific target , wh ile Rodeo was similar, but feat ured a defin ed ta rget or goa l. The fin al figh ter ope rat ion was flown pu rely at nigh t and was the dar k hours' version of a Rhubarb, be ing design at ed Intruder. If th ese types of ope rat ion were not eno ugh , th e Typh oon squadrons were a lso allocat ed to sh ipping reconnaissan ce mission s some times called Lagoons, and to protecti ng co n voys, plus air-sea rescu e dut ies. A t th e hear t of the att ac ks on Europ e were two Typhoon sq uadrons, Nos 18 1 and 182 Sq ns: these had fina lly rece ived th eir new Typhoons co mplete wit h Hawker's hastil y man ufactu red under wing bo mb racks. Earl y in 1943 th ey were joined by three ot he r un its whose Typh oon s were co nfigured for th e figh te rbom ber ro le . o. 183 Sqn woul d form at C h urch Fenton on I ove mbe r 194 2, commencing operat ions from Colern e in April. N o.3 Sqn, based at Hunsdon , was flyin g H urr ican es until February 194 3 , wh en it re-equi pped with Typh oons. begin ning ope rat ions in May. The final fighter- bomber unit to trade in its Hurricanes was o. 175 Sqn , wh o rece ived their Typhoons at C o lern e in Ap ril 1943. When combat sort ies began, the Typhoons - or Bombap hoo ns - were armed wit h gene ral purpose 250 lb bombs,

TH E TYP HOON AT WA R

Right Typhoon 18 EKI83

was servi ng as 'US-A' of 0.5 6 Sqn when this rtroi t w as taken. It wa s

I t r operated by No. 609 qn, before being retired 16Ju ly 1945 as 5323M. og Bird Aviation Collection

I ho ugh these were soo n replaced by 500lb bom bs, Strikes car ried out by th ese qua drons were norm ally escorted by other Ivp ho ons from th e pure fighter squadrons. cvc rthcless, onc e they had d isposed of I he ir und erwing loads, the fight er bombers were more than ca pable of figh ter -like I crfo rmance, as the dra g coe fficie nt of the lomh racks had a min imal effect upon I crfo rmance. Early ta rgets att acked by th e ligh ter bo mbers included airfields in France; init ially tho se in the area of Po ix and A bbeville were favourites, altho ugh at tacks against sh ipping anywhere off th e European coas t were soon added to the inven ro rv, as the Typh oon with or with out bombs was a hard -hitting adve rsary. However, not everyth ing went the way of the Typhoon , as they began to fall vict im to th eir grea test enemy at low level , Ge rman flak, wh ich was espec ially lethal up to 6,000ft (2,000m ). Not on ly were th e LIerman guns freque n tly rada r guided, but the defe nces were built up in he lr form atio n : at lower levels sma ll calibre weap ons were used, whil st at grea te r he ights the 88mm general pur pose gun was dep loyed. Typhoon pilots were advised to fly as low and as fast as possible to bypass th e flak although th is adv ice ca me to naught sho uld the a ircraft ta ke a h it in a vital area . In such circu msta nces the chances of a successful abandon men t were virt ua lly n il. T hese operat ions agai nst Euro pe were

main ly th e prov ince of the southern- based units such as No.3 Sqn, and A llan Smith 's o. 486 Sqn. h ipping attacks wou ld become the province o f the two N orfolkbased uni ts, as 56 and 195 Sq ns, whose remit was th e whole of the No rt h Sea. As before, mission s were flown at low level to co nfuse an y en emy radar with ground clutter returns; however, thi s did have its down side in that occasiona lly a ircraft ca me bac k with bent propeller tip s. The fo rmat ion nor mally ado pted was e ithe r a loose line-abreast pair, or a gro up of four, wh ich allowed all in the form at ion to keep a good look out for ene my fighters. When an attack was initiated , th e idea was th at all aircraft would att ack in a sho rt space of t ime to d ivide the sh ip's defen ces, hopefully co mplet ing th e sin king of the vessel afte r one co nce rted pass; all th e Typh oon s would then descr ibe vio lent rudd er-dr iven man oeu vres to get clear.

A New Format With the Typh oon squad rons at last co ming in to th ei r own afte r a sha ky sta rt , there wou ld be a reapprai sal of th ei r ope rat ions and how th ey were co nducted . O riginally squad rons were liable to be moved from stat ion to stat ion as req uirements a lte red; however, in the early days of Jul y 1943, a comp letely new concept

49

ca me into being: th at of co mba t win gs whose co mpleme nt of squadro ns rem ain ed virtually unch anged . The ori ginal idea had been formed around an 'a irfield', in whose structure were included bot h the flying and suppo rt un its, all capable of packing up and movin g as a body to wh ere the ir services were required next. Thi s co nce pt of self-co nta in ment was ve ry appea ling, espec ially as plann ing for the inv asion of Europ e was already und er way, and th e mob ile , self-co n ta ined airfield/win g was seen as a kin gpin in any such undert akin g. T he const ituen t win gs/airfi elds were No . 12l , based at Lvdd and whi ch comprised os 174, 175 and 245 Sqns: wh ile as 18 1, I 2 and 24 7 Sqns wou ld form the basis of o. 124 , based at ew Rom ney. T he respective wing leaders were \'(I g C drs C rowley-M illing and Ingle . In thi s new format the wings ope rated as e ithe r indi vidu al or co mbined form ations for Ramrod ope rat ions, wh ich woul d result in some losses to en emy figh ters. O n 13 Au gust o. 266 qn lost their CO, qn Ldr Mac ln ryre, as well as two othe r pilots. Four days later ano ther Ramrod, run by No. 182 Sqn , lost 50 percent of its despat ch ed streng th: o nly three of its figh ters returned , afte r bei ng bounced by Ge rma n fighters. A lthough th e Luft waffe was a co ns tant dan ger, th e losses to flak woul d tota l some thirty-three aircraft; th ese were lost during

TIl E TYPIIOON AT WAR

th e period I June to 30 Septe mber 1943 , from a tota l of sixty-six machines. O n eac h occasion pro ba bly no more than o ne or two mach ines wen t down - although A llan Sm ith 's N o. 486 Sq n was very un luck y to lose th ree aircraft on 16 Sep te mber on a [{oadstead to Le Havre bu t it was a for m of attrit ion tha t was a co nsta nt drain on resour ces.

Attack on th e Munsterland As if att acking well defended ground ta rget s, and being the butt of th e att ention s of Fock e-\X!ulf and Messerschmirt fight ers was not eno ugh , the Typhoon wings were also sen t to attack sh ipping that was just as wel l de fende d. Possibly the hardest ta rget deta iled to th e wings was the transpor t MlIllSterland th at had been spo tted do ck ed at C herbo urg. This was one ta rget that no squadron want ed to att ack because it was so heavily defend ed; however, th e author it ies dec ided that the

prize was wort h the effort . Thus No. 263 Sqn , flying the Westl and Wh irlwind, and the Typh oon s of N o. 183 Sqn flying from Warm well, were ordered to attack th e sh ip. T he first atta ck was begun early on the morning of the 24 Oc tober. The inco ming wall of flak d id not deter the squad rons, and a couple of h its were score d, altho ugh two Wh irlw ind s and a Typhoon were lost.

The Ungui de d Rock et O n 25 O ctobe r th e Typh oon added anot her weapon to its armoury: the unguided rocket. It was dep loyed by No. 181 Sqn und er the wings of six a ircraft against the power stat ion at C ae n , in an operat ion th at in vo lved all the sq uadrons allocated to the two co mba t wings. T he plan was that No. 174 Sqn would dive bom b th e marshalling yards at C acn , esco rte d by No . 245 Sqn, wh ilst N os 175 am i 182 Sqns made dumm y run s ove r

FUSING ASS EMB LY

CARRYING SPIGOT 60 Ibs HIGH EX PLOSIVE WARHEAD CASING

Caen in an effort to draw th e enemy's flak and fight ers. No. 18 I Sq n was charged with actua lly hitting th e power stat ion , and woul d be esco rted by No. 24 7 Sqn , whose task was to draw th e flak fro m th e att ackers. But as so often happens with even the best laid plans, it went adrift , and o. 181 Sqn found itself exposed and woul d lose three a ircraft , o ne of th e pilots be ing killed. Fighter Co mmand was qu ite righ tl y becom ing co nce rne d about the losses of hi ghl y train ed pilot s invo lved in these [{hll barb ope rat ions, so th e dec ision was tak en to restri ct th ese flight s to spec ial mission s only, against h igh valu e target s. Havin g cleared bo th rocket s and bombs fo r use wit h the Typh oon , the 45gal (200 Itr) lon g-ran ge ta nks were int rodu ced, and these woul d result in changes to the way th e a ircraft was deployed. Using these ta n ks, th e Typh oon's ran ge was ex te nded from 6 I0 to 9 0 miles (980 to 1,575k m ), altho ugh th ei r in trodu ct ion was not witho ut inc ide n t, T h is was because the layout of the fuel svstem mean t th at in theor y th e dro p ta nks would be empt ied first, before switch ing to the main tan ks; however, a fau lt in th e de sign of th e fuel -switching coc k some t imes mean t that th e non-return part of the valve d id in fac t allow fuel to seep back fro m the full wing tan ks in to the empty d rop ta n ks. If th is was allowed to con t in ue, or if the pi lot failed to not icc th is retu rn tran sfer, the resul t was freq uent ly enginc stoppage due to fue l sta rva t ion . A t med ium to hi gh alt itudes th e pilot had the

Above The 601b (27kg) w arhead wa s possibly the most effective typ e fitted to the unguided rocket. and became a very eff ect ive Jack -of -all -trades w eapon. Big Bird Aviation Collection

WARHEAD IDENTIFICAT ION WHI TE RING B LA CK BODY

LOCK ING STU DS

r - -- - - ----,

CRUCIFORM SHAPED CORDITE

W ING CONN ECTION

11 to 12 1bs

I

CLOSING DISC

25 Ibs AR MOUR PIERCING WARH EA D

r---

11.S Inches

----+-------------

REAR OBDU RA TOR

4 Fee17 .S Inc hes

Above This diagram shows the complete unguided rocket. its components and the method of connecting the we apon electrically to an ai rcraft. Big Bird Aviation Collection

50

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TIl E T YPIIOON AT WAR

The Underwing Rocket Projectile The use of underwingrockets bythe Royal Air Force had first been investigated bythe Projectile DevelopmentEstabl ishment at Fort Halstead, Kent priorto its move to Aberporth in Wales during 1940 whe retheywou ld join upwith the Rocket Research Establishment. Together these two departments would create thefirst examples of the unguided rocket. Once successful trials had been completedthe first productionexamples were rushedout to the Middle East for use bytheHurricane squadronswhose primary taskwas to support the units of Montgomery's EighthArmy. Originally theground units had been equipped with anti tank guns- these plusthe tanks own guns- were found to beineffective againstthe thei r opposite numbers of theGerman Afrika Corps. Mountedonthe original Mk.l underwing rails these early unguided rockets werefoundto have aneffect upon the olderPanzer Mk.IV tanks, however theyhad little or noeffect uponthe seven inch armourapplied to thenewly arrived Tiger tanks. These results weregreeted with mixed concerns at the Air Ministrywhowere initially pleased with the early results however the lack of success aga inst the heavier Tiger werevery disappointing,especially asthe Ministryhad hoped that this weaponwould be the fix-all for the tank problem. The result wasthat thenewlyestablished production facilitieswere askedto halt production of rocket motors and warheadsuntilordnance expertscould finda wayof improving the performance of the warhead. It wasabout thistime that the Royal Navyreported thattheversion developed for thei r use was proving ineffective as the 60lb highexplosive warhead asfittedwas only capable of causing superficial damage above thewaterline. This was disappointing asthe warhead wasdesigned to penetrate thehull of a ship and explode. Insome government circlesthe failureof these weapons was greeted with some glee- senior officialsweresaid to doubt thewisdom of spending money and research time on these 'new fangledweapons'. However it would not be the research experts who would guide the answer - but a howitzer batteryin the Western Desert who hadfound that their thin walled shells had blown the tracks and turrets of a handful of Tigertanks bythe applicationof brute explosiveforce. This warhead wasin complete contrast to the original armour pierci ng rocket whichhada hardened steel and tungsten nose ca p that was intended to penetrate the tanks hull and ricochet around theinside. The scientists then took another tackand attached a modifiedhowitzer shell that could be driven bythethree inch rocket motor. To test that thenewrocket would work some prototype 60lbHE warhead fittedrockets were despatched to thetrials department of theRocket ResearchEstablishmentat Aberporth for firingtrials. Not only were these successful it was alsoshown thatthese newrockets could becarried and fired bytheexistingaircraft mounting rails. Even as examples were being sent to the Hurricane squadrons in theMiddle East forimmediate use test specimens wereon their wayto Bosco mbe Down to see if theyworked properly! Fortunately for all concerned there were no trajectory problems after launching and the new rockets could knock out Tiger tanks. Theonly problem reported by the pilots wasoneof

ti me to rectify the situat ion ; at low level , ho wever, the outco me was nor mally d isaster. T hose a ircraft a lready in service had the fuel tank mod ification added retrospect ively, wh ile from th e middl e of 1943 Hawke r's were build ing new a ircraft wit h these fitm cn ts embod ied as standard.

A New Rol e for the Typh oon

Squad ro ns With all mach ines being bro ugh t up to nea rly the same standard, it was now tim e for the Typhoon sq uadrons to begin train -

accurate sightingastheheavier 60lb warhead had a tendencyto drop further upon release thus tests at Bascombe Down showed that thelighter 251b round dropped some forty feet over a distance of 323 yardswhile the heavierweapon descended ninety feet over the samedistance. To counteract this problem squadron armourers rigged upa make shift sight that wasgraduatedforva riousranges which, although not perfect.wasadequate for the purpose until a production version wasdeveloped. The success of the 60lbrocket meant that it quickly established itselfastheprimaryweapon for ground attack use whichmeant thatmost of the heavy calibreunderwing guns were retired except for the VickersType'S' of 40mm ca libre which wasretained for use in the Middle East. When the Allied Army hit thebeaches of Normandy in June 1944 theTyphoon and Tempest rocket equipped squadrons of the 2nd TAFwere to thefore scoringsome noticeable successes such as against theGerman armoured units at Mortain. While the rockets were undergoingdevelopment sowere the rails that they were carried on. Originally the Mk.1 rails were three steel tubes linkedwith cross brac ingmounted on a heavy steel shielding plate under the wing. The rockets them selves were hung from two hook assembl ies fitted into therails. Mounted from the rail to the rocket motor was an electrical connection which wasplaced to the front of the cordite charge, firing wascarried out by using a panel in thecockpit upon which was mounted a master switch, a pairs or salvo switchanda firing button. The original electricalcircuitneeded to be modified asloading accidents sawpremature ignitions ontheground. Correctionof this fault meant that a multiple socket was fittedunder the wingwhich needed a shorting plug inserting by an armourerjust prior to take off. With the minor faults concerningthe rocket and its rails being dealt with, it was time to concentrate upon creating a weaponsaimingsight that could dealwith both the launching of rockets and the aiming of wing armament. Aftermuch deliberation and experimentation theMk.1I reflectorsight wasfittedwith an adjustable reflector screen. Adjustment wasvia a knurled knobat thefront of the sight base which allowed the pilot to depress the sight line downwards byup to five degrees forrocket firing. Developing the rocket further led to thedouble mounting of 601b rockets using a Duplex mount. Initially there were problems with this double launch systemasthe lower rocket exhibited a tendency to cartwheel intotheground. Modifying theDuplex launcher to allowsingle rocket launchesmeant thattheproblem wasreduced to acceptable limits. Withthesedouble rocket assemblies fittedthe Typhoon could fly at speeds upto 450mph lAS aslong asnoviolent manoeuvreswereattempted. The original Mk.1rocket rail assemblies were the next items to belooked at and these were quickly modified to Mk.1I standard by the removal of the heavy steel mounting plate which improvedaircraft performance and handling. Followingonfrom thiscame the Mk.l1I which are better known asthe Zero lengthlaunchers and would serve theforces well until the mid 1950s.

ing for a new ro le. T he first signs that the Typh oon 's role was changing ca me when Exercise S/Jartan was mounted. Designe d to prepare all the design at ed forces for co mbat in France, th is exercise inv o lved four of th e six un its, th ese being Nos 181 , 182, 183 and 247 Sqns. In order to rei nforce th e results of thi s exercise, all six squadrons would beco me tru ly mobile: th us living und er canv as bec ame the norm , as d id pack ing up and movi ng to a new locat ion at sho rt notice. A ll these prep ara tions wou ld eve ntually result in Figh ter C ommand an nounci ng the creation of the Second Tactical A ir Force, whose role would be to provide support for

57

the ground fo rces as they moved ac ross Euro pe . T he da te of the Znd TA F's creat ion is give n as 13 o vc rn bc r 194 3 , when Figh ter o mmand revea led it as a co mpone nt of the A llied Exped it ionary A ir Force. The Typhoon units allocated to th e A EA F/2nd TAF co mprised th e six squadrons of os 12 1 and 124 A irfield/W ings based at \Vestham pnetl and Merston respect ively, wh ilst the rem aining twelve squadro ns were alloca ted to th e remain der of Figh ter Command, by now renam ed the Ai r Defence of G reat Brita in . The first co mmander of 2nd TA F was A ir Vice Marshall A rt h ur C on ingham; h is dep uty

TIlE TYPIIOON AT WAR

Above and left The Tvphoons of No. 438Sqn RCAE part of No. 143Wing. continued their combat operations even though their airfield was heavilv flooded in earlv 1945. In these views . R6207 'F3·T' is photographed during its departure. Ofnote is the pilot paddling across in a survival dinghy to reach his machine. Both David Howley Collection

co mmande rs were AVM H ar ry Broadh urst , in co mmand of N o. 83 G roup, formed to support the British Seco nd A rmy; and AVM Brown , whose comma nd was No . 84 G roup , form ed to support th e Cana d ian First A rmy. This brough t the to ta l of ope rat io na l gro ups up to th ree, the othe r orga n ization in th e 2nd TAF be ing No. 2 Group. The two Typh oon wings would be alloca ted to N o. 83 Group for th e du ration of the Europ ean campaign , alth ough cont ro l wou ld remai n vested in 11 G roup unti l th e invasion began . For th e Typhoon squadro ns, life would co n ti n ue as before , with str ikes being ca rried out aga inst ground target s in Fran ce and the low co un tries. A s always,

losses were acc umulat ing as acc urate Germa n flak too k its to ll - altho ugh in retu rn th ey man aged to bring down a [ u 88 and four Fw 190s. During the period co vering th e end of 1943 and th e beginning of 1944, Hawker 's began to de liver Typh oon s ca pable of firing rockets, wh ilst in - se rvice machi nes und er went co n version - as d id the pilots, who had to learn to use their guns igh ts for aiming , whil e atte mpt ing to calculate offsets to imp rove acc uracy. Improvemen ts in the re liab ilit y of the Napier Sabr e also led to an increase in Typhoon production , wh ich meant that most squadro ns began to rece ive new mach ines, wh ilst the o lder a ircraft were tran sferr ed to O pe rationa l Con version

52

U n its for furt her serv ice. T hose that had bee n in lon g-t erm sto rage were a lso dragged out for upgradi ng at G loste r's, who re-m anu factured each and every one to th e latest standa rd , incl ud ing the slid ing blown cano py. A ll designated squadro ns would be fully equipped with the righ t vcr ion of aircraft by April 1944. The inc rease d ava ilability of Typh oon s allowed for an increase in th e number of ope rat ional uni ts: hen ce N os 137, 164, 184 and 263 Squadrons reform ed wit h the Hawker pro duct in January 1944, Januar y 1944, March 1944 and Decem ber 1943 respecti vel y. In add ition , th ree RC A F units also gaine d Typhoon s, these bei ng os 438 , 439 and 440 Sqns, who equipped

TI l E TYPHOON AT WAR

January. Februar y and March 1944 ; became N o. 143 Ai rfield/Wi ng. After a period of wor king up to ope rati onal sta ndard , they tran sferred to Hurn to begin co mbat missions. T he ten or of the Typhoon 's sor t ies also cha nged , as ph oto reconnaissan ce flights t rve r the Pas de Ca lais had revealed a series of concrete structures that were even tua lly ident ified as th e launc h ing pads for th e Hes ler Fi-I 03 flying bomb. be tter known late r as th e V I. Intelligence gathe ring soon revealed tha t th ese st ructures (k nown as ' oba lls' ) were vu lnerab le to di rect h its by bo mbs of 500 lb or hi gher. so various heavy bom bers and Typh oon figh ter bombers were sen t on mission s to destroy th em. During Dece mber 1943 and July 194 4, all the ident ified sites were attacked relen tlessly, wit h some aircraft heing lost to th e intensive flak surro und ing some locati on s. G ive n th at th e inva sion was sche d uled to ta ke place in 1944. the parti cip ation of th e Typh oon squadrons in th ese attacks began to dim in ish in the first qu arter of 1944 ; however, some sort ies were st ill flown wh en req uired , altho ugh the or iginal sites were soon abando ne d for others that were smaller and better ca mouflaged. In ea rly 194 4, all roc ke t-eq uipped Typhoon squadro ns began to atte nd A rmament Practi ce Ca mps to hon e the ir acc uracy with the roc ke ts. The first would he o. 174 Sq n , whose pilot s went to Easrch urch aerodro me for furt he r train ing. O ther APC uni ts, at Llanb edr and Hutto n C ranswick, dealt with the train ing of o the r squad rons in rotation: No s 175, 18 1, 182, 184. 245 and 24 7 Squad rons of 83 Group , and os 164 , 183, 198 and 609 Sqns and No. 13 7 Sq uadro ns of II Gro up. Those squadrons not req uired for rocke t proj ectile tra in ing woul d rem ai n in the figh ter-bomber role. C ha nges in th e form ation of the Typhoon wings began in March 1944 , when N os 198 and 609 Sq ns were tran sferred from 84 G roup d irectly in to th e co n tro l of the 2nd TA E These two un its would form th e nucl eus of No . I Z3 Ai rfield/W ing at Tangmere; th ei r replacements were Nos 19 7 and 183 Sqns. The for mer squadro n lat er returned to Tang mere, where it would be joined by Nos 257 and 266 Sqns, all thre e moving to a locati o n near Beau lieu , where No. 193 Sqn wou ld joi n up with the m to form N o. 146 A irfield/Wing. In the meanti me N o. 183 Sq n would jo in up with No . 164 Sqn III

I hese

to form o. 36 A irfield . A ll these revam ped form ation s were under the control of No. 20 W ing. C ha nges in th e way th e gro undcrews were organ ized also came into effec t at th is tim e . wh en th ey were renamed as servic ing echelo ns. T he th eory was th at each echelo n wou ld foll ow beh ind th e invasion forces and establish forw ard land ing gro unds for a ircraft th at required serv icing. In it iall y thi s sepa rat ion led to a det eri orati on in morale , alt ho ugh in realit y eac h echelon stayed in close co n tac t with th eir origina l aircrew and a ircraft. A s invasion day drew closer, more and more un its went thro ugh A PC, until by A pril a ll had und ergo ne rocket trai n ing. It was during th is mon th th at the Cana d ian N o. 143 Airfield/Wi ng becam e ope rat ion al under the co mma nd of \Y/g C dr The rearr an gem ent of Davidson. squadro ns and aircraft co n tin ued as uni ts trad ed in th eir Typh oon s for th e new Tempest: thus o. 3 Squadro n flew its last Typh oon sort ie on 24 March 1944. whils t 0. 486 Sqn did th e same o n 14 A pr il; and o. I Sqn changed ov er at the beginni ng of A pril, wh ile No. 56 Sqn changed over in May 1944 . T he se various swaps and cha nges would be the last befor e the invasion of Europe, hence eigh tee n Typh oon -equi pped unit were alloca ted to los 83 and 84 Groups within the 2nd TAE T he ot he r two Typ hoon units, os 137 and 263 Sqns,

rem ained on the streng th of the ADGB based at Mau ston and Harr owbecr respectively, the forme r bei ng rock et -equipp ed whil e the latt er reta ine d the bombe r ro le. Both th ese squad rons mainl y conce n trated on an ti-sh ipping sort ies along th e length and breadt h of th e C ha n ne l.

Offens ive against Enemy Rad ar Installati on s T he role of th e units alloca ted to th e embryon ic 2nd TAF was to attack var ious ground install ations in an effort to softe n up the G erman defences. N ot o n ly were 'Noball' missions co nt in ued against th e VI sites, but a new type of target presented itself for atte n tion by th e roc ke t-e quipped Typh oon s: th e rad ar in rnllat ion s th at stretc he d from th e Pas de Calais to Brittan y, and th ese were give n some serious atte ntion . Man y were ta ke n out of co mmission during th e first att ac k tha t was driven through heavy defen ces; howeve r, some of th ese sites needed a second visit, and thi s allowed th e G erma n de fences to be better prepar ed, and as a result the n umb er of casua lt ies increased . Fortunat el y th e 60l b (Z7kg) rocke ts were successful in thei r application, and th e great majori ty of th ese radar sites were heavily dam aged. A t the begi nn ing of June, all th e Typhoon sq uadro ns flew

Below Typhoon IB EK427 spent some time w ith the A&AEE undergoing FR.1B trials; it then served successively w ith Nos 268 and 4 Sqns, before being struck off charge in February 1946during the great Typhoon cull. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

53

TI l E T YPH OON AT WA R

int en sive sort ies aga inst the rem a uung rad ar site ; some 694 mission s were flown . In between these sort ies, d urin g th e final th ree days before the invasion , orde rs were recei ved from C ommand to app ly, as nearl y as possible, the we ll kn own black and wh ite In vasion str ipes und er the wings and rear fuselage of eac h a ircraft dest ined to take part in In vasion operations.

Invasi on Day O n 6 june 1944 at 07.2 5h r, one day later than or iginally planned, the A llied forces began their assault on the Norma ndy beaches: 'H ' hour had arrived. Operating in support of the troops hitting the beaches in the ir land ing craft were n ine of the eigh tee n Typh oon squadrons assigned to 2nd TAF. Design at ed for 'A ir A lert ' dut ies, the sq uadrons were assigned to suppo rt th e British and Ca nad ian forces, alt ho ugh th ey were briefed to co nt ac t the HQ sh ips upon arrival in case th e pr imary targets had change d. As new orde rs were not forthcomi ng, th e Typhoon squad rons d ive bombe d the ir allo tted targets near Le Ham el/La Riviere, be tt er kn own as Gold Beach , Courseulles designated as j uno Beach , and Herm av ille kn own as Sword Beach . The nine rem aining Typh oon squadrons were also allotted German target s, namel y

four gun sites plus two A rmy HQ s, at C ha tea u-le- Parc and C harca u- lc-Mcauffe. O nce the squad rons had dest royed th eir ta rget s, calls were pur our for attacks on a rada r stat ion ncar l, c Havre; thi s stat ion was directing co asta l guns aga inst th e In vasio n force, as well as ot her st icking po int s, and th is was slowing down th e A llied adva nce . A s th e expect ed 'trade ' had failed to mat eri alize , th e Typh oon s were de spatche d on armed reconnaissan ce to the south of Baveux, thei r purpose be ing to disrup t any attempt by th e G er mans to reinforce th e orma ndv area , and to suppress an y int er ven tion by the Luftwaffe.

Th e Batt le for Fran ce The next day saw the Typh oon squadrons a irbo rn e again, altho ugh th e clou d base was down to 1,500ft (4 50m ), and stre tched upward s th e sa me dista nce. By th is tim e th e beach- heads were well established, so the constr uct ion units moved on to the Normandy fields to ca rve out adva nced land ing grounds, wh ich were then surfaced with PS P matt ing to provide a runway and hard sta nd ings. T h is allowed the squad rons and th eir mobi le servic ing echelo ns to begin co mbat operat ions close to the front line. O ne of th e biggest sort ies flown that day was aga inst th e HQ of

Below Reconnaiss anc e photographs were vital to the work done by the Typhoon squadrons. This view is of a French chateau in use by the Wehrmacht as a command headquarters just prior to attack by the 2nd TAF. Allan Smith

54

Panzer G ruppe West based at C ha tea u- leC aine. In th is ae rial assault , ov er seven ty Mit chell bom bers and forty Typh oon s h it the orcha rds surround ing the chateau, destroying th e HQ 's veh icles and killing the ch ief of staff G enera l von Dawans. A furt her assault of a similar natu re would take place on 27 j une, when a mixed force of Mi tch e lls and Typhoon s struc k th e HQ of Lieutenant G enera l Doh lrn an , co mma nde r of an in fantry d ivision . The ens uing str ike killed th e gene ra l and h is entourage, th us redu cing th e effect ive ness of the troop s. Full-scale operat ions fro m the adv anced land ing grounds (ALGs) kno wn as 8.2 , 8 .3 and B.6 began durin g the second week of june, wit h Nos 18 1, 174 and 24 7 Sqns takin g up residen ce at th e ir new bases, in th at order. Their ten ure wo uld be short , as th e G erma n forces had man aged to co me in range with th eir art illery and began she lling th e A LG s. As there was no protecti on for th e a ircraft or person nel, it was dec ided to withdraw th e adva nced forces back to Brit ain . U po n arrival, the N api er Sa bre eng ines of the survivors were subjec ted to a major ove rha ul, as th ere had been a spate of serious fa ilures. In vest igation revealed that fin e du st had been en te ring the eng ines and cau ing wea r to the movin g part s. Th is had been ca used by the du st crea ted when th e airfields in or mandy had been built, as the ' table to psoil had been removed. The answer was to fit a hastil y cont rived, mushroom -shaped du st deflect or, wh ich d iverted th e heavier part icles clear of the carbure t ro r, T he dow n side to th is mod ificat ion was that the Sabre would occ asionally backfi re, and in doing so would launch th e deflector across th e airfield. Eve nt ually a purp ose-design ed, tropical-t ype filter was developed for use in orma ndy. The Typh oon squadrons would return to Norma ndy by th e end of j une; thus o. 12 I Wing was based at B.5, o. 124 W ing at B.6, and No. 143 Wing at a irfield B.9. j oi n ing th ese un its would be No. 123 W ing, whi ch ar rived at B. I O. A ll the operating squad rons were desperatel y sho rt of a ircraft and pilot s, as more th an seve n ty Typh oon s had been lost in action. However, thi s redu ct ion in streng th did not det er th e Typhoon s from ca rrying out th eir a llotted tas k, th at of hitt ing road and rail target s, and th us apprec iably dela ying much needed Ge rman reinfor cements.

Til E TYPHOON AT WAR

Above Complete with a fu ll array of underwing identificati on stripi ng, this early-bui ld Typhoon awaits its bomb load before depart ing on another mission over Europe. Real Wings Collection

Above The other favour ed underwing load carrie d by the Typhoon wa s the unguided rocket; here, D-Day striped examples are loaded with the ubiquitou s 601 b 127kgl w arhead var iant. Real Wings Collection Right Seen through the gun camera of another Typhoon, an air craft pulls up aft er releasing a salvo of rockets against a railway. Big Bird Aviation Collection

55

TI l E T YPHOON AT WA R

thei r pa rt icipa t ion was in the for m o f a ttacks aga ins t the launch sites the mse lve s.

Continue d Assaults

Above Once operation al in Normandy. the role of Typhoons alt ered slightly to enco mpass attacks against softe r targets. As if to emphasize this . two armourers add the nose and tail to a segmented anti -personnel bomb. for use against such targets as tru cks . Big Bird Aviation Collection

Above For use against harder targets such as bunkers and pillboxes, high explosive bombs were preferred . Here. two armourers finish loading a 500lb bomb. Real Wings Collection

Whilst the o ther sq uad ro ns plied thei r nor mal trade, o. 137 Sq n was give n ano the r ta sk: to intercept V I flyin g bo mbs that wer e be ing laun ch ed from the Pas de Ca lais to wards Lon don ; th ese we re known as Diver patro ls. T h eir

pa rr icipa t ion was on an 'as and wh en' basis, mu ch of the se interce pt s being ca rr ied o ut by M ust angs, Sp itfi res and Mosq ui to s. Man y of the othe r Typ hoo n squadrons we re a lso in vo lved with destroying the V I men ace , a ltho ugh

56

During Jul y and A ugust the Typhoon sq uad rons con t in ued thei r assaults upon de signated tar get s, and also those of a more oppo rt une nat ure. The roc ket -eq uipped aircraft were very effective aga inst softsk in ned tra nspo rt, wh ilst the bomb- car rying ai rcra ft were used aga inst hard er targe ts. To increase th eir effec tive ness, the 'Bornbphoons' began tot ing 1,0001 b gene ral-purpose mun it ion s, as thei r close proximity to th e battlefield allowe d for their carriage. T hi s capab ility, plus that of the rocket Typh oon s, was seve rely put to the test on 7 Au gust, whe n th e German forces began a full-scale breakout in th e area of Mortain . But as th e G erma n Panzer divi sion s and the ir suppor t ing infantry push ed forwa rd, th ey were mo ving into a carefully prepa red trap . o. 197 Sqn would be one of the lead Typh oon bombe r squadrons th rough out th is peri od, an ac tivity th at they would develop in to a spec iality. To mak e their attacks more effective, they were flown at low level, with th e bomb fuses set to II sec. \Vhere possible, ste reoscopic pictu res of a sta t ic targe t were obta ine d , and an approach path determined th at would place the he av y fighter at an alt itude bel ow the heigh t of the building . Using th is approa ch , and releasing th e bo mbs at the last possible mom ent , the ce rta inty of a h it was assured. The a ir co mpo nent o f t he dcfc nsive co unte r att ac k co ns isted of Rep ublic P4 7 T h und erbo lt and Lo ckh eed P-3 8 Light n ing s o pe ra t ing in th e bomber ro le , wh ilst th e 2nd TAF supplied rock et-eq uipp ed Typhoo n s, wh ose ta sk was to dest ro y th e Ge rma n armo ur. In deed , the y h ad ple n ty o f tar ge ts to choose from - in fac t th ere were so ma n y ta n ks and tr uck s th a t an a ttac k sh ut tle se rv ice ev o lved to ca te r for t h e co ns ta nt strea m o f a irc ra ft land ing at th e A LGs fo r rea rm ing a nd refue ll ing. T he co nce nt ra ted firep o wer o f both t he USAA F a nd th e 2nd TAF soo n redu ced the Ge rma n force s to a smo k ing ru in . To ac h ieve th is, how ev e r, o ve r 300 so rt ies wer e flow n , th e Typh oo n /ro c ket co mbin a t io n being see n as a parti c ula rl y le th a l co mh ina t ion .

TI l E TY PIIOON AT WAR

T he defeat of the German forces at Mortain was th e final fling for the A llied forces, as their destruction meant that a breakout was now possible. A s the Ge rmans retreated, th e various A rmy Corps pushed forwards after them; and the 7th Germa n Army suffered serious casualties as it travelled th rough th e nar row ormandy lanes. In response, th e Typhoon squad rons were committ ed to providing a ir attack in order to slow down th eir escape, and it was during th is period of int ense operat ions th at the squadrons would suffer the ir high est losses: more than ninety were lost in A ugust alone , main ly due to flak and persisten t small-ar ms fire. 18 A ugust would see the h ighest peak, when sevent ee n were shot down . T he German an ti-aircraft set-up was one of the more efficient part s of their a ir defence organ ization , as man y pilots wou ld find out. From zero to 6,000 ft (0 to 2,OOOm ) the Germans used both 20mm and 40mm can nons, wh ile above that altitude they favoured the dead ly 88mm gun . O nc e th e Typhoon wings were established in Europ e, they found themselves und er int ensive fire at all times, in some cases from take-off to landing. What exace rbated th e situation was the int roduction of proximi ty fuses, wh ich made the pract ice of flying straigh t and level d ist inctl y inadvisab le.

Attack on a Railway-Mounted Gun O n 18 A ugust, o. 197 Sqn was tasked to take part in an attack on a railway-mounted gun being used by the G ermans to she ll the Mil/ben)' l-/mbollr, moored off the invasion beaches. T h is mon ster gun only emerged at night, and was hidd en during the day in a railway tunnel near Pon t LEveque. Careful study of the target zone revealed that the preferred method ofdivebomb ing to co llapse the tunnel roof would probably be ineffective, therefore th e attack needed to be carried out at low level. Each aircraft would be armed with I,OOOlb bombs with the fuses set at l lsec, and four Typhoon s were assigned to strike at eac h end of the tunn el. T he direction of the attack was straigh t down th e railway line, with th e intention of bringing down one end of th e tunnel, when the next four aircraft wou ld attack the ot he r end. T he flight leaders for thi s att ack would be A llan mirh and th e W ing Leader Joh nny Baldwin , th e former having to atta ck the more heavily defended end. T he first four Typhoon s succeeded in the ir att ac k wit hout loss, and th e tun nel

end duly collapsed. A t the ot her end of the tun nel th e fligh t led by Joh n ny Baldwin was not so lucky, as every flak gun opene d up on th e four Typh oon s. However, the ir perseveran ce paid off, as th e last group of bombs successfully brought down th e o ther end of the tu n nel roof. To assist the attacking fighters th e first fligh t att acked th e an t i-aircraft guns, whi ch distr acted th em enough to let th e second fligh t fly cle ar. Even so, the Typh oon piloted by Johnny Bald win was h it by flak , bu t did manage to land back at 13.3.

Into Europ e Wi th much of th e bat tle for Fran ce over, the Typhoon wings tu rn ed the ir att ent ions to the Ge rman forces occ upying the rest of Europe. By th is ti me the two Typh oon squadrons assigned to ADG B had been released to th e 2nd TAF, whil e some of the bomber Typhoon squadrons und erwent A PC s for conve rsion to roc ke t atta cks. \X1h ile the Ge rman forces were in constan t retreat towards their own borders it was a fairly orderly affair, so on 17 September, O peration Mar ket Garden was put int o action . With th e int ention of cutt ing offsome of th e ret reating enemy and ind ucing the rest to rout, th e plan was to drop US paratroops at G rave and ijmegen, and the British lst A irborne Division at

A rnhem. To pave th e way for th is assault, over 100 Typhoon sorties were flown to neut ralize the G erman defences. Aft er th e airborne forces had successfully landed, the Typhoon sq uadro ns set up a 'cab ran k' system of attac ks. Upo n arrival, any available targets would be attacked, afte r whi ch th e Typhoon s would orbit for a short period while waitin g for designated or opportune targets to appear. Th is con tinued th rough out 17 Septe mber, but inclement weather the next day redu ced Typh oon sorties to a minimum . A lthough for the time being A rnha m wou ld be retained by the G ermans, th e att ack had opene d up the route to Ho llan d via G rave and N ijmegen; A rn ham would be claimed at a later date. W ith the Nethe rlands now open to A llied forces, ALG s were quickly esta blished; one of the first was B.78 at Eind hoven , which became the home for No. 124 W ing and o. 143 W ing; N o. 12 1 Wing would take residen ce at Volkel. 83 and 84 Groups now parted company, the former co nt in uing in support of the advancing forces, whil e the latter turn ed their attent ion to th ose pockets of resistance tha t had been bypassed by the A llied unit'. The Typhoons meanwhi le were putting th e ir ant i-shippi ng skills to good use, attacking th e enemy garrisons th at preven ted th e Allies using th e Port of A n twerp, and the ir att ent ions were quite quickly rewarded by G erma n surre nde r.

Below In lighter moments, happy snaps w ere taken as mementos of the experience in Europe. This group are from No. 197 Sqn. Allan Smith

57

T il E TYP HOON AT WAR

Above Typhoon IB MP149 'I S-P' was on the stre ngth of No. 440 'City of Ottawa ' Sqn of the Royal Canadian Air Force when this portrait was taken. Ni cknamed 'Pulverizer IV', the fighter bomber was being prepared for its next flight at B.1DD Goch in April 1945. Of note are the neat rows of jerry cans to the front. Public Archives of Canada Left The groundcrew are just fi nish ing connecting the underwing fuel tanks, before electrically connecting the rockets on this Typhoon IB, the cables of which are seen dangling below the wing. Big Bird Aviation Colle ction Below Although it s serial has been censored, this Typhoon is in fact RB4D2 '5V-P' of No. 439 Sqn, land ing at B.1DD Goch during April 1945. This

- ------.;;;;.

aircraft would remai n with the Canadians until it was withdrawn on 15 November 1945. Public

- -0=

Archives of Canada

58

TilE T YPIIOON AT WAR

O n 29 Se pte mbe r th ey were in acti on again , though thi s tim e th eir role was purel y of intimidat ion . Ca na d ian forces had negoti at ed a tru ce with the garrison ho ld ing Boulogn e, to allow th e c ivilian populat ion to esca pe. A sho rt tim e before the truce ended , th e Typhoons formed a circl ing 'cab ran k' abo ve the to wn , wh ich was en ough to force a surrende r - altho ugh the flak gun ne rs co uld not resist loosing off a few sho ts. O nc e A n twerp had fallen int o A llied hands, the Typhoons moved in to occ upy airfield B.70 at Deurn e. However, th is was on the flight path of the V Is being launched towards th e A llied forces occ upying the c ity and docks of A n twerp - in fact , it was not un usual to see three or four at a time ove rflying the a irfield during th e day, wh ile a far greater nu mber were laun ch ed at n igh t. A ltho ugh most of these weapon s were aimed past th e airfield, a few, wheth er hy accident or design, wou ld cut the ir motors in the vicinity of B.70 and plunged ro earth . T hese hits were close by, whic h tended to shake the occupied build ings, but fort unately missed the aircraft. At one stage the int en sity of the bombardment was such tha t th e pilot s of No. 4 6 Sqn co nside red it was safer ro be airborne than on the ground. T he 'V2' was also posing a serious threat during thi s per iod, and at least one landed

Abov e Mass bri efings at Antwerp were frequently held out in the open. and invo lved a gathering of pilots around the briefing officer and his board of maps and reconnaissance photographs. AllanSmith Below Wearing the personal code of the No. 143 W ing leader. Wg Cdr F. G. Grant taxies out in RB205for another mission at B.78 Eindhoven in December 1944. To assist the pilot in avoiding obstacles on these forward bases. it was normal practice for groundcrew to ride on the wing -tips. This aircraft was destroyed on 1 January 1945in an air raid at Eindhoven. together w ith another seventeen aircraft. RAFMuseum Collection

59

T HE TYPH OON AT WAR

in th e 13.70 ma inte na nce area, wounding some person nel and badly damaging aircraft already und er repair. As the wint er of 1944 set in , the Typh oon sq uad rons were inv olved in co nso lida tion so rt ies, wink lin g out th e few pock ets of Ax is resistance tha t rem ain ed behi nd th e Alli ed lines. O n the first day of 194 5 th e Luftwaffe woul d have one last fling, a sign ifican t force of figh ter bom bers striking at the A llied airfields in the area of th e A rde n nes. C odc named O perat ion Boden!J[atle, th is wou ld be a cos tly attack for the G ermans, as th e ir losses of aircraft and pilots would far ex cee d the aircraft they destroyed. O ne of th e ir most success ful forays was agai nst Eindhoven, where Nos 124 and 143 Wings and th eir e igh t squadro ns were sta t ione d. A s the fighters of [ agdgesch wader 3 struc k, th ere was a mission on th e runw ay prepa ring to ta ke off, and of the four aircraft to get airbo rne , on ly one would surv ive. At the end of the atta ck the Typhoon sq uadrons had lost nineteen a ircraft destroyed , and a furt her dozen dam aged . T he redu ct ion in streng th for the Typh oon quad rons was

short- lived , however, as within days the pilots had been flown by transpor t to No. 83 GSU to co llec t replacem ent machines.

Into Germany Bett er weather arr ived as the yea r progressed, and so the Typh oon squadrons co n tin ued to provide suppo rt as th e A llied armies co nt in ued th eir adva nce . with all man ner of target s be ing attacked . By thi s ti me the 'cab rank' ope rat ion was an e ta blishcd method of providin g close air support to the ground force s, and it would be an essenti al co mpo ne n t in th e fina l mass crossing of th e Rhine . O n 24 March 194 5 th e ant ic ipa ted cross ing of the Rhine began, th e final hurdle in to Germa ny. As before, the Typh oon s operated in th e 'ca b rank' role, altho ugh some were allocated a far more hazardous task, th at of flak suppression. T h is was a dangero us task, but thank fully on ly a hand ful of Typh oon s were lost, and fortu nately most of th e

pilots were ab le to bale out over A lliedhel d territor y. With the Rhine safely crosse d, th e British and C ana d ian forces cont in ued the ir thrust afte r the retreat ing G erman army. As well as prov idi ng suppo rt for the adv anc ing armies, th e Typh oon s were also sen t to attack the rem aining Luftwaffe airfields, alt hough th ese were heavily defen ded by auto matic flak install ati on s. Ho wever, these attacks proved fruitful in deplet ing the streng th of the Luftwaffe, th erefore th ey would co nt inue , as wou ld attacks on an y road veh icles and train s found to be moving in Germa n- held territo ry. Sh ips, too, of all descrip tion were seen as legiti mate target s, and were att acked without respit e. These so rt ies in the last few weeks of th e war saw an increase in th e n umber of cas ualties amongs t the Typhoon squadro ns , as the Germa n defe nder s threw all th ey had aga inst the figh te rs in an atte mpt to sto p the inexor ab le advance of th e A llies. During th e mon th of Ap ril and the first week of May 1945, forty-five Typh oon s would be sho t down by flak.

Left Briefing facilities in the field were by necessity rough and ready. The central figure in this pict ure taken at Antw erp is Fit Lt Tommy the Spy' Thomas, the intelligence officer for No. 146 Wing . The other two are both pilots, the one on the right being an Australian, 'Cobber' James, who frequently flew as No.2 to Allan Smith, and would tell his wife that the pilot was fine after his aircraft was shot down . Allan Smith

60

T H E TY PHOON AT WA R

Above During Operation Bodenp/aNe this Typhoon IB 'XM -K' of No. 182 Sqn was attacked as the pilot tried to take off . Struck by cannon fire, the pilot subsequently crash landed the Typhoon and vacated the cockpit in a great hurry. To the rear, a pair of No. 440 Sqn machines were also damaged in the attack . David Howl ey Collection

Below Roaring down the runway at B.91 Kluis at full power, this Typhoon IB of No. 183 Sqn is on the point of rotation. The underwing fuel tanks and the lack of external weaponry indicate that this aircraft was on a routine air patrol. RAF Museum Collection Above On the left, Sqn Ldr Arthur (Spike I Umbers, DFC & Bar, was a Flight Commander on 486 Sqn. then went on rest as a test pilot at Hawker's. Returning to 486 Sqn, he was made CO in December 1944. He was shot down by flak and killed in February 1945. On the right is Sqn Ldr Harvey Sweetman DFC: he started flying Spitf i res with 485 Sqn, and was then posted as a foundation Flight Commander on 486 Sqn. When his time on tours ex pired, he went as a test pilot at Haw ker's. He returned to 486 Sqn until he was posted as CO of 3 Squadron; he stayed with them until the end of the war. Allan Smith

67

THE T YPHOON AT WA R

Left Ah, luxury! This Typhoon IB, RB458 ·ZY·B' of No. 247 Sqn, sits amongst the cleared wreckage of Lubeck airfield during the closing days of the war. Althoughnot the most salubrious of scenes, the location is a change from the muddy fields of Normandy. RAF Museum Collection

A Misplaced Attack Havin g been part of a victorious hard fought campaign acro ss Europ e, it is a great shame that the Typh oo n wou ld end its part in the war in the exec ut ion of a d istressing and misplaced attack - alt hough th e blame would appear to lie at the door of Brit ish Int e lligen ce, who either ign ored th e information th ey were give n , or were un aware of their mistake until th e even ts here related too k place. O n 3 May 194 5 Typhoons helon ging to o. 83 Gro up, 2nd Tacti cal A ir Force,

were briefed to car ry out nu ssions over north ern Germany, to dest roy an v form of tran sport atte mp t ing to leave the coun try. In th e north ern port of Lube ck the camo uflaged ocean liner Cal) A ru ma , once the queen of the southe rn seas, plus the fre ighters A thens and T hielbeck, had embarked aboard the survivors of a death march from th e SS co nce nt ration ca mp at A uschw itz and Majdan ek . O ver 10,000 died on th is forced march; 8,000 survived to be for ced aboard th e three sh ips by th e SS guards. Then on th e afternoon of 3 May, th ree Typh oon s saw th e sh ips

anc hored in the harbour. Divin g in to th e arrack, all three aircraft fired th eir rockets and ca n non , striking th e sh ips repeat ed ly. T he A thens san k qui ck ly, and th e C al) A rcana rolled ove r, blazing furiously. T h e T hielbeck to ok 45 minutes to go down , and it is report ed that the few survivo rs from th e att ack ca me from thi s vessel. Even so, th eir cha nc es of esca pe were remot e, as the guards machine-gunned th ose struggling asho re, wh ilst the co ldness of the wat er clai med man y othe rs. O nce the British gove rn men t realized th at th e sh ips were in fact carrying co nce nt rat ion camp

Typhoon CombatVictories fina l Typhoonclaim was placed on 3 May1945 and was shared bytwelvepilots from NO.193 Sqdn, thevictim being a Bv138. Flying Officer CFJ Detal was killed onactive service whileSqdn Ldr RVan Lierde wou ld also claim at leastforty 'V1 ' flying bombs whileflying Tempests with NO.3 Sqdn.

Asthe Typhoon and its pilots concentrated mainly upon ground attack it is hardly surprising thattheir record of atrcombat victories is low. However there were eight pilots thatmanaged a reasonable totaleach outof a total of 250 confirmed. possibles and probables. The firstvictory was placed on 9 August 1942 and was a Junkers Ju88 claimed byPilot Officer NJ Lucas of No.266 Sqdn flying Typhoon R7696 ·ZH-C'. The Nationality

llnitls]

Victories

Shared

On Ground

Probables

Grp Capt J RBaldwin DSO DFC'

British

Nos.609, 198 Sqdns NO.146Wing

15

1(0.5)

0

0

FlOCFJ Detal

Belgian

NO.609 Sqdn

6

1(0.5)

0

Sqdn/Ldr RVan Lierde DFC•

Belgian

Nos 609,164 Sqdns

6

0

0

Sqdn/tdr W FStark DFC'

British

Nos.609, 263, 164Sqdns

5

1(050

0

Pilot

Sqdn/tdr RA L1alemant DFC

Belgian

Nos. 609, 19BSqdn

4

1(0.5)

Sqdn/ldr J Niblet DFC'

British

NO.19BSqdn

4

1(0.5)

New Zealand

No.46BSqdn

4

British

NO.609 Sqdn

4

Pilot Officer FMurphy DFC FIVLtJ Davies DFC

62

0

0 0

0

0

0

Til E TY PIIOON AT WAR

Right Not all maintenance was carried out in the open: some units were fortunate enough to have mobile servic ing hangers in which to attend their Haw ker-bui lt charges. RAF M useum Collection

vict ims, and not flee ing G erma n milita ry person nel, th e whole incident was placed und er a 'D ' noti ce and was str uck from the record .

Epilogue O n 4 May 194 5 th e G erman armies in Holland, Den mark and northern G erman y surre nde red , whil st th e rem ain de r of the ir armies would complete th e surrender process some th ree days lat er. During th e Typh oon's pa rt in th e in vasion

of Europ e , over 200,0 00 rock et projectiles had been fired , and an imm en se tonnage of bombs had been dropped . The claims mad e aga inst th is massive expe nd iture of weaponry incl uded one hundred G erman a ircraft destroy ed , plus uncou ntable num bers of trucks, tan ks and train s. In ret urn th e Typhoon units had lost ove r 500 aircraft, with as man y more dam aged. T he remaining Typh oon s wou ld leave RAF service ver y promptl y, as th ey were q uickly replaced by Spitfires and Tempests. Placed in stor age, th e more serviceable Typh oon s, some 6 74 in

63

n umb er, wou ld event ually be scrapped dur ing 1946 and 1947 . Those co ns ide red 10 0 war weary for any for m of further usage were virt ually scrapped where they stood.

Below Its fighting days over, this Typhoon IB lingers at Locking as a training aid. EK326/5446M had once been on the inventory of Nos 609 and 56 Sqns before joining No. 55 OTU, whose coding it wears. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

CHAPT ER SIX

The Development of the Tempest While the Typhoon was ad equate for the tas k prese nted to it, Hawker 's were more tha n aware th at th e design had reached th e end of th e road. The fuselage st ill bore tra ces of its biplane ances try, whil st th e wing sec t ion was very deep in sec t ion to NACA 22 , whi ch meant tha t it gene rated a h igh level of dr ag. Techni cally at 30 per ce n t cho rd, the thickness/ch ord rati o at th e roo t was 19.5 per ce nt , wh ich pet ered out to the tip at 12 per ce nt. Such a design guara nteed great struc tural streng th and plenty of room for any int ernal arma me nt and fuel ; however, the max imum spee d was 400mph (645km/h). In a d ive, however, th e sto ry was di fferent, as th e maximum spee d tha t co uld be ach ieved withou t buffeting and trim cha nges was 500 mph (800k m/h) . Hawk er's had already noted th e pe rforman ce availa ble to the Spitfire with its th in ne r sec t ion wing, and had begun to in vestigat e th e design of a new wing in Ma rch 1940. The Battl e of Britain int erfered with the development of th e new wing, as H urrican e prod uct ion was of the

h ighest priority, therefore it was n ot unt il Se pte mbe r of th e foll ow ing year th at design work bega n . The new design fea tured th e maximum depth set furt he r back, at 3 7.5 per ce nt ch ord , whil e th e thickn ess/chord rat io was set at 14.5 per ce n t at th e root, tap ering out to 10 pe r ce n t at the tip. T he physica l sign of the se n umb ers was that the new win g was some 5in (l3 cm ) thi n ne r at th e root co mpared to tha t of th e Typh oon . Dur ing the red esign th e plan form was cha nge d to a semi-el lipt ica l sha pe, radi cally different to the m ild tap er built into that of its predecessor. These cha nges also meant th at spac e was not ava ilable in th e win g structu re for the same amount of fuel , the refore an ex tra fuel tan k woul d be need ed in the fuselage of th e new fighter. This was based on th e ea rlier Typhoon, altho ugh the addit ion of an extra fuel ta nk req uired that an y proposed eng ine inst allati on h ad to be moved forw ard s by 2 1in (53c m), whi ch allowe d for a qua nt ity of 76ga l 045 ltr ) to be ca rried in a ta nk located between th e

firewa ll and th e o il tank . T he new wing also allowed for a new undercarr iage, as wide-tracked as th at of th e Typh oon. The pro posed powerpl anr was the apier Sabre Mark IV.

A Design for the New Fighter The des ign of th e th in win g Typh oon described above was kn own as th e Ee1 07 e. and once it h ad bee n presented to the A ir Ministry, a spec ifica t ion , EIO/4 1, was issued in Au gust 1941. It co ve red the co nstruct ion of two prototypes designated the Typh oon II; th e protot ype pro duc tio n co nt rac t wou ld follow in ovcmbcr, As th e des ign of th e new figh ter entered the de fin it ion stage, S idney Caru m approache d th e Ministr y of A ircraft Produ cti on with a mod ified proposal for the coo ling of th e eng ine . H is idea was to pla ce rad iat ors in th e wing lead ing edges, in a similar manner to that employed by th e de Havill and Mosq uito . The remova l of the bulged rad iator un der

REAR SPAR ASSEMBLY AND ATTACHM ENT POIN TS

Abov e This diagram illustrates the make-up and assembly of the w ing spars designed for the Tempest, and the method of attachme nt to the rest of the airframe. Big Bird Aviation Collection

FRONT SPAR ATTACHMENT POINTS

64

TilE

D E V E L OP ~ I E N T

OF TIlE TEMPEST

REAR SPAR CAST INTERCONNECTING MEMBER

FRONT BOX FRAME

FRONT FUSELAGE PICK UP POINTS

Above As the cockpit area of the Tempest was tubular

Above This diagram show s the arrangement of the Tempest forward tubular fuselage framework

in construction. the attachment of the rear monocoque

as applicable to the Mark V. and the laveut of the fuselage to wing spar atta chments. Big Bird

fuselage required a tubular attachment framework for

Aviation Col lection

connection. Big Bird Aviation Collection

_

---+_)-

l

§:=~~--

' .... I ) I

I

1_'/ -: 1( I

Above The general arrangement of the Tempest II is revealed in this side and plan view of the Hawker fighter. Big Bird Aviation Collection

65

Til E DEVELOPr,IE:>:T OF Til E TE ~ I PEST

the nose allowed for an engine installati on th at was tightly cowled, and hen ce nearer and more streamlined. Wind -tu n ne l tests by Hawker's see med to sho w littl e difference in th e drag coe fficients betw een bot h types of cooling installation; howev er, th e RAE at Farnborough begged to differ, as th eir ca lculat ions sho wed th at the drag would be red uced by two- th irds. Dev elop ment of the wing radiator layou t wou ld therefore co n tin ue.

An Engine for th e Typhoon II During thi s period, prob lem s had begun to ar ise with the in-service Na pier Sabres, and th is cas t doubt upon th e use of th is eng ine in Hawk er's new fight er. A s added secur ity, the co mpany bega n to look at th e Rolls-Royce G riffon as an alte rna t ive . To prove the ne w install ati on , a Typhoo n I airframe was modifi ed to acce pt th e RollsRoyce eng ine, and taken by road to Derb y for a trial fir. W h ilst th is machine was being prepared for tri als, one of th e prop osed Typh oon II airframes had th e design of its firewall cha nge d to accommo dat e th e G riffon. A lso look ed at was th e

Below HM595 was constructed as the Tempest V prototype , although in reality it owed more to the earlier Typhoon, only the w ings exhibiting any real changes. After numerous tr ials it would be retired for inst ruct ional purposes as 5940M. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Bristo l Ccn raurus, alt hough th is woul d not be ado pted at th is stage in the proc eed ings, as the en gine was in the earliest stage of devel op men r. With two eng ines prop osed for th e Typh oon II, it was decid ed to double th e num ber of protot ype aircra ft ord ered, as a for m of insuran ce. The breakd own of th is revised order was that two machines wou ld be powe red by Ro lls-Ro yce G riffon eng ines , two would feature the Napi er Sab re, whil st a further two wou ld be orde red two months lat er to ac t as test beds apier for th e Bristo l Cen raurus, The eng ines selec ted for th e Typh oon II were the Mark V and th e Mark VI , although the latt er was seriously de layed, so a standard Typho on eng ine, the Mar k II, was used instead .

A New Name for th e New Fighter A furt he r cha nge was to th e a ircraft's name, whi ch became 'Te mpest' as th e Typh oon was going th rough its bad tech ni cal patch when eng ines were failing and rear fuselages were co ming ad rift und er mysteri ou s circumsta nces. It was also thought necessary as the revam ped aircraft was different eno ugh to justify a name cha nge. A series of mark numbers was also issued to cove r the different versions: the Mark I with th e Sabre IV, the Mark II with the Ccnraurus IV, the Mark II[ with th e

G riffon lIB, th e Mark IV with th e Griffon 6 1, and the Mar k V fitt ed with th e Sa bre II en gine . The last de sign at ed airframe wou ld be the first to fly, as development troub les and dela ys were plagu ing both th e Sa bre IV and Ccn raurus eng ines , whil st the rede sign of the airframe to acce pt e ither version of th e Rolls-Royce G riffon was eve n furt her beh ind schedule. It was also felt th at th e Tempest V wou ld be the easiest to devel op , as th e prop osed Sa bre eng ine would fit into th e new airframe without too much di fficulty, allowing th at co nfirmat ion of th e wind tunnel data co nce rn ing th e new win g was co rrec t. Even as the prototype cont rac t was being placed, Hawker 's were being warned to too l up for th e product ion of 400 Tempests, beginning in July 194 2.

Test-Flying th e Tempest V Prototype O n I Se pte mbe r 194 2 th e protot ype HM5 95 was rolled out at Lan gley for taxi trials; on 2 Septe mbe r it mad e its first flight, pilot ed by Phil ip Lucas. C ha nges from its predecessor included a four -blad e de Havill an d Hvdrom at ic propeller, previously test -flown on Typhoon R9 198, and th e subst itution of th e ea rlier dir ect -actin g o leo und ercarriage units by levered suspens ion units. In its first incarn ation , thi s a ircraft was fitt ed with a Typh oon ta il

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66

_

T HE

unit and the early style of heavi ly fram ed cockpit ca nop y, altho ugh a bu bble-hood slid ing ca nopy was under co nstruct ion , an d a new ta il un it was also in the design stage. Having completed its first flight without inc ident, on the seco nd day of flying Ph ilip Lucas took th e aircra ft up to an alt itude of 10 ,000ft (3 ,OOOm) and to a spee d of 300mp h (480k m/h) , during wh ich limited man oeu vres were car ried out. Sta lling was chec ked at 5,000ft ( I ,500 m ): with the Tempest we igh ing in at 10 ,550l b (4, 785kg), thi s gave a measured sta ll ing speed of90mph ( 145 km/h) with und ercarriage and flaps deployed. In this guise the elo ngated nose present ed its own set of problems, ind ucing longitu dinal insta bility and a neutr al performan ce thro ugho ut the full ran ge of movem ent and spee d. A s a te mpo rary measure to co un te ract th is, a meta l plate was rivet ed to th e traili ng edge of the rudder; however, a more pos it ive solut ion was req uired, and to th is end a quite ugly fin fillet of 2.7sq ft (0.25sq m ) was fitt ed, as was a tailplane of increased span . Produ cti on a ircraft woul d also rece ive a fin fillet of the same area, altho ugh it was a far more refined design, wh ile th e rudder was also increased in area. W ith these modi fications incorporat ed, the Tempest was far more sta ble wh ile a irborn e, alt ho ugh Phi lip Lucas d id men t ion in one post-fligh t report th at the ele va to r respon se had become heav ier, and that the air craft h ad a tendency to stay ai rbo rne eve n with full oppos ite elev ato r applied. Havin g sho wn that, by increasing th e areas of both the fin and rudd er, the Tempest protot ype was more sta ble, I-IM595 und erwent furt her mod ificat ions d uring Sep te mber. Th is in vo lved increasing the size of the fin by some I A 4sq ft (O.l3sq m) , to give a tota l of 15.54sq ft ( [ Asq m ), red uci ng the rudder range of movem ent by [0 pe r ce n t and mod ifying the trim tab . T he first flight in thi s new guise was on 2 O ctober, d uring wh ich Lucas would push the Tem pest up to 430mph (690km/h) TAS at 20,300ft (6,200m ). Furt her minor adjustme nt s were made to the trimming th rough out No vember until th e balance was righ t. Unfortuna te ly the o riginal method of trimming was a sma ll she et of alloy th at was suscept ible to acc ide nta l adjustment by the groundc rcw, T hese tribulat ions notw ithstanding, the pilot s assign ed to fly th e Tem pest pra ised it for its improved

D E V E L O P~l E N T

OF T HE TE M PEST

Above On rollout. the prototype Tempest Vsported a set of Typhoon tail feathers . which gave it a similar appearance; however. HM595 was filted with Tempest wings and had fully retractable doors to cover the tailwheel when it was up and locked. Big Bird Aviation Collection

han d lin g. To co un te r these inadvertent trim-tab alterat ions, a syste m of pilot co nt rollable tabs was install ed , altho ugh th ese were no more th an a sto pgap befor e the defin itive spring- balance tabs were devel op ed for the pro duc t ion ve rsions. O n 12 Dece mber Ph ilip Lucas dep art ed Lan gley to test th e a ircraft in a co n tro lled dive from 27,OOOft (8 ,200 m). By th e t ime th e 19,000 to 20,000 ft (5, 700 to 6 ,000 m) ba nd had bee n reach ed , HM 595 was travelling a tru e airspee d of 575 mp h (92 5km/h), eq uivalen t to Mach 0.76. T he pilot reported th at there was an increase in nose heaviness, and that the a irframe vib rated as th is spee d was reach ed . U nfort una te ly th is was the maxim um it did reach on th is occasion, as the eng ine fa iled and th e sta rboa rd und ercarri age un locked, forc ing Lucas to make a ca reful emergency landing at Langley. I-IM595 was fitt ed with a new Sa bre, whil e the or igina l was removed for in vestigat ion altho ugh no real cause for its failure co uld be found . A fter ground funct iona ls and inspecti ons, th e Temp est was clear ed for furt her flying, and test flight s resumed on 23 Dece mber. Yet again the aircraft was put th rough a series of test d ives, and ach ieve d th e same speed at the same heigh t ; th is time the eng ine behav ed itself. O ne sligh t n iggle arose , co nce rn ing th e canopy: HM 595 was fitted with th e ea rly type of Typh oon

67

ca no py, and an un seen defect resulted in the star board window be ing sucked out of its mounti ng. T hi s was not conside red a serious problem , however, as pro duction aircraft wou ld be fitt ed with a slid ing ca no py, wh ich had a lready passed its flight test success fully.

A rma m ent for th e New Fighter Eve n th o ugh the a irfra me was sligh tly un stable , the new win g was behavi ng exa ctly as predi cted, giv ing an incr eased to p spe ed co upled with c rispe r and smoo th er han d ling; furthermore , th e vib rat ion th at h ad beset th e Typh oon had co mple te ly di sappear ed . A s H M59 5 was see n as no mor e than a deve lo p ment prot otype, no a rma me n t was ca rried; how ever, va rio us spec ificat ions h ad been sugges te d fo r inst a llat ion in th e p rod uct io n versions. T h ese had incl ude d three Hi span o 20 m m ca n no n pe r win g, o r wh at became know n as th e 'U n iversa l Wing': th is co uld tote e it he r a pa ir o f can no n per wing, o r on e can no n plus a sing le .50 in ca libre machi n e gun , or a pa ir o f mach in e guns pe r wing. A ft er mu ch d iscussio n , th e fina l cho ice was the pai r of ca n no n per win g: no t on ly d id the effec ts of th e weap onry playa part in th is dec ision , but th e logist ics of org ani zing the sto res for tw o types o f am mun it ion a lso played a pa rr.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF Til E TEMPEST

Left The second prototype Tempest constructed was HM599; it was intended to trial the Napier Sabre IV engine. although this version used leading-edge radiators in the wings for heat dispersion and conversion. Alter service trials the prototype Mark 1 was retired as 6442M. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Test-Flying the Mark I Feb rua ry 194 3 proved to be a n int eresti ng mo nth for th e new Te mpest, as th e Mark I ve rsio n mad e its flying debut o n 24 Februar y, h aving successfully ac co mplished the o bligatory tax i tr ials to test th e brak es, engine and o the r syste ms. A s befor e, t he te st pilo t Ph ilip Lucas put th e new prot ot ype t h rough its paces. H is in iti a l report sta ted that t he Mark I had im prov ed stab ilit y, a lt hough el eva to r co ntrol decr eased in effect iveness as th e speed d ropped off, beco ming non -exist en t bel ow l l Orn ph ( l77km/h ). Du rin g Ma rch 194 3, Na piers fin a lly issued clea ran ce for the Sabre IV to run a t 4 ,OOOrpm wit h +9 lb boost , altho ugh t he e ngines with Ha wke r's were not capable o f suc h a performa nce. HM 599 was grounded

dur ing May wh ilst wa in ng for a new engin e, so the o ppo rt un ity was taken to o ve rha ul the ai rfra me and insta ll a bubbleh ood ca nopy. O nc e th ese mod ifica tions h ad been co m plete d and a new e ngine inst all ed , HM 599 was cl ear ed for flyin g. T he pilo t th is t ime was Bill Hum ble fro m the fligh t-t est depart me nt; h e wo uld undertak e t hese d uties wh ile Ph ilip Lucas was in the Midd le East ca rrying o ut tropica l tri als on th e Typh oon. The new Tempest was an immedi ate success with th e pilo ts; the subseq ue nt post -flight reports o n th e wh ol e pra ised th e type 's h andl ing, a lt hough th ere was a co m me n t with reference to elevato r co n t ro l response a t low spe ed , and the tim e tak en by the eng ine to respo nd to throt tl e inp ut s. T he wing-mo unted radi ato rs, whi ch h ad proved tro ub leso me to

manufacture, plus t he tigh tl y co wled nose, gave th e Tem pest I a to p speed o f 466m ph (75 0k m{h) at 24 ,500ft (7, 500m ). Further tweaking o f th e a irframe 's fin ish , plus th e of a tailplan e with a fitm cnt thi ckness/chord rati o of 11.5 per cent, a llo wed th e Te mp est 1 to be pushed to 4 72mph (759 km/ h) d uri ng Septe m be r 194 3 . H o wever, th e A ir M in ist ry still had serio us do ubts abo ut t he Sabre IV engine's rel iabi lit y, th er efore this aven ue of develo pme n t woul d sto p in Dece m be r as funding was d iscontinued . O n th e face o f it, th e Sa bre IV see med to be the eng in e th at N ap ie r's h ad be en lookin g for ; how ever, th e stand ards being ach ieved by th e manufacturers were not goo d eno ugh . O n e of th e most o bvious sign s of thi s problem was th e ten dency for t he engin e to throw large a mo un ts o f o il at

Left Tempest 1 HM599 was built as the test bed for the Rolls-Royce Grillon engine. It made its first flight in this guise on 24 February 1943. and remained in use until withdrawn from service in 1946. Big Bird Aviation Collection

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TilE

any speed abo ve 3, 750r pm . It a lso failed to reach th e mu ch desired ta rget of fifty run n ing hour s bet ween inspec tions, eve n though as a pre-ser ies powcrp lan t it was virt ually han d built . That bein g sa id, Bill H umble would heap praise upon the Tempest I, espec ially in th e region above 20,000ft (6,000m), wh ere it outsho ne an y other figh ter in th e A llied in ventory. T he o the r eve nt that sha ped the early da ys of the Tempest was the test -flyin g undertaken by pilot s from th e A&AEE, who were co mpiling a report for the Ai r Min istry using Tempest V protot ype HM595. O vera ll the report was as favo urable as tha t for the Tem pest I, although a sligh t heaviness in elevat or beha viour was not ed . O nce the Tempest I programmc had been ca nc elled, the jigs already man ufactur ed were rewor ked for the for th coming Mark V contract .

Furt her Tr ials for the Mark V Prototype Run n ing in para llel to the Mar k I programme, Tempest V prototype H M595 was un dergo ing furt her trial flight s during Februa ry 1943 - o nly by thi s time the airframe had bee n cleaned up, and so th e aircraft was ca pable of ac hiev ing 43 mph (70 5km/h ) lA S at 22,OOOft (6,600m) . Firmen t of an inert ia dampe r operated by a lev er on the co n tro l co lumn mean t th at the Temp est could be prevented from tigh te n ing in turn s up to a load ing of 5g. In th is co nd itio n the Tempest was passed to Boscombe Dow n for eva luat ion and

D E V El. OI'~ l E "T

OF TI l E TEMPEST

appraisal, co mplete with Sa bre IV N o. S 76. During thi s peri od , HM5 95 was flown at 459m ph (7J 8k m/h) lA S at 24,900ft (7,200m) by Bill Humble on 17 Ju ne. A lthough th ere was ballast ing insta lled to represent the guns and ammun it ion, the blisters th at would cover th e ca n no n breeches were not fitt ed, th us th e ind ica ted spee d was be twee n 7- IOmph (I 1- 16k m/h) faster - therefore hi gher th an that postulated fo r the pro duct ion machines. Yet aga in du rin g these fligh ts the coc kpit windows were sucked out of the ea rly-type cano py. In th e event th e A ir Ministry dec ided to push on wit h th e Tem pest V, as the ch incoo led radiator and engine were already in service with the Typhoon , and were reasonab ly wel] understo od . O f the rem aini ng pro totypes, th e C cn ta uruspowered Tempest II was retai ned because eng ine development was progressin g wel l, and preliminar y results looked promisin g; however, both th e Tempest III and IV would be axed , as the Ro lls-Royce G riffon powerplanr had been earma rked for the seco nd tranch e of Spitfires and th us was not ava ilable to Hawker's. To spee d up the devel opment of the Ccn raurus, one of the To rna do proto types was being utili zed as a flying test bed prior to it bei ng install ed in the Tempest II protot ype. The prior ity th erefore would be to get the Tempest V refined eno ugh to enter pro d uctio n, with the Cen tau rus-po wered versio n be ing seen as its rep lacement in the lon ger term . A lt hough the G riffon- po wered programme had been cance lled, at least one protot ype, Tempest III LA 610, was fitt ed with a G riffon 85 engine, to beco me the

Right The Hawker Tempest VJN757, a Series 1 production aircraft, as evidenced by the cannon ba rrels protruding from the wing leading edge. After servi ce with No.3 Sqn, the Tempest wa s passed on to the AFDU. with whom it sta yed until struck off charge on 6 October 1947. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

69

Hawk er Fury protot ype. It would lat er have a apier Sabre V III powerplant fitt ed , and d istinguish itself as Hawker's fastest pisron-cngined fight er, ach iev ing a maximum speed of 483mph (777 km/h ).

The Tem pest V Series I into Prod uction While de c isions were being made conc erni ng the pro to types of the various en gine s, pro duc tion contracts had been placed with Hawker's, aut horizing them to sta rt co nstruc tion of the Tempest V. T he first machi ne appeared on 2 I Jun e 1943: JN 729, wh ich made its maiden flight pilo ted by W. ' Bill' Humble . The contract was for 100 machines, and these a ircraft were designated Tem pest V Se ries I: th ey differed from later product ion aircraft in having long-barrell ed versions of th e H ispano II can no n , which extend ed beyond the win g lead ing-edge skin by nearl y 9in (23cm ). It too k unt il Octobe r for a spec imen of th e Tempest V to reach A&A EE at Boscombe Down for tr ials flyin g. The aircra ft nomi nated for th is task was JN 7J I , and it was put th rou gh all its paces, incl uding gene ral handling and perfor mance. The reports were very favourable, although it was men tioned tha t at speeds above 500m ph (800 km/h) the a ilerons became heavy d ue to aero dyna mic forces, th ough some movem en t was st ill possib le. The biggest crit icism was the poor rate of roll, although thi s would be qui ckl y reso lved by the install at ion of spring ta bs

TIl E

to th e ail eron s. O ne of th e positi ve co mmen ts co ncerned th e ca no py, whi ch was of th e new, sing le piece, bu bble slid ing type already earmarked for th e Typhoon : as in th e case of its predecessor, it e licited praise from all for its exc el len t all-round visibility. Perform ance figures quot ed for JN 731 includ ed maximum speeds of 3 76mph (605km /h) at sea level , increasin g to 432mph (69 5km/h ) at 18,4 00ft (5,570 m ) with an int erm edi ate spee d of 4 1l mph (66 1km/h) being reco rded at 6,OOOft (I, OOm ). Se rvice ce iling was set at3 4, OOft (l 0 ,460m ). Having impressed the test pilots at Bosco mbe Down , th e aircraft now had to do the same with those assign ed to th e A ir Figh t ing Devel opm ent Un it at Witter ing, where anot her pro duct ion Tempest V, J 737 , ar rived on 8 Janu ary 1944 . T hi s aircraft differed from its sibling in that it had the spring-tabbed ailero ns and newtype ca no py already fitted. A series of te ts wou ld be co nd ucte d aga inst current RAF figh te rs and cap tured exa mples of the ene my's machines, the first aga inst the Typh oon . The Typh oon used by the AFDU featured the earlier type, heavy frame cano py, and thi s, co upled to th e earlier machine 's variou s vices, meant th at th e new Temp est easily out- pe rfor med its Hawker sibling. Most impressive was the rate of roll, whi ch had improved dr am ati ca lly above 250 mph IA . In co mpa rison to the Typh oon, the fligh t co nt ro ls were be tte r balanced, the test reports co mmen ting on th e positive, crisp beh aviour about all thr ee axis.

DE VE LOP ~ I ENT

OF THE TE~I P E S T

Al so imp rov ed was th e maximum to p speed of the Tempest, whi ch was found to be some IS to 20mph (25 to 30 km/h ) faster at all altitudes th an the Typhoon alt hough in fairness to the latt er it did have the capacity for more fue l. car rying so me 154gal (700 ltr) as opposed to the Temp est 's 132gal (6001tr). T he refined win g, however, pa id off in th is respect , as the given ran ge for eac h type was rough ly th e same , th ough the Tem pest had a bette r rat e of cl imb - some 300ft (90m )/min faster tha t th e thicker-wi nged Typhoon . O the r benefits noted during th is prel imi nary eva lua t ion includ ed exce llen t diving cha rac te ristics, ste ad ines s as a gun plat form, and th e ability to take great advan tage of a zoom cli mb after a d ive. Wi th co mparison tests aga ins t th e Typh oon co mp leted, it was tim e to tryout the new fighter aga inst ot he r machines on the in ventory of the A FDU . The chose n guinea pigs were a Packard Merli n powered Mu stan g Ill , a G riffon- po wered Spitfire XIV, plus a Messerschmitr Bf 109G, and a Focke-Wul f Fw 190A . In co mba t l1igh ts aga inst both A llied and German type s, the Tempest outpe rformed them a ll up to an alt itude of 20 ,OOOft (6,000m) . Again st th e Brit ish and American fighters its spee d was faster by some I S to 20mph (25 to 30km/h ), whil e th e German aircra ft were outclassed by some 40 to 50mph (65 to Okm/h ). Above 20 ,OOOft (6,000m) th e A llied fight ers began to outstrip th e Tempest, wh ilst of th e G e rma n aircraft, th e Messcrschmit t was close in perfor man ce, alt hough th e Fw 190 was slower.

In co mba t man oeuvring the Tempe t was out- turne d by both the Mu stang and th e Spitfire , whil e aga ins t th e Fw 190 it was o n a par. T he Bf 109 was co mpletely outclassed , as its leadi ng-edge slats had a tend ency to open as th e turn t igh ten ed and sta lling speed approached, thu s ca using th e pilot of the G erma n fight er to break away or lose co nt ro l. O n the othe r h and , in the performance of roll rat e the Tempest was sligh tly laggardly, falling beh ind bot h A llied figh ters and the Fw 190 at low spee ds, altho ugh abov e 350mph th e Tempest would aga in co me int o it own , with only th e Bf 109 co ming close though even th is co uld be co un tered by a quick change of bank ing angle and d irect ion. The co ncl usion d rawn fro m these eva luat ions was th at th e Tempest was far supe rior to th e Typh oon , and co mpletely outperformed all ot he r figh ters up to medium alt itudes. T he A FDU also recom mended that un its already eq uipped with the Typhoon wo uld gain th e most from the Tempest. However, th is was not to be, as on ly th ree squadrons that had previou sly 110wn the Typ hoon would re-equip, as pilots could not be spared by 2nd TAF to un dertak e co n ve rsion train ing. The first un it to try out th e new Hawker figh ter was No. 486 (R NZ A F) Sqn, whi ch recei ved a handfu l at Tangme re in Januar y 194 4 - a ltho ugh their ten ure was sho rt , as 1 o. 3 Sq n would ta ke th em on and becom e th e first squad ron to officially operat e the Tempest .

Left This slig htly nose up Tempest V JN802 is a Series 2 air cra ft. evi denced by the lack of protr uding cannon barrel s. Although the air craft's outline reveal s its ancestry. the Tempest was a far more refined machine than th e Typhoon. Big Bird Aviation Collection

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T ilE DE VELOP MENT OF T ilE

TE ~ I I'EST

The Tempest V Series 2 During 1944 , th e sho rt-ba rrel version of the H ispan o 20mm can no n , the Mark V bec ame ava ilable in sufficient numbers to he fitte d to ai rcra ft on the Tempest product ion line. The resulta nt aircraft was the n design ated the Tempest V Se ries 2. As before , eac h ca n non was a selfcon tained unit comp lete with ammun it ion ta n k, feed, and lin k disposal ch ute. A lso incor porat ed int o the Tempes t from thi s point was th e plumbin g required to mount exte rnal 45gal (20 5Itr) fuel tanks. T hese were differen t from those fitt ed to the Typhoon and the ea rlier H urricane in that th ey were strea mlined in shape, not cylind rical, wh ich was the type preferred by the Mini stry of A ircraft Product ion. The argume nt put forward by S idney Ca mm was th at the new ta n ks generated less drag. O nc e cle ared for production , in itial flight tr ials revealed that th e tan ks woul d need in terna l damper walls ins ta lled to sto p fuel surg ing in th e ta n k during manoeuvres, and th ereb y un balanc ing th e aircraft.

Above At least one early Series 1 Tempest V was employed in the tr ials concerning the Hawker-designed 45gal fuel tanks . This unidentified example . possibly JN730. was photographed while on charge with the A&AEE. Peter R. Arnold Collection

The Centaurus-Powe red Tempest II W h ile th e Tem pest V was th e ch osen pro duct ion version for use by the Royal A ir Force du rin g th e remai nder of th e war, it was the Ce n taurus-po wercd Tempest II that was recogn ized as the de fin itive version . In fact it nearly failed to evo lve at all, as Syd ney C amm was not too keen on a rad ial-c ngine d ve rsion of the Tem pest. Howeve r, the ar riva l of O berle utena nt Faber and hi s Fw 190A at Pem brey, in mistake for hi s home base in Franc e, revea led tha t putting a radi al eng ine on the front of a hi gh performan ce , well designed airframe was ent irely feasib le. Th us th e first prototype, LA6 0 2, made its maid en flight on 28 June 1943 , and in co mmon with th e Tem pest I and V prototypes, eme rged with a set of Typhoo n ta il feat he rs. Th e insta lled en gine was the Bristo l Ccnt aurus IV, an air-coo led , rad ial powcrplan r rated at 2,520 h p; it was mo unted to the bulkhe ad usin g rigid mounts , and d rove a four-blad ed prope ller. The eng ine install ati on had th rown up some weight and ba lance probl ems, th erefore th e eng ine itself was mount ed a who le 1fr (0.3m) furth er forward ; th e ex ha ust

Above Hawker Tempest II MW801 would never see servic e w ith the RAE being employed by the A&AEE at Bosco mbe Down for armament tr ia ls. It is depi cted here sportin g a pair of Hawker-design ed 45gal (2051tr) tanks that were intend ed to repl ace the earli er cy lindrica l types. Peter R. Arnold Collection

co llec to r ring was mov ed as far back as possible, wh ile th e o il coo lers were install ed in the win g root s. T h is set- up was soon found to suffer from excess vibratio n, the refore th e second Te mpe st II pro totype , LA 607, was assigned to the eng ine deve lopmen t programm e. Its primary purp ose was to find o ut why th e po werplant was generat ing so much vibrati on, and mor e importantl y, how to rectify it. The cure owed much to the rubber-dampen ed un dercar riage un its as devel op ed by de Havill an d: thus the ori gina l eigh t-point

71

rigid mounti ngs were replaced by six da mpened rubber bush assemblies. T he change in the n umber of mounting po in ts meant th at the Ce n ta urus XII or iginall y planned for th e produ ction version of the Tempest was replaced by th e C ent aurus V, wh ich had a similar power output to the Mark IV. The prob lem with th e Mark XII was not as serious as it first appeared, as th e eng ine itself was suffering from devel opment del ays. Als o tri alled on the develop ment air craft was a five-b laded propel ler, see n as ano ther pot ent ia l vibra-

T HE DEV ELO PM ENT OF T HE

TE ~ I PEST

Above Complete with prototype marks is the Tempest II prototype LA602, modified to the latest standard which includes a single -piece blown canopy, and a full Tempest fin and fillet, although it still retains the Series 1 cannon installation. Peter R. Arnold Collection

Left Tempest VJN731 would spend much of its life with Hawker's as a trials machine. During this period it would be used for general handling, plus development flying of modified ailerons and control surface spring tabs . Peter R. Arnold Collection

tion cure; in the eve n t, however, the production mach ines would be equipped with a balanced , four-b lade uni t.

Other Problems Havin g sorte d out th e vib rat ion problems, attention was now turned to dealing wit h othe r faults th at were occurring regularly; th ese incl uded engine overheat ing, cran ksha ft lubr icat ion , and redu ction gear seizure, all of wh ich co nspired to dela y the prod uct ion version from en tering service. Even th ough th ere were co nce rns abo ut the excess ive vibr at ion , whic h required th e install ation of the Vibrograph , the handling reports ind icat ed that the aircraft and eng ine beh aved as we ll as expec ted - alt ho ugh the problem co nce rn ing fumes in the coc kpit had arisen aga in. The cure for this was to rework th e two lower exha ust pipes and fit th em with

ex tensions. O n 1 July 1943 Ph ilip Lucas was a irbo rn e again, undertaking the third test flight. Havin g ach ieved an alt itude of 10 ,000ft O,OOOm) , the eng ine speed was et at 2,400 rpm and a test run began . But within a minute th ere was a loud kn ock , afte r wh ich th e Cen raurus began to vibrat e violen tl y. S uspec t ing drastic eng ine failure, the pilot th rottled back and made an imm ed iat e eme rgency landing. In vest igat ion of the powerplant on the ground revealed that the sleeve valve dri ve to one of th e cylinders had failed. After replacement , LA6 02 resumed flying in December, with no reports of the eng ine misbehav ing. Although the Mark II was suffering from produc t ion delays, it was fel t tha t LA6 02 was close eno ugh to th e prod uction version to be despat ched to A&AEE at Boscom be Down for in it ial type eva luation. Differences from the projected

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pro duct ion a ircraft incl uded the ea rly type engine mou n tings, in herent ex ha ust syste m d ifficu lties, and th e ar mament, wh ich was st ill the ea rlier lo ng-barrelled Mark II Hispano can no n . In spite of these d iffere nces, the aircraft was st ill put thro ugh a th orough work ou t, which revealed a few n igglin g faults. T he first of these was th e vib rati on level , wh ich was quite excess ive below 2,000 rpm and abo ve 2,400rpm, altho ugh th e no ise level was lower in compar ison to the Typho o n, thu s making the Tem pest less tiring to fly. The gene ral handl ing was found to be sat isfacto ry, altho ugh as th is was before the introducti on of the spring balan ce ta bs, the a ileron and roll con tro l were rath er heavy. Rudd er movemen ts were ligh t for sma ll movements, wh ilst th e load ing inc reased as the deflecti on inc reased. In co nt rast, th e elevat ors appeared to behave themselve s th roughou t th eir full range of movemen t;

T il E

th us on ly sligh t changes were req uired to the lon gitudin al trim of th e a ircraft, and only at higher speeds. \X1 hen an approac h and land ing were att empted, bot h were found to be relat ivel y easy, althou gh with the eng ine thro ttled fully back, elevator co n tro l was red uced to margin a l and therefore insufficien t con trol was ava ilable to force th e ta il do wn for a thr ee-po in t lan din g.

T he Tempest II and V Com pared Dime nsionally the Tempest II was sim ilar to th e Mark V in that it sha red the same wingspan, altho ugh th e Ce n ta urus eng ine meant that th e for mer a ircraft was sligh tly longe r, at 34ft Sin (I 0.5m ), wh ilst its heigh t datu m was sligh tly lower at 15ft l Oin (4 .8m) , altho ugh th is was dependent on loadin g. Strange ly the overall fully loaded weight had on ly increased by 20 lb (9 kg ) to I4 ,5001b (6,580kg) . The greatest gain ca me in perfor mance, th e Mark II ach ieving a top speed of 44 2mp h (7 1I km/h ) at 15,200ft (4,630 m), whil st the cli mb time to thi s heigh t took no mor e than + t min , whi ch put the Mark V's tim e of 5m in to shame. Se rvice cc iling was also increased to 3 7,500ft (I 1430m) . To cle ar the Tempest II for service, th e reports recommen ded th at th e a ileron loads be reduced : thi s was ach ieved by implem enti ng th e spring balan ce tab modifi cati on, wh ile the en gine vibration problem was so lved by incorporat ing rub ber damper bush moun t ings.

D EV EL OI'~I E

' T OF Til E T E ~ I PES T

therefore furt her subco n tracted to Bristo l A ircra ft at Filton ; in thi s way the production of bot h the airframe and engine would be unde r the con trol of one co mpa ny. However, del ays wou ld also be th e lot of the Bristo l A ircra ft Compan y, as a whole new manu fact urin g faci lit y was being built at Ban well to build the new fight er, the or igina l fac ility be ing fully occ upied in co nstruct ing the Bristo l range of tw inengine d aircraft. These delays meant that th e first Bristol-produced aircraft would not roll off th e Ban well pro duct ion lin e unti l Febru ar y 1945. By con trast, th e Hawk er prod uct ion lin e at Langley had begun to bui ld Tempest lis in para llel with the Tem pest V, and the ir first C en raurus-powcrcd mach ine wou ld ro ll out during Oc to ber 1944 (although thi s was much lat er than plan ned) . G iven the perform ance benefits of the Ce n raurus-po wered Tempe t , it is hardl y surprising that all co nce rne d with the aircraft wanted to h urry it int o RAF squadron serv ice as rapid ly as possible. To thi s end the two pro tot ypes, j N 750, a Mark V co n ve rted Mar k II sta ndard, plus the first six product io n aircra ft were alloca ted for trials and eva luat ion work . With the Typhoon and Tem pest V operat ing successfully over Europe, thought was given as to how best to employ the Tempest II. T he most obvious area would be th e Far East , where th ere was a need to replace the elde rly Hurricane and Len d Lease Repub lic P-47 Thunderbolts already in use. O rigina lly hot and h igh trials were planned to take place in th is th eatr e, possibly in India, but th ese plan s were abandoned in

favour of th e far more stable M iddle East as the preferred locati on to try out th e new type. Hen ce six mach ines, MW 80 I to MW806, were despat ched to Khartoum in A pril 1945 to undert ake inten sive flight trials. T hese were not with out incid ent : one aircraft, MW 806, was dama ged beyond repair dur ing a landing acc iden t when it swung into soft ground and overt urned; wh ile anothe r, MW80 I , failed to retu rn home becau se th e eng ine caugh t fire during the ferry fligh t back to Britai n on 5 Au gust, re ulting in th e aircraft being abando ned near Marble Arch, Libya. Event ually some 740 t1 ying hours were man aged using th e test group Tem pests. O verall the reports rated the Tem pest as more than satisfac tor y, espec ially in the low-level ground -attack ro le; however, a series of m inor mod ificat ions - twen tynine in num ber - were recommend ed to make the Tempest a more efficient aircraft. T he recommen dations from th e test group pilot s were applied where possible to th e first producti on Temp est lis be ing held in sto rage at variou s mainten an ce un its aro und the co un try, prior to these being released to ope rationa l squadro ns. The first to becom e operat iona l was o. 13 O perat iona l Train ing Un it based at Har well ; it received its first exa mples in j une 1945, and deliver ies to fight erbomber un its began not long afte rwards. However, th e o riginal re-eq uipm cnt plan was hastil y revised afte r th e surrende r of ja pan, and man y new Tempest lis would find th em selves placed in long-term storage await ing a decision as to the ir fat e.

Below Complete w ith identity bands is the first production Tempest II. MW735, which was loaned to the

Tempest II into Action

Bristol Engine Company after flight trials by Hawker's for use in the Centaurus development programme. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Even though Hawker was the design aut hori ty, its wor kload was such with th e Tempest V th at produ ction con tracts for the Tempest II would be subco n tracted to the G loster A ircraft Co mpan y at Hu ccl eco te, part of th e Hawk er Group of co mpan ies. However, thi s organ izat ion was a lso ex pe rienc ing problems, as its own workload was increasin g as the in vasion of Europ e cont in ued , and the requi remen t for furt her Typhoon s to repla ce the losses experien ced by 2nd TAF was putt ing available resources under pressure; moreover, G loster's were also in the pro cess of designing the Met eor jet fighter. The construct ion con tract for 300 a ircraft was

73

TIl E

T h e knock -on effec t of th e cessati on of hostil it ies was th at production orders were also red uced ; therefore Bristo l A ircr aft's produ ction would amo un t to on ly fifty machi nes, of wh ich th e fin al twenty wou ld be assembled by Hawker 's usin g Bristolmanufactured asse mblies. Haw ker's, too, would feel th e effect s of thi s peace, as th e final prod uct ion run for the Tem pest II would on ly ach ieve 452 aircraft , of the th ousan ds or dered and plan ned .

Th e Tempest VI Runn ing in parallel to th e Cenra uruspowe red Temp est II was the prod uct ion of an upgraded Tempest V, design at ed th e Mar k V I. T h e need for this version h ad ari sen d ue to the foreseen shortage of Cen raurus engines , and with th is in mind, N ap ier's wer e encouraged to push th e Sa bre design a lit tle further to increa se its power. The resu ltant engine, th e Sabre V, was ablc to del iver an ex tra 10 per cent more output th an the previ o us Sa bre II. To tr ial the new powerpl an t, the original Sabr e II Tempest prot ot ype , H M595 , was fitt ed with a Sabre V and a proper sing lepiece sliding ca nopy; it made its maiden fligh t on 9 May 1944. A s th is eng ine delivered 2,340 ho rsepower, its coo ling nee ds were naturally greater: th er efore the o il coo ler an d ca rburc tro r air intakes were relocat ed from th e underslun g nose int ake, th e resulting en larged area being occ upied

D E V EL O I'~ I E N T

OF TilE TEMPEST

by a radi ato r of inc reased d imen sions. T h e n ew locat ion fo r th e carbure tt or a ir intakes was in th e lead ing edge of th e wing close by the root, wh ile th e o il cooler was reposit ioned beh ind the radi ator.

Trials in the Middle East T ho ugh t was also give n to th e emp loymcn t of th e new fight er, and as th e M idd lc East h ad no new a ircraft plan ned for int rodu cti on in th e imme diate future, it was on th is area , and its atte ndant problem s, th at Hawk er 's and Napier's were asked to concent rate . To h urry th e process alon g, a single Tempest V, EJ84 1, was con verted to Mark V I sta ndard and despatch ed to Kh artoum , in co mpa ny with a Temp est V, E]759 , for comparison purposes. O pera t ing throughout the norma l te mperat ure ran ge expe rience d every day in th e region, th e a ircraft's coo ling syste m was found to str uggle in the greatest heat , so an extra o il coo ler was insta lled in th e lead ing edge of th e sta rboa rd win g, as in th e Tempest II. T he air cleaner/filter assem bly was a very clever design , and was based on that fitt ed to th e Typ h oons for use in th e du sty I o rman dy airfields. It was locat ed benea th th e fusel age between th e wings, and would be in use d urin g gro und runni ng and tax iing. In th is manner, air was drawn in to the ca rburet to r via the filter system, althou gh this would ceas e to operate when th e undercarr iage began its retracti on

Below Seen from a three -quart ers front angle is this Tempest VI. The differenc es between this and the Mark V includ ed the auxilia ry cooling intake located in the port wing leading edge. C. P. Russell Smith

cycle . A s th e gea r mov ed int o th e closed posit ion, th e ai r intake filter syste m would transfer its task via a series of lin kages to the intakes locat ed in th e wing leading edge s. A s th e und er carr iage was lowered , a reversal of th e foregoi ng process occurred , although the ch angeover to th e win g lead ing-ed ge int ake co uld be ove rridde n by a switc h in th e coc kpit sho uld th e pilot co ns ide r th is necessary, To reinforce th e project ed dese rt- flying role of th e aircraft, th e trials mach ines wer e eq uipped with desert surviva l eq uipment in the form of two crash -proof wate r co ntaine rs locat ed beh ind the pilot's sea t h ead armo ur. Produ cti on of the Tempest V I was in it ially set at 250 air craft, alth ough as th e war in Europe and the Far East h ad ended, so h ad the n eed for th is quant ity of a ircr aft ; the orde r was th erefore red uced to just 142 mac h ine s. U nder nor mal co ns iderat ions thi s parti cu lar version of the Tem pest would h ave been can cel led , as th ere was no real requ irem ent for it , since th e Royal A ir Force h ad more tha n eno ugh Tem pest ll s and Vs. However, N ap ier's wou ld have been in serious finan c ial trouble if th e Sabre pro gramme h ad ended so sudd en ly, as ot her projects unde r devel opment by the compan y were not ready for prod ucti on . Prod ucti on of the Tempest VI began in th e early mont h s of 1945, with th e first seven service -ready mach ines - N V99 7 to NV999 , plus X I13 to X I 16 - appearing dur ing Ju ly and Au gust of th e same vcar,

Further Desert Trials Wi th pro d uct ion versions of the Tempest V I proceeding stea d ily, it was tim e to put anot her mach ine th rough dese rt h ot and hi gh tr ials. To thi s end, a ircraft X 119 was despatched to Khart oum , wh ere it wou ld arrive in Dece mb er 1945. The tr ials would last unt il Februar y 1946, and in cl uded a fu ll eva luat ion of th e wh ole a irfra me and its systems. During thi s peri od the Tempest V I, co mplete with its Sa bre V eng ine , achieved a top spe ed of 43 8m ph (705km/h) at an alti tud e of 17,800ft (5 ,425m) , wh ilst its service ce iling was set at 38,000 ft (II ,600m) . T h e fina l report sta ted that th e aircraft perfor med more th an sat isfac tor ily, so it was cleared for serv ice usage. Del iveries of producti on aircraft to RA F sq uadrons to ok place dur ing 1946, with five un its in th e M idd le East receivi ng the Tempest VI.

Collection

74

TI lE DEVELOPMENT OF TIl E THI PEST

Ri ght Althoughit bears no se rial. this aircraft is in fact HM595 that has been converted to be the Mark VI prototype. It made its first flight in this guise on 9 May 1944. after which it was despatched to Boscombe Downfor evaluation trials. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Ri ght Forthe whole of its useful life Tempest VI NX116 was employed by Napier's on Sabre engine development trials. a role it maintained until it was dispensed with in March 1959. Big Bird Aviation Colle ction

Below Seen from a slightly rear angle is this Tempest VI NX135 photographed at the makers prior to delivery to the Royal Air Force. In service it would be flown by Nos 6 and 249Sqns in the Middle East; it was withdrawn in May 1951 . Big Bird Aviation Collection

75

T HE DEVELO PM ENT O F T ilE T EMP EST

Fitting Tempest Armament A ltho ugh th e win g fitt ed to th e Tem pest was different to that on th e Typhoon , it was th ough t that it could be cle ared to carry th e same range of stores wit hout too much troub le. Dur ing mid -194 4 Hawk er 's, in co nj unction with th e A &AEE, used some of th e aircraft retained for tri als purposes to test the full ran ge of bombs, rocke ts and othe r sto res or iginally cleared for the Typhoo n . As ex pec ted, th e fitm ent of bo mb racks under th e win gs red uced the top speed of th e Tem pe t by no mor e tha n IOmph ( 16km/h), alt ho ugh add ing a pa ir of SOOtb (ZZSkg) G P bombs woul d bring thi s down by up to 30 111ph (50km/h), depen d ing upon altitude . When ligh tweight Mark III rocket rails were fitt ed ,

Below Tempest V EJ891 w as by the A&AEE lor various w eapons deli very trials . Here it is seen sporti ng a pai r 01mi nes under the wings. Peter R. Arnold Collection

th e to p speed fell by up to 16111ph (2 Skm/h); and when 60lb (27 kg) rocke ts were added , a furth er drop of 2 1mph (34km /h) was experienced. T he d rop in top speed was th e only effect th at exte rn al stores had upon any version of the Tem pest, hand ling ap pea ring to be un affect ed . A furth er store added to th e inven tor y afte r th e war was the I ,OOOlbG P bomb. Further ex perime ntat ion with unguided rockets and th ei r ca rrier rai ls resulted in the Zero length rail, wh ich qu ick ly replaced th e Mark III type in ea rly 194 6. O the r weaponry tr ialied on the Tempest includ ed the Vicke rs ' P' gun , a development of the earli er Vickers 'S' gun , wh ich had bee n used with some success by Hawker H urri can es in th e Western Desert in the ground-a tt ac k, an t i-tan k role during 1943. Although th e trials were successful, the Royal A ir Force woul d persevere with its use of un guided rocke ts in the gro undattack role , in preferenc e to und er win g gun pods.

76

Above Complete w ith a light bomb carr ier under the wings, Tempest V SN219 is here under test with the A&AEE at Boscombe Down. It would later be converted to target-towing 5 standard , and serve with the APC at Acklington and No. 233 OCU, belore being sold to the MoS in November 1955.RAF Museum Co llection

Engine Experime ntation A s th ere was a surplus of Tem pests available afte r the war, it was not surprising that some were div erted to vari ous manufact urers for related trials. O ne of the recipients would be apier's, who received two Tempest V's, E] 5 18 and 1V76 , for engine expe rime nta tion . The latt er air craft was already fitt ed wit h a Sa bre V eng ine; th is was taken out and the mach ine soon fitt ed with a hu ge du cred spin ner with an a ir intake forward of the pro pe ller blade '. A s wit h ma ny experiments, th e resul tin g fligh t tri als were successful, althoug h no furth er develop -

Til E DEVELOPMENT OF TIlE TEMPEST

merit wou ld occur as the idea was co ns idered to be to o radical for gene ral service usage. Even less like ly to ente r service was th e proposed Hawk er PI 02 7, whi ch never even left the dr awin g boa rd. T hi s version of the Tem pest wou ld have bee n powered by the Rolls-Royce 46 Eagle powcrplant , rat ed at 2,690 h p, and attached to a sixblad ed cont ra-ro ta ting pro pe ller assembly; the rad iator was moved to a ven tral posit ion under the fusela ge, as in the N or th A merican P-5 l Mu stan g.

Above Once NV768 had been successfull y flight-tria lied with the annular radiator, Napier's then fitted it with a ducted spinner to improve engine cooling. Big Bird Aviation Collection Below Photographed in format ion are two versions of the Tempest. The furthest machine is a Mark VI, NX121 , that was permanently bailed to the engine manufacturers Napier 's. The aircr aft in the foreground had started life as a sta ndard M ark V that had seen service w ith No. 274 Sqn before being bail ed to Napier 's for tr ials . In this vie w , NV768 sports an annular radi ator instead of the normal underslu ng housing. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Des igns for t he Hawker Sea Fury O n ly one ot he r version of the Tempest would ta ke to the skies, th is bei ng the Tem pest ligh tweigh t figh ter, devel oped to spec ificat ion F. 2/43. T hi s version of th e Hawker figh ter feat ured a reduced wingspan ach ieved by removing the fullwidth cen tre sec t ion, and replac ing it with one of reduced spa n , to wh ich th e win g oute r panels were th en bo lted. A llied to the new win g was an all-new fuselage of mon ocoque const ruction. T he engine s prop osed for the new figh te r were th e N ap ier Sa bre, th e Rolls-Royce G riffon ,

77

T il E

and th e Bristol Cen raurus, Eventuall y, after man y tri als and tribulat ions, the desig n would enter prod uction as the Hawker Sea Fury and Fury, the latt er in tended for export pur poses. The Royal Air Force, however, decl ined to acce pt the ligh tweigh t Fury, as it had more than enough Tempests ava ilab le to sat isfy its curren t and futu re requirements.

Tem pes ts Surplus to Req uirem ent T h is surplus of Hawker Tempests resulted in stoc ks build ing up at No . 5 Main tenance Un it at Kemb le, and No. 20 MU at Asto n Down . Both held stoc ks of the Tempest V, wh ich had bee n retir ed

D E V EL O P~l E N T

OF TI l E T EM PE ST

from front -line service in favour of th e Cen ta urus-powered Tempest II. Durin g 194 7 the Royal A ir Force began to cas t around for a new tar get tug to rep lace the or igin al incu mbent in th e job, th e Miles Marti net. A lthough th is machine had proved adeq uate for the tas k during th e war years, after th e war its lack of top speed was see n as a h indran ce, when aircraft spee ds were increasing d ue to the new jet figh ters entering serv ice, and an ti-a ircraft guns hav ing better radar guida nc e. Th e Tem pest V was see n as the ideal solut ion to th e requirem en t. so a sing le example, S 329 , was refurbished by Hawker's. Complete wit h newly installed target tow equipme n t, the re-designated Tempest n.5 under went a full eva lua tion at th e A irborn e Forces Experimen ta l Esta blish men t at Beaulieu, an organ iza-

tion cha rged wit h th e test ing of a ll types of to wing tri als, includi ng those for gliders. These trials were un dert aken du ring 194 8, and co n t in ued unt il 194 9 when the Tempest was transferred to A&AEE at Ba scom be Down for eva luat ion and service pre-release trials. A few minor mod ificat ions were req uired to the ta rget tow equipme nt . and S 329 was cleared for se rvice in 1950. To co ver th e ta rget to w requirement for the RA F, a tot al of eigh ty airframes was withdrawn from the main ten an ce units for co n ve rsion by Hawker's at Lan gley to n .5 sta ndard; thi s who le process took until May 1952 to co mplete. T h is part icular version of the Tempest was th e last to rem a in in service with the RAF, the fin al exa mple not retiring from N o. 233 OCU at Pem brcy unt il Jul y 1955 .

TheTempest n.5 Serial numbers of the Tempest TI,5's included: EJ580.EJ585. EJ598. EJ631. EJ643. EJ660. EJ663. EJ667. EJ669. EJ740. EJ744. EJ7 53. EJ758. EJ786. EJ801 . EJ805. EJ807. EJ839. EJ846. EJ862. EJ875. EJ879. EJ880. JN807. JN871 NV645. NV661 . NV664. NV665. NV669. NV671 . NV699. NV704. NV711 . NV723. NV725. NV762. NV778. NV780. NV781. NV793. NV917. NV922. NV923, NV928. NV937. NV940. NV960. NV962. NV965. NV974. NV975. NV978. NV992. NV994. NV996, SN127.SN1 46. SN209. SN215. SN219. SN227. SN232, SN259, SN260. SN261 . SN271. SN274. SN289. SN290. SN321. SN326. SN329.SN331, SN332. SN333. SN340. SN342, SN346, SN354 Ackli ngtonAPC 'WH' EJ580 EJ598 EJ744 EJ805 EJ839 JN807 JN871 NV645 NV7 1112) NV781 NV917 NV923(2) NV965 SN146 SN209 SN215 SN219 SN227 SN232 SN260 SN271 SN274 SN331 SN332 SN340

SV It APC EJ585 EJ667(2) EJ740 EJ753 EJ758 EJ786 EJ801 EJ807 EJ839(21 EJ846 EJ875 EJ879 EJ880 JN87 1121 NV661 NV664(2) NV665 NV704 NV723 NV725

NV780 NV793(2) NV922 NV928 NV937 NV940 NV960 NV962 NV974 NV975 NV994

226 OCU 'XL:

229 OCU 'RS'

2330CU

CGS 'FJU'

EJ669 EJ862

EJ660 EJ663 EJ66912) EJ74412)

EJ580(2) EJ598(2) EJ631 EJ669(31 EJ805(21

EG667 EJ740 EJ879

NV671 NV699 NV711 NV923 NV992

NV645(2) NV669 NV671 NV699(2) NV762 NV917(21 NV923(31 NV978 NV992

SN326

SN289 SN290 SN32112) SN327 SN329 SN333 SN342 SN346

SN1 46(21 SN260(21 SN27 112) SN326(21 SN340(2) SN354

(2) Second userunit. (3)Thi rd user unit.

78

NV71113) NV778 NV91713) NV965 NV996 SN127 SN219(21 SN259 SN274 SN33112) SN332(2)

NV664 NV793 SN215 SN26 1 SN32 1

CHAPTER SEVEN

Tempest Under the Skin Even though struc tura lly the Tempest in all its version s bore a striking resemb lan ce to the earlier Typh oon, in comparison to the earlier fighter it featured n umerous impro vemen ts. The fuselage was of allmeta l construction and cons isted of four major assemblies. Th e forw ard sect ion con ta ined the cockpit, all encased in a box-like tu bular struc ture, clot hed by ligh t alloy fixed and detachable panel s. To the fore of thi s asse mbly was the armo ured firewall, in fron t of a bay con ta in ing th e main fuselage fuel tank , its filler ca p at the top for easy access. A lso located in thi s bay was the o il-petrol engine pr iming tank , located on the star board side , whi lst to port was the de-ic ing tank . Betw een the fusela ge fuel tan k and the wind screen mount ing frame was th e engine o il ta nk , below whi ch was moun ted the hyd raulic system reser voi r and the brake accumulators. T he Vokes tro pica l air filter was mou nt ed in the fuselage unde rbelly of the Tempest V and VI, wh ilst in the Tempest II, with its C cn ta urus eng ine, it was located in the upp er fusela ge ce n tre sect ion. Front ing the coc kpit was a th ree-part bu llet -p roof windscreen backed by a single-piece, blown , fully trans paren t perspex cano py that would slide aft. T he cano py was moun ted onto rails fixed into the cockpit walls, there being a th ird guid ing rail mounted on top of th e fuselage just aft of the coc kpit. T he ce n tre wind screen sect ion co ns isted of two layers, the outer one I .Sin (3 .7cm ) th ick, wh ile the inner pan e was th in ner at O.2Sin (6mm) in thi ckness. In the even t of an emergency, the movable cano py could be jetti son ed, as co uld a panel on the sta rboa rd up per side of the coc kpit. Located to the rea r of the pilot's sea t was a two-piece set of armo ured plates, O.7Sin ( 19mm) in th ickne ss. Aft of the cockpit was th e rad io and navigation equipment bay, wh ich had an access panel for main tena nce pu rposes located on the port side of the fuselage. Mo unted in the same bay

was the cylinde r for the Tempest 's pn eumatic air system. For th ose aircraft dest ined for use in the desert, mounti ng locat ions were supplied for wat er bot tles as part of the survival kit . The rea r fuselage assemb ly was of mono coque co nstruct ion , cons isting of e leven alloy frames to wh ich were rivet ed support stringers and longitud inal stringers for strength . T he skin co ve ring was ligh t alloy, each panel be ing lap -jo int ed, with the high er locat ed plati ng pieces overlapping those lower down . C on nec t ing the for ward and aft fuselage sect ions together were fo ur equally spaced mounting bo lts, each be ing of an interference fit. Located with in the lower rea r sec tion of th is struc ture was the tai l-wheel bay, above wh ich were the mo un t ings for the vert ical fin . O n the Temp est V Se ries I , the dor sal fin was a perman ent fixtur e, wh ilst those of the Mark V Se ries 2, Mark VI and the Mark 11 were detach able. O n the ea rlier aircraft the fuselage joint was strengthened by the use of fishp lat es

Below This dia gram reveals the layout of the underlying structure as applied to all three main version s of the Tempest. Big Bird Aviation Collection

79

riveted to the structure, wh ile on the later mach ines the struc tural streng th was embod ied by increasin g the th ickness of the cladd ing mater ial. During the design stage of the Tem pest , great attemp ts were made to el im inat e the problem of car bon mon oxide leaking int o the cockpit, but altho ugh extra sea ling was applied aro und the con tro l access points in the bu lkhead, there was st ill a small prob lem with car bo n mon oxide ingest ion , wh ich meant that pilot s were adv ised to wear oxyge n masks.

Th e Coc kpit Assembly Inside the coc kpit the pilot was faced by a myriad of d ials, knobs and switches , all of wh ich e ither supplied informat ion co ncern ing th e behav iour of th e a ircraft, or allowed the occupant to co mmun icate, navigat e or d ispen se items of wea ponr y. A s a lways, the ce n tre block of instrumen ts were th ose needed for basic flying and incl uded the airspeed indi cator, artifi c ial

TEI.1PEST UNDER TilE SK IN

GUNfCAMERA

/.oii;iiiZ~st"---- OPERAT ING BunON

CO NTROL COLU M PLUS SPADE GRIP

BRAKE OPERATING LEV ER

EV A TOR CONT ROL

PUSH ROD

surros HARNESS AnACHMENT __--?~~~~ POINTS

.....

SEAT HEIGHT ADJU STER LEVER

Above Although this is an illustration of the pilot's seat as fitted to the Tempest. a similar arrangement was installed in

RUDDER MOUNT ING PEDAS TAL

both the Typhoon and Sea Fury. Big Bird Aviation Collection Above Neither the Typhoon Tempest nor the Sea Fury had a prope r buil t-in floor. but instead rel ied on fl oorboards leading from the seat SLIDING AN OP Y

to the rudder pedals . Although this gave better access to items CANOPY SIDE RAil

below floor level, it did leave parts of the flight-c ontrol system open to foreign objec t damage. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Left The canopy fitte d to the production Tempests w as simila r to that already installed in the earlie r Typhoon. thus both used simila r TUBULAR FRAMEWORK

mechanisms for operating and emergency purp oses. Big Bird Aviation Collection

hori zon, a lt imete r, d irection indi cat or plus the turn and bank ind icato r. In th e panel to the left were ma inl y th e engine sta rt switc hes and co nt rols assoc iate d with the pro peller, wh ile in th at to the righ t were ind icators for th e various fluid s that allo wed th e Tempest to operate : thus fuel and o il co n tents were visible here. The fue l-syste m gauge was of th e d irec t-reading type: th e largest par t of th e gauge record ed the main fuel tan k co nt ents , wh ilst th e other sma ller sect ions recorded the con te n ts of th e nose and in rerspar tan ks. Just below th e left-h and panel were th e th rot tle handle, plus frict ion co n tro l; th is

also co nta ined th e propel ler speed co nt rol lever, th e un dercarr iage lever, supe rcha rger lever, canop y winding lever, rad iat or sh utt er co ntro l and th e guns ight co n tro l weapon s selec to r. The th rottle lever was gated at th e cl imb positi on , and had th e bomb release switc h incorporat ed in the top of the lever. The propell er spee d co ntrol was locat ed in board of the th rottle lever, and ope rated in th e natu ral sense, bein g pushe d forward to the ' Increase Revs' positi on . The propeller was governe d down to 1,600rpm to allow a glide to be stretche d out in an eme rgenc y after eng ine failure , a lthou gh system o il

80

pressure had to be ava ilable. In nor ma l operation fo r ground and fligh t use, th e norm al ava ilable minimum was 2,OOOrpm. The supe rcha rger co n tro l lever was located beh ind the eng ine co nt ro l bo x, wh ich was moved downward s for ' ' rat io , and upward s for 'M' rati o. Locat ed on the left sloping panel was the rad iato r sh utt er co n tro l, whi ch moved 'Do wn' to ope n th e sh utt er, th e reverse mov em ent closing th e sh utte r. In th e event of a failure of th e eng ine- driven h ydrau lic pump th e sh utter co uld be operated by use of the hand pump . W hen the ti me came to start th e en gin e , use was

T E~ I P ES T

UNDER Til E SKIN

SIDE STAY

PNEUMATIC

ASSISTER STRUT

Above The layout of the Tempest w ing structure meant that the Hispano cannon could be set further back . This in turn meant the

k~~~::::;;;rrrr-----------

cannon breeches and feed mechan isms required bul ged covers on

BRAKE PIPE

the upper surf aces. Big BirdAviation Collection

,rL:lI-

---.:Uc"i~CCHK ROLLER

Right The undercarriage legs fined to the Tempest were manufactured by Dowty and were of the lever link suspension type; thus the great majority of shock absorbing w as taken by the upper sect ion. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Below The Tempest series of fighter bombers used

WATER CYLI NDER (DESE RT USE O NLY )

a similar layout for lights and aerials . although the

RA DIO/NA V EQUIPT BA Y FIRST AID KIT STOWAGE VHF

variations between each version are clearly

PITOTTUBE ( LATE SERIE S Mk .VIII .Mk.VI)

AERI AL

illustrated here. Big Bird Aviation Collection

NAVI GATION LIGH T CA B LE GUARDS (TT VERS IONS ONLY )

NA VIGAT ION LIG HT

NA VIGATIO N LIGHT - TAIL

CAM ERA GUN (Mk .V.VI ON LY) AIR FIL TER SHUTT ER (Mk.V ONLY )

PITOT TUBE CAB LE GUAR DS (EA RLY AI RCRA FT) (TT VERSIONS ONL Y) DOWNWARD IDEN T LAM P

B EAM APPROACH AERIAL

87

T E~ IP EST U ~ D E R

made of th e sta rt ing and slow-run n ing cutout co n trol lever, whic h had th ree designated positions: 'start ', 'no rma l' and 'cut -out' . A t the 'sta rt ' poi nt th ere was a sto p in place to acc ura tely delineat e the prop er posit ion; however, th e safety ca tch beside the lever needed to be moved down before th e process co uld begin . The two 40cc pri ming pumps were mounted vert icall y on the right-h and sloping panel. T he uppe r pum p handle pr imed th e eng ine cylinde rs wit h flu id d rawn from the priming ta nk , wh ile th e lower pump was used to pr ime th e ca rburertor with fue l dr awn from the main supp ly. To release the pump h andles required the m to be un screwed , wh ilst they needed to be screwed to the sh ut position afte r use. To start th e engine there were ignition switc hes locat ed on the left-hand instru ment pa nel, these being prev ent ed from careless operat ion by the usc of a slid ing bar that required th e underca rriage ind icator switch to be on . To test th e system th ere were four ign it ion test buttons loc at ed on th e left-h and side of the coc kpit. In the event of an ign ition problem ca using a drop in rpm, use of th ese bu ttons wou ld ena ble th e pi lot to reproduce the power loss for repair purposes. \'(th en the ca rt ridge sta rter and booster co il were

T ilE SKIN

required during th e sta rt cycle , the ir push but to ns had to be depr essed at the same tim e so tha t en gine sta rt co uld be ach ieved. Sho uld there be a failu re in the first ca rt ridge sta rt , th e sta rte r reload co nt ro l wou ld allow o ne of the n ext five cart ridge to be used. Furt he r equipme n t located in the cock pit included a modified sea t harness on wh ich all four rest ra ining straps could be adjusted. After adjust ment th e pilot was recom mended to locate the juncti on box just below that of the para ch ut e quickrelease box . U nt il modification 103 was int rod uced th ere was no qui ck harness release available, th erefore ca re was required sho uld they be loosen ed. A bove the pilot was a sing le- piece cano py whose wind ing gear was locat ed on the port side of the cockpit. To ope n th e ca no py th e spring-loaded kn ob on th e wind er cran k required pulling inb oard and ho lding aga inst the spring wh ile th e cra n k was turned. O nce the kn ob was released, a pin at th e botto m engaged in o ne of th e holes in th e lock ing plate , wh ich lock ed the ca nopy int o positio n . W hen egre s of th e cockpit was plan ned , th e knob on th e handle needed to be pulled o ut as far as possible and rota ted until a projection on th e knob engaged with a sma ll recess on th e crank lev er, th us ho lding the pin free

Below Tempest V. JN729. was built as a Seri es 1 machine . hence the protruding cannon barrels . Aerials present on this aircra ft include an IFF under the fuselage. and a radio wh ip aeri al aft of the canopy. Big Bird Aviation Collection

82

of th e holes in the locking plat e: thi s permitted the hood to be opened from the outs ide by han d . To lock th e can op y from the outside, a spring- loade d bol t locat ed on th e starboard side needed to be rel eased wh ilst th e ca no py was slid to the closed position. O nce th e ca no py was closed the bo lt was released and locked into a cut-o ut in the hood bottom mounting ra il. Forw ard of the ca no py was th e windscree n assembly, whi ch on earlier a ircraft was of the dr y-air sandwich -type. This was co n nected by rub ber tub ing to a rubber expans ion bag, wh ich was co nta ine d in a fibre cylinder locat ed immed iatel y below the wind screen . The pilot was advised that should the screen mist up , the tu be need ed to be disconnect ed , and sho uld remai n th at way until the scree n dem isted, afte r whi ch the tube sho uld be reconnect ed . To enable th e pilot to operate in all co nd it ions, the coc kp it was well eq uippe d with ligh t ing. Two lam ps were fitt ed to th e top of th e instrume n t panel, th ese be ing co n tro lled by two d imme r switches. A th ird lamp was located above the elect rical panel, th is being co n trolled by a dim me r switch . A similarly controlled lamp was located ab ove the trim tab co ntrol box . T he fina l cockpit light illuminated th e co mpass, and was also controlled by a dimmer. H aving prov ided th e pilot with man y aids, Hawker 's also installed cockpit heat ing, co n tro lled by a lever close to the

T E ~ IP E ST

starboard cock pit wall. O n ly two positions were av ailable, these be ing 'on' and 'o ff' . Two ve ntilators were prov ide d, one each side of th e instr umen t pan el. Just behi nd th ese co n trols, to the side of the pilot, were th e h ydraulic hand pump and th e elevat or trim wheel. A ll tr im wheels acted in th e natu ral sense, with the tab position indi cators bei ng fitted between them . O n the righ t-ha nd side of th e coc kpit, the panel belo w the fuel/o il co nte n ts pan el, were th e fuel system co n tro l coc ks, with one lever eac h for the int er, main and nose fuel tanks, thes e be ing closed when the levers were aft. In the sma ll conso le to the right of th e pilot 's seat were the switches for th e aircraft's clcctrics: these incl uded th e pitot head heat er switch, came ra master, navigation light s and th e TR . I 143 rad io master switc h. Ju st for ward of thi s co nso le was the mounting for the cylinde r prim ing pump and the car buretto r prim ing pump hand le. The mi xt ure used in the primi ng syste m cons isted of 70 per cent fuel , with the rema inder bei ng 30 pe r ce n t o il cont ained in a ta nk tha t had a capacity of 5 pints (J ltr), th is be ing locat ed on the star boa rd side of the main tan k in th e fuselage. Ab ov e the side co nso le were the mounting cl ips for the Very pisto l ca rt ridges. In common with th e earlier Typh oon , the Temp est did not have a proper floor: th e pilot rest ed h is feet on two rib bed plate ' th at led up to th e adjusta ble rudde r bar assembly. Between th ese two floor panel s was the co ntrol co lumn, topped by a spade grip. In th is were th e buttons for th e gun control and th e rad io 'press to talk' switch. Locat ed under the ribbed floo r pan els were the co n tro l run s for th e ailerons, elevat ors and rudder, plus various co mpo ne nts belon gin g to th e ai rcraft" electrica l and rad io systems , all of whi ch were access ible. A lso located in the coc kpit was a bag sto wed on the left-h and side, cont a in ing th e flying co nt rol locking kit. T h is co ns isted of a h inged clam p and four ca bles, and insta llati on in vo lved th e cla mp be ing fitted to th e co ntro l co lumn with th e projecti ng lugs in co ntac t with th e fork end n uts of the aileron t ie rods, wh ile two of th e ca bles were hooked on to th e rudd er peda ls. With th e seat-adjust ing lever locked in th e th ird notch from th e to p, th e rear ca bles were hooked to eac h side of the seat and tension ed by adj ust ing th e rudd er ba r, and th en adjusting the sca t.

UNDER T il E SKIN

Above In common with many Tempests built after the war, MW742 would see no service with the Royal Air Force, being sold instead to the RIAF as HA566 during May 1948. Taken prior to that date, this view reveal s the camoufl age pattern and identification stripes as applied to the Tempest. Big Bird Aviation Collection

The Wing The three-sect ion wing was of a semi-elliptical shape in planform, and was of a laminar flow sect ion, th e outer panel s end ing in blunt ed wing-tips. T he cen tre sectio n had the outer wing panels bolted on at an an hedral angle of 5 degrees and 30 min utes. T he th ickness cho rd ratio varied from 14.5 per cent at the root, to 10 per cent at the tip, with a maximum th ickness at 37.5 per cent measured from th e lead ing edge, at which poin t it produces peak suction. T he profiles used to build th e wing were H .14/14 /3 7.5 at the root, decreasing to H .14/1 0/3 7.5 at th e wing-t ip jo in t. T he wing ce n tre sec tio n was attac he d to th e fuselage at th e front and rear spar pick-up points. T hese were he ld onto th e fuselage by in terference-fitt ed bo lts pushe d through stress- relieving bushes, these be ing capped by torqu e-loaded nuts splitpinned for locking purposes. \Vh en the first Tempest V Se ries I a ircraft were bei ng co ns tr ucted, the rear win g to fuselage pick up points were moun ted on to the fusela ge tu bular assembly; on later build mach ines thi s was replaced by a sing le-piece cas t ing whi ch made mounti ng of th e wing easier. Each wing co ns isted of three sec tions asse mbled as one uni t. The pr imar y structural co mpo ne n ts were the two main spars,

83

with ribs and alloy skins re inforced by spa n wise stringe rs; furt her re inforc ing was ca rried out at th e wing root to co mpe nsa te for th e imp act of person nel gett ing in and out of the cockp it. O n the forward face of th e fron t spa r were sha ped riblets riveted int o posit ion , alt ho ugh th ese were missing in the area of the win g tank , located in the inner area of the ce nt re sec tion. This omission was ca te red for by spec ially formed skins of increased thi ckness, whe rea s those further outboa rd were of a lesser gauge. The front spa r ran from eac h wing-t ip mou n ting rib to th e othe r win g-t ip mounting rib, whereas the rear spa r was cra n ked forw ard with in th e ce nt re sec t ion . T h is sta rte d at the fuselage mount ing poi nt , and co n tin ued to where th e oute r panel began, from wh ich poi nt the angle redu ced co ns ide rably. The spars formed a to rsion box an d were free from unnecessary cutouts, wh ich obvia ted the need for any st ructure aft of th e rea r par in the area of the ca n no ns. T h is layou t allowed for easy access to the ca n no n for servicing and rear ming of the weapons. T he panel between the wing spars outboard of the d ihedral po int hel ped form the torsio n box sk in and was of a heavi er gauge th an that in othe r areas of th e wing. There were two in terspar wing fuel tank s, and a sing le nose fuel ta nk in the

T E~ IPEST

NDER TIl E SKI;':

The Undercarriage

Above This fine portrait of Hawker Tempest II MW742 reveals an outstanding amount of detail. such as the fuselage access step to the cockp it. the covers over the cannon breech housings . plus the oil cooler intake and anti-sl ip w alkwa y on the sta rboard w ing. Big Bird Aviation Collection

lead ing edge of th e port wing. T h e lead in g edges of th e Tem pest II and th e Mark V I were modified to in cor porate th e ca rburettor a ir in tak es in th e root s and an add itional o il cooler radi at or in th e sta rboard win g. T h e wing tr ailing edges incor por at ed h ydra ulicall y ope rate d, foursect ion land in g fla ps. The Frise-rype metal-cover ed ailero ns extended from the sixth out boa rd rib on th e d ih ed ral win g panel to th e win g-tip mounting rib. O n early-build aircraft the a ilero ns h ad gro und -adjusta ble tabs, a lthough these wer e lat er re placed by spring -loaded tabs on later build mach in es. Locat ed un der n eath th e port win g, forw ard of the aileron leading edge, was the retracta ble landing/ta xi lamp, whil st in a similar location under th e starboard wing was the down ward identificati on ligh t.

Th e TaiI plan e The rai lplan e was co nstruc ted as a sing le assembly, and consiste d of two spars int er spersed with sha ped ribs punc tured by ligh ten ing h o les to red uce weight. Moun ted on th e forward face of th e front spar were shaped ribs whi ch decr eased in size towards the t ip. O n the rear spar wer e located th e mountings for th e elevat ors wh ich were con ne cted together by a

to rque tube, in th e cen tre of wh ich were th e op erat ing bellcrank s. The eleva tor s wer e identica l, and were th ere fore int er changeable, as were the tabs let into th e trailing edges. Both th e rai lplan c and flight co nt rol surfaces were covered by stressed alloy skins. To fit the ta ilplane it is slid thro ugh a cut-out in the rear empen nage, and lock ed in place by n uts and bolts. S urro und ing th e rail plan e were fairing panels wh ich helped redu ce th e turbulen ce in that area. T h e fin was built in tegrally with the fusela ge, hein g sheat h ed with an alloy sk in rivet ed to th e front spa r rib and th e inr erspar ribs. Those on th e forward face of th e front fin spar redu ced in depth as th e tip was reach ed . T he rudder co nsisted of a single spar, to wh ich were attac he d nose ribs and th e main ribs wh ich help ed form th e surface's aerodyn am ic sh aping. In con trast to th e other flight co nt rol surfaces it was fabric covered , with an adjusta ble tr im ta b inset int o the tra iling edge. T h is un it was aero dynamically and mass balanced for smoo th opera tion th rough out th e full ran ge of movem ent. In co m mo n with all th e primary flight control surfaces fixed sto ps were incorporat ed in to th e system to ensure th at the surfaces were not exces sive ly deflected , wh ich co uld lead to overstressing of the airfra me .

84

The main un dercar riage legs were manufac tured by Dowty, and used lever ed suspens ion un its for sh oc k-absor bing purposes. T h e advantage of such a uni t was th at it was man ufactured in two sec tions, both being con ne cted by lever lin ks. The uppe r sec t ion ac ted as th e shock absorber, whi lst th e lower sect ion car ried th e gea r un it and main wheel. T h e main legs were mounted at a po in t just inboard of th e d ihedral junction wh ere the oute r wing panel joi n ed the wing ce nt re sec t ion . T he forward moun ting was attac he d to the rear face of the front spar, wh ilst th e rear moun t sat on a false spar, bo th leg-mounting pins runn ing in lar ge d iamet er bearings. Each undercarriage leg retracted inw ard s, ac t ivated by a h ydrauli call y driven und ercarriage jack wh ich op erated aga inst a lever on th e leg, and on th e 'up' selec t ion broke a mech an ical lock tha t allowed th e leg to ret ract. Attached to th e leg was th e main fairing, abo ve whi ch was a mov a ble door att ached at th e top to th e win g by a hi nge, and to th e leg by adj ustable turn barrels, T he wh eels were eithe r four- or fivespo ked , th e for mer being fitted to the Tempest V Se ries I aircraft on ly. These were 34 in by I I in (86 by 28c m ) in size, wh ile th ose fitt ed to th e later versions wer e 30 in by 9in (76 by 23cm ) in size. T h e pneumatic brak e syste m was manu factured by Dunlop . C omplet ing th e main und er carri age were th e 'D'-shaped doors th at were hinged at th e win g root s, retract in g with th e aid of lin kages. The ra ilwh ec l un it cons isted of a Dow ty oleo pneumat ic ant i-sh im my strut that retracted forward s into th e rear fusela ge. The wh eel itself was e ithe r a Dunlop tyre of plain design or a twin contac t Dun lop Marstrand tvre. C overing the leg were a pa ir of doors th at closed as th e leg moved in to the bay. T h e und ercarriage lever moved forwards for 'u p' select ion and travelled aft for a 'do wn' selection . To en able th e lever to mov e, a safety ca tc h had to be push ed to th e 'free' posit ion before an 'up' sel ection was made, and it returned to the locked positi on wh en th e lever was mov ed to th e 'down' positi on . The und er carriage indi cato rs used th ree gree n ligh ts to indi cat e th at both main gea rs and th e tail leg were safely down an d locked ; during un dercarriage tra nsitions two reds are displa yed for the ma in legs on ly. When all the light s were out it ind icated that all th ree under car -

TEl-lPEST UNDER TIl E SKIN

riage uni ts were up and locked. Should th ere be a failure of the prima ry set of ind ica te r ligh ts, a secondary set co uld be selected by pulling and turn ing a kn ob on th e ligh t ar ray. Should th e th rottle be less th an one third open an d the wheels not lock ed down, a red warning ligh t mounted on th e instrument pan el would come on .

The Tempest Engines The Sabre Mark V and VI eng ines fitted to th e Tempest were mounted on can tileve r tub ular steel suppo rts attached to the two upper fuselage lon geron s and to the front spar pick-up po int s, wh ile th e en gine itself was located on the front and rear mount ing pads. In co n trast , th e Sa bre Mark II powerpl ant insta llat ion was mount ed on to tub ular steel struts with six-po int rubberpack ed mountings. A ircra ft fitt ed with th e Sabre Mark II had a bay to th e rea r of th e engine th at housed a filtered air in tak e, the carb urettor intak e du cts, and th e co upled exha usts. In contrast, th e Sabre Mark V and VI eng ines woul d exhaust th rough six tw in -bran ched stub man ifolds on eac h side. Bo th eng ine types were surrounded by co n to ured nose co wlings, int o whi ch were inset qu ick acce ss panels for ease of eng ine ma in ten ance. Eng ine start ing was by a Coffma n Type LAS mult i-breech cartridge sta rter. The propel ler un its were e ither de Havill and or Rotol fou r-bladed, var iable-pi tch, cons tan t-speed, left-hand a irscrews with a d iam et er of 14ft (4.3 m ), the fa nn er applicable to th e Marks V and V I, wh ilst the lat ter, as fitt ed to the Tem pest II, had a dia met er of 12ft 9in (3 .9m ). T he Tempest V I had its pro pe ller assemb ly mounted 2.5 in (5.5cm) furt he r forward in con trast to th e Te mpe st V, whi ch req uired a sligh tl y lon ger spin ne r to co mpensat e.

were ava ilable for th e Temp est II and V I, whi ch were armourplated for prot ecti on , but wh ich redu ced the nose tan k co nte nts to 28ga l (I 27 ltr ). Starting with th e Tem pest V Se ries 2, provision was made for th e ca rriage of exte rna l st rea m line d fuel tan ks th at co uld hold e ithe r 45 or 90ga l (205 or 409ltr ) respecti vely. Del ivering the fuel to th e engine were Pe co pumps th at were pressurized at hi gh altitudes. This fun ction was requi red to stop th e engine cutt ing out in warm weather du e to th e fuel bo iling off. O n earlier build aircraft th is became ope rat ive above 15,000ft (4,5 00m) , altho ugh on lat er machines this dropped to 10 ,000ft (3, OOOm ). However, th ere was a downside to th is applicat ion, in th at the self-sealing capa bility was impaired , therefore the pi lot was instru cted to turn off th e pressur ization sho uld a ta n k be holed . Fuel grades as spec ified by th e Directorate of Technical Devel opme nt s were set at 8 7 oc tane to Sp ec DT D 230 , and 100 Octane 100/ 130 grade to DT D 2473, for all versions of th e apier Sab re, wh ile the Bristo l C en ta urus was confi ne d to using DTD 24 73 on ly. Fuel consumpt ion with the mixture set to rich for th e Sab re Mar k V at 3,500rp m was 150gal (680ltr) per hour at 5,000ft (I ,500m),

whil e th e Ce nta urus ope rat ing und er similar co nd itions co nsumed n Ogal (95 51tr) per hour. T he lubricat ing o il tank for th e Temp est V had a capac ity of 16gal (73lt r) with a 2gal (9ltr) air space, whil st th at of th e Tem pest VI had its capac ity increased to 22ga l ( IOOltr) of fluid with a 2.25gal ( IOlt r) ai r space. To co n tro l th e te mpera ture of th e o il a th erm ostat ic va lve ope ned an o il outlet when tem peratures rose above 50 degrees. There was a separate reli ef va lve that was set at 55p si to blo w off pressure; it was located be twee n th e scavenge pump and the oil coo ler, wh ich prevent ed da mage to the o il coo ler when sta rt ing the engine in co ld weather. T he rel ief valve effec t ive ly shor t-c ircuited the ent ire o il syste m, whi ch discharged the o il into the suct ion side of the engine-oil delivery pump. The o il ta n k fitt ed to th e Tem pest II was smaller tha n th at requ ired for th e Sa bre eng ine, holding on ly 14gal (64lt r) of oil with an air space of 4gal (l 81 tr) . The o il coo ler for the Tempest V was incorporated in th e cent ral core of the Se rck compo und rad iator mounted beneath th e eng ine , whil e tha t of the Mark VI was repo sitio ned to the rear of th e coo lant rad iato r, whi ch co vered th e who le

Below The Napier Sabre in all its glory . This example is mounted on the fron t of a Tempest V of No. 16 Sqn. The oblong shapes around the perimeter of the removed panel landings are the mountings for the fasteners. Also clearly visibl e are the pipe s for the cool ant and lubrication system, plus the extensive cabl ing for the ignition system. Michael Baldock

Fuel for t he Tempest The aircraft's fuel was carried in fo ur in ter na l self sea ling Linarex o r Sorbo tank s, these were locat ed in th e ma in fuse lage, two in terspar ranks and a nose ta nk locat ed in th e port wing lead ing edge. Ca pac it ies of each tan k inst alled in th e Tem pest V were 76gal (345 ltr) in the fuselage , wh ile the interspar ta n ks hel d 28gal ( 1271tr), with th e nose tan k hold ing a furt her 30ga l (l361tr). S imilar ca pac it ies

85

T E~ II' E S T

duct cross-sec t ion. A ssisting th e cooler was an aux iliary moun ted in the starbo ard wing leadi ng edge. The cooler arrangemen t for the Tempest II requi red on ly the wing-mo unted rad iator. The coo lan t system was ther mostat ically con trolled , th e rad iator be ing bypassed unt il th e syste m coo lant temperat ure reached 85 degrees. T h e th er mostat becam e fully open at 105 deg rees. Cont rol of the rad iator sh utte r was by h ydraulic mean s.

Th e Hydraulic System T he h ydraulic syste m as fitt ed to all ve rsions of th e Temp est was powered by an eng ine-driven Dowty 5700 RH pump th at maint ained a syste m pressure of 1,800psi. Th is syste m drove th e flaps and th e o il coo ler sh utte r, plus th e unde rcar riage and associated doors. The filler for th e h ydrauli c reserv oir was locat ed on th e po rt side of th e fuselag e, just belo w th at of the o il-ta n k filler point. In th e even t of a h ydraulic syste m failure th ere was a ha nd pump located on th e po rt side of the coc kpit . A lso moun ted o n the eng ine was th e Heywood co mpressor th at maintain ed an

I"DER THE SKIN

air cylinder cha rged to an opera t ing presurc of 450psi. T h is syste m provided th e powe r for th e braki ng system, the gun firing mech ani sm and th e undercarriage assistc r, T h e assiste r was th e fin al opt ion ava ilab le to th e p ilot to lower the und er car riage sho uld th e engine- drive n pump fail and th e h and pump prov e ineffective. In th is eve n t th e mai n Icgs co uld be lowered by gravity assista nce, once th e mech an ical uplocks h ad been released by the ope rat ion of two red -painted foot pedals located und er eac h sloping panel. \X1hen th e wheels trav elled past th e ve rti cal. a pne umat ic assister jack was op era ted to fina lly lock th e legs down . T he tailwh cc l lowercd a uto ma t ically duri ng thi s pro cess, and would lock down when th e air craft landed . During thi s ope ration th e main leg ind icato r ligh t sho uld co me on, altho ugh th e railwhee l ligh t might be int erm itt ent . Flap co nt rol was by a lever on th e left hand sloping panel, th e pos itions being ma rked on the sca le as 'up' , 'do wn' and 'va lve sh ut'. The flaps co uld be sto pped in any posit ion by placi ng the lever in th e 'valve sh ut' posit ion, thi s bein g a necessity wh en fully lowered . This was requ ired, as in

Below Tempest II PR533 turns towards the camera on a test flight from Hawker's prior to delivery. Clearly visible beneath the wings are the streamlined bomb carriers. This particular aircraft served with the A&AEE on trials work until passed on to No. 33 Sqn, with whom it stayed until withdrawn in March 1951 . Big Bird Aviation Collection

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th e down posin on the blow-off pressure was lower th an that req uired for retracti ng th e un dercarriage. A s with th e undercarriage, th e flaps co uld be lowered by use of the h an d pum p. T he wh eel brakes were ope rated by a cylinder that was ma int ain ed by th e eng ine- driven pump . Differential braking was achi eved by use of a rela y va lve co n nec ted to th e rudd er bar, wh ile ind ications were given on the triple pressure gauge th at sho wed th e cylinde r co nten ts and the pressure ava ilable at eac h brake.

Th e Electrical System The final syste m insta lled in th e Temp est was the electrica l supply syste m. W h en th e engine was runn ing, power was supplied by a twenty-four-vo lt eng ine- drive n gene rator th at supplied a pair of twelve-vo lt wired in series: these accumu lator supplied the ent ire a ircra ft electr ical requirem ents. To in dicat e a syste m failure, th ere was a powcr fail ure warn ing lamp moun ted on th e instru ment pan el, whi ch would ligh t up when the gene rato r was not charging the systcm. For power supplies on the ground wit h out eng ine- drive n powe r th ere was a soc ke t mounted in th e sta rboard side of th e fuselage locat ed just below th e jcr risonable coc kp it pan el. Power for th e airc raft on th e gro und was supp lied by a twcn tv- four-vo lt 'troll ey ace' acc umulator.

T EM PEST UN DER T il E SK IN

Above The gunsights fitted to the Tempest included the Mark III. which had an adjustable head that catered for the use of both cannon and rockets. It w as most commonly fitted to early

Above The M ark II gyro-stabilized gunsight wa s mainly installed on the Tempest lis and Vis. Big Bird

buil d Tempest Vs. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Aviation Collection

Tempest Armam en t

th e same as that for the brake supp ly, the ava ilable pressure be ing sho wn on a gauge located on the instr um ent pane l. A iming of the can no n was via a Type Mark Il* or a Mark II I fixed reflector guns ight in th e lat er models of the Tempest, whi lst rhe ea rlier ve rsions used the Type I Mark I or the Mark III projector guns igh r; a mod ified versio n of th is sigh t was used on some Se ries 2 mach ines, altho ugh the reflec tor scree n was normally removed and th e grat icle was proj ected dir ectl y ont o rhe wind screen. W irh the int rodu ction of th e Tem pest VI and II aircraft , the guns igh t was change d to the Type Mark lI D gyro gunsigh t. To enable the pilot to usc th e guns igh r un der all co ndit ions, a di mmer co n trolled ligh t labelled 'o ff', 'n igh t' and 'day' was prov ide d. Suppo rt ing the a ircraft's weapon s was a Wi lliamson G A2 or G A5 c ine co mbat camera to record each sort ie. O n th e Tempest V and V I th e ca mera was mounted inside the sta rboa rd radi at or fairing, wh ile in the Mark II it was in the sta rboa rd wing outboa rd of the o il cooler. T he came ra was operated by usc of the gun- firing bu tton , and ran for th e ent ire len gth of t ime that the butto n was depr essed. To keep the pilot infor med about the state of the ca me ra there was a

T he bas ic arma ment fitt ed to the Tempest co ns isted of four license-bu ilt 20mm H ispauo ca nno n, th ese be ing hou sed in pairs in the oute r win g panels. The ammun it ion bays were located behind the rear spa r on the inb oa rd and outboa rd sides of the gun bay, each ammun ition feed drum being covered by a dist inctiv e bliste r fairing. The can nons as fitt ed to the Tempest V Series I and th e Mark II prot otypes were fitt ed with th e longer-barrel led Mar k II can no n, whil e the lat er versions - the Mar k V Se ries 2, th e product ion Mark II and th e Mark VI - were fitt ed with th e sho rte r-barre lled Mar k V version of the ca n no n , wh ich meant th at non e of th e barrel extended beyond th e wing lead ing edge. Ammuni tion ca rried by the Tempest V and V I amounted to 200 rounds per gun; the Mark II ca rried 162 round s in th e inboard dru m, whil e th e to ta l was red uced to 156 rounds in the outboard dru m. Firing of the ca n no n was ac h ieved elec tro-pne umat icall y, the ope rat ion being co nt rolled by a push butt on on the co n trol-co lumn spade grip. T here were two posit ions , 'safe' and 'fire', and to ach ieve the latt er the but ton needed to be pushe d clock wise. T he source for the pneumat ic pressure was

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foot age ind ica tor and an ape rt ure co ntrol switc h located on the right- hand side of the co nt ro l panel , with th e ca me ra switc h itself be ing located on the elec trical pan el. Should there be a need to use the ca me ra gun for record ing roc ket attac ks wit hout th e ca n no n ' be ing used , there was a separat e switc h on the spade grip. To ena ble th e Tem pest ro car ry o ut its ground-att ack du t ies it was fitt ed with aero dy na mic bomb racks that could carry e ithe r a pair of 500lb gene ra l purpose, medium capac ity or semi ar mour-piercing bo mbs, or 1,000 G P or Me bombs. For pi lot s und ertak ing weapon s trai ning, the Tem pest co uld have a ligh t bo mb ca rrier att ache d to the rack; thi s co uld car ry e ithe r 2Slb smoke and flash , h igh explosive o r gene ral purpose bombs. The first ve rsion of th e Temp est to be built dir ectl y for the figh ter-bom ber role was th e Mark II Se ries 2, lat er to be des igna ted th e fight erbom ber Mark 2. The ea rlier versions wou ld be ret rospec tivel y modified at th e manufacturers, the main ten an ce unit s, or wh ere possible the operat ing un its where wir ing and struc tural mod ificat io ns were app lied. A ll versions of the Tempest, onc e modi fied , were able to carry 200 lb smo ke float s, 1,0001b Type A min es, 45gal (205Itr ) napalm bo mbs, I ,0001bA N M 59 or A N M

TEMPEST UNDER TI l E SKIN

65 cl uste r bom bs for use as incendi ar y or o il bom bs, or 1,0001b ince nd iary bom bs Mar k II. For use in spec ia l pu rposes t he Tem pest co uld carry smo ke- c urta in in sta llatio n smo ke-gen era ting ca n iste rs, or M . 10 smo ke ta n ks co uld be fitt ed . Furt h e r weapons for use in the ground-s uppo rt ro le co uld inclu de th e Type R , Cor C LE Mark III pa rach ut e supply co nta in ers that we igh ed in a t 3001b (13 5kg) ea ch. Durin g Februa ry 1945 th e Te mpest V was cleared for firi ng rockets: these incl uded t he 3 in (7.5c m), 251b ( I I kg ) and 60 lb (27kg ) or co nc re te pract ice ve rsions of un gu ided pro ject iles. a rriage was o n Mark III ra ils of ligh tw e ight co ns t ruc t ion; t he or igina l were of th e h eav yweight Mark I variety. A ll we re even tua lly replaced by th e Mark V III zero -leng t h launch rail. During its career th e Tempest was cleared to car ry two types of 45gal (2 05 Itr) rank : th e first was a n ae rody na m ic ta n k co mplete wirh int e rn al dampe n ing wa lls designed by H awk er 's spec ifica lly for t hi s a ircraft, wh ile t he o th er was mor e of a ge n eric cylind rica l type th at co uld a lso be used as a n ap a lm bomb if requ ired . For ferry o r exte nde d pa trol purposes, a pai r of 90ga l (4 10 Itr) fue l tanks co uld be in stall ed , a lth o ugh th e ir fit mcn t req uired a rearr an gem e nt of any unclerwing imped imenta. T h e ir use was ma inl y co nfined to the Te mpest II and V I.

Above This portrait of Tempest II MW801 clearly shows the location of the pitot head fitted directly to the leading edge of the port wing of both the II and VI. MW801 was one of the six aircraft sent to Khartoum for tropical trials. hence the 45gal (205I1r) tanks under the wings required to give maximum range. Unfortunately the Tempest would be abandoned in libya after the engine caught fire during the ferry flight. C. P. Russell Smit h Collection

When th e Tempest was selec ted to un dertak e target -towin g duties, a Ma lcol m Type G Mar k II wind -dr iven ta rge t winch was insta lled under th e port wing of th e pro tot ype target-tow ing Mark V, whil e an appro priate balanci ng stor e suc h as a fuel tank was locat ed unde r the sta rboard wing. In t he e ve n t, a far simple r in sta llat ion was ac tua lly used , n am el y a simp le d rogue attach me nt th at was bo lted under th e lo wer fusela ge beneath th e cockpit. T h e Swiss-built installa tio n woul d eve nt ua lly find furt he r usage with th e H awk er Sea Furi es ope ra ting o n beh a lf of t he W est Ge rman a rme d force s.

Communication Systems Com mun ica tio n eq uipme n t was located to th e rear of th e pil ot's seat an d was accessed th rou gh a panel on the po rt side of th e fuse lage. T h e ar ray consisted of a Marconi TR 1143 VHF transcei ver, wh ose whip or blad e ae ria l was locat ed o n the fuselage spin e beh ind th e cano py. A n

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A. I 27 1 S ta ndard Beam Approac h radi o navigati on un it - e ith e r th e R.3090 , R.3 12 1 o r th e Type BC- 966 A receiv er was in sta lled in a mountin g tr ay und er th e rad io . Exte rn ally th e o n ly visible sign of its fiu nc n t was a sma ll bulged fa iring with a sma ll h ori zonta l ae ria l loca ted under th e ce nt re fuselage sec t ion. If requ ired , ' Ide nt ifica tio n Friend or Foe' eq uipme nt co uld be install ed , the ae rial, e ithe r a Type 90 o r 93 , pla ced a longs ide the randard Bea m A pproac h fa iring. When th e Tempest target-to wing Mark V ente red se rv ice, o ne of t he modi ficat io ns car ried o ut was to rem ove th e S ta nda rd Beam A pproac h antenna and rep lace it with th e IFF ae rial, as t he S BA was no t req uired for t he target -tow ing ro le. A s we ll as th e a ttac k weap o nr y, t he Te mpest a lso carr ied a va rie ty of surviva l and rescue eq uipme n t whi c h incl uded a Ver y signa l p isto l and ca rt ridges , a crowbar, flyin g co nt ro l lock ing kit, an d for desert ope ra t ions , a dese rt su rv iva l ki t.

T EM PEST UNDER T i l E SK IN

Pilot Training O nce our pilot was familiar with the man y co mpo ne nts and systems th at made up all versio ns of the Tempest , he would th en be schooled in han d lin g th e a ircraft. First he would hav e to co nce nt rate on th e fuel syste m, wh ich need ed ca re in its man agement to maintain th e aircraft 's ce n tre of grav ity. T he first fuel management techniq ue tau ght to the pi lot was that of flyin g the Tem pest withou t ex te rnal d rop ta nks . W hen the fuel tanks were full, the aircraft could be tak en off using an y co mbinat ion of fuel ta nks , but pi lo ts were recommend ed to have a ll tanks selec ted o n. O nce airbo rne , the ma in fusela ge tan k had to be switc hed off and used as a reserve, otherwise, due to it be ing a gravity-feed tan k, it would dra in first. To complica te matters furt her, if any win g ta n k were less th an half full, ta ke -off using all ta n ks was forbi dden , therefore departure had to be made using th e main fuse lage tan k on ly. O nce airbo rne, th e fuselage tan k co uld be switche d off and th e wing tan ks used instead. During nor ma l flying the int erspar and nose tanks co uld be used as a co llective gro up, and on ly in th e eve n t of a ta nk be ing punctured in co mba t hould it be switc he d off. O nce the wing tan ks were empt ied, it was the turn of th e main tank in th e fuselage to be used , altho ugh the othe rs had to be switche d off first. If th e ma in fuselage ta n k were dra ined inadv er-

ten tly, it had to be turned off before th e wing tanks were selec ted. In the eve n t of the engine cutt ing out du e to lack of fuel , th e fo llowing strategy had to be foll owed. First th e th rottle sho uld be closed, the fuel co n te nts sho uld be checked and any empty ta n k turn ed off, th en a full tan k selec ted. With fuel av ailable, th e rpm co n trol lever co uld be adva nced to the maximum posit ion , then the throttle sho uld be ope ned slowly, then closed, unti l the eng ine picked up. During the landing phase the win g tanks must be turned off and the main fuselage tank used. T hi s parti cular tan k di ffered from th e othe rs in th at it had a deep sump th at co uld drain completel y in yaw and stee p approach angles witho ut suffering an air lock. In cont rast the wing tank s, be ing sha llow, were susceptible to air locks when close to empty durin g yaw man oeuvres. Just to keep our in trepid pi lot on hi s toes , Hawker's and th e A ir M in istr y ca me up with a co mplete ly di fferent se t of rules for flyin g the Tem pest with und erw ing tanks fitt ed , the first of wh ich sta ted that maximum di ving speed should not excee d 45 0mph (724km/h) lA S up to an alt itude of l 5,000ft (4,500 km/h ). Ab ov e th is level the d ive spee d was reduced to 50 mph (8 km/h) be low th e permi ssible speed for a cle an aircraft. Jetti son ing of the fuel ta n ks hou ld not be atte mp ted abo ve 400mph (650km/h) , and on ly in stra igh t and level fligh t; also th ei r release had marginal benefits in inc reasing ran ge, and

Below With its access panels removed. this Tempest II shows the mounting of the Centaurus engine and the forward oil and coolant tank . The removal of the fuselage side panel reveals the tubular framework underneath an idea inherited from the Hawker biplanes of the 1930s. Michael Baldock

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there was alway I h (, ( A far more crypti not , ning was not per mit! -d, I I the un balan ced nature of I h thi s co nd ition . Engine tar ring and d 'I artur similar to that of flying lean , alth wing tan ks had to be in th ' 'o ft' unti l a irbo rne. A s it wa re O llllll that th e ex te rn al ta n k be used ir pi lot was instructed to turn on rh I i rt wing ta n k prior to selecting th ' mains '0 l' . O nc e the port tank was empty, SO Ill' wift work wit h the switc hes wa requ ired to change over to the starboard tan k. nee bot h were dra ined , the main syste m ould be used as before . In co mmo n with th e operation of the main fuel system, the d rop tan ks required pressurization above 1O,000ft (3 ,OOOm ).

Flying the Tempest W ith the coru plex it ie of gro und chool and fuel system man agemen t afely covered, our intrepid aviato r was th en presented with th e task of act ua lly en te ring th e coc kpit and flying th e Tem pest . C hec klists, as alway , played a major part in thi s proces , the first two on the list being the most obvious but the easiest to forget : the und ercar riage lever had to be chec ked in the 'd own ' posit ion , wh ile th e lockin g catc h had to be at ' lock '. W ith th e lever and its ca tc h che cked and externa l power ava ilable , the three greens of the undercarriage ind icator were checked and co nfirmed. G iven that piston -en gin ed a ircraft, espec ia lly th e Sabre powered machines, co uld give off quite a d isplay of pyrot ech n ics it is hardl y surprising th at the next instruction was to ens ure that the cano py was in th e locked open posit ion, and th at th e fuse lage foot st ep was in th e retract ed posit ion , as its con tin ued extension posed a safety thr eat to gro undcrew - trap ped fingers and such like, and wou ld ca use probl ems with sh utt ing th e ca no py. By the time th e Temp est bec ame ava ilable for ope rat iona l usage, man y of th e techn iqu es for engine sta rt ing h ad been imp roved , altho ugh the machine st ill ne eded turni ng in to the wind for start ing, and lash ing down for ground runni ng. O nc e in posit ion , th e ign it ion switches had to be set to 'off'; all fuel tan ks, except extern als, had to be in the 'on ' position whi le th e flaps were retract ed . O nce these

TEMPEST

:-ID ER TIl E SKIN

Above This head-on view of the Bristol Centaurus 18 reveals this mighty powerplant in all its glory. The protruding shah lacing lorward is the splined drive upon which the propeller assembly was mounted. Big Bird Aviation Collect ion

Below Close observation 01 this side -on shot 01 a Centaurus reveals the way that the exhausts are cleverly worked to bring both sets 01 pipework to a single termination point on each side 01 the engine. Big Bird Aviation Collect ion

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item s were co nfirmed, th e prop eller speed con tro l was set to fully forw ard, the supercha rger con tro l was up in th e 'M ' posit ion , wh ile the rad iator sh utter was ope n in the 'down' posit ion. To pro tect the groundcrew, the cart ridge starter was confirmed empty: th is allowed the prope ller to be swung manually to ensure th at the engine was free to turn . Wi th all th e co nd it ions required for a safe sta rt sat isfied, th e pilot wo uld then selec t a cart ridge to be loaded into the sta rte r breech whil st sett ing the 'c ut-out' lever to th e sta rt position and push ing th e th rottle lever forwards up to th e first stage stop. W ith th e levers set , the car bure ttor and cylinde r priming pum ps were then ope rated unt il all ligh ts were out. A s soo n as th e priming was co mplete and all han dles safely sto wed and locked down , the booster-coil butto ns an d sta rt buttons were pushed at the same tim e. If all went well, th e eng ine would sta rt : however, there was an obvious probl em sho uld the exha ust emit whi te smoke , or if the propell er sta rted to slow down instead of picking up speed. In both cases the recommend ation was to sh ut dow n, alt hough on ly in th e case of the form er was a restar t allowed; the latter was more th an likel y du e to a seized valve sleeve , a kn ow n pro blem with th e api cr Sab re when co ld. In th e case of a st icky or seized sleeve valve it was recomm end ed that some gen tle easing be tr ied before a restart was att empted. If th e eng ine beha ved itself and all was well, th e cut-o ut lever was returned to 'norm al' whi le the button s were released and th e prim ing pump screwed sh ut. If, however, th e engine decid ed to misbehave by bur sting into flames, th e applicat ion of a fire ext inguisher to th e air in take was req uired. Hopefull y the fire would be ex t ing uishe d, and th e powerpl an t run up to 1,OOOrp m so th at the o il pressure could d rop below IOOpsi. O nce stabilized, the speed co uld be increased to Z,OOOrpm, and a ll magn etos and syste ms checked , aft er whi ch the Tempest was cleared to depart . Havin g left the dispersal, th e pilo t co uld then ta xi h is a ircraft to th e runway th resh o ld where ano the r series of vita l chec ks was needed . T hese incl uded the trim ta bs, the elevat or being set at 1.5 div isions nose down, and the rudder bei ng offset fully to port to co unteract th e eng ine torque. ex t came the pro peller, wh ich needed its cont ro l setti ng fully forward , wh ilst th e fue l tank coc ks needed to be set cor rectl y for ta ke-off. The flaps had to he in the 'up'

TEI\ I I' EST UN DE R T i l E SK IN

posit ion , whil e th e superch arger was se t to 'M' and th e rad iat or sh utte r was selec ted to th e 'd ow n' posit ion for inc reased cooling . O nce the pre-fl ight ch ecks we re co mple te , a sh o rt full-po wer run at 2,500rp m was req uired - afte r wh ic h th e av iator was encouraged to clean the wind scr een of any o il spla shes, sho uld it be n ecessary. C lea red to ta ke off, the throt tle co uld be push ed to maximum , airhou gh lit tle wo uld h a ve bee n gai ne d if a hi gh er boost , ab ove +4 psi, h ad been used . Flap s co uld a lso be used with th eir se tt ing placed at any point be tween 20 an d 30 degrees, a ltho ugh th e Te mp est wo uld t hen exh ibit a mar ked ten den cy to swing to t he righ t . O nce a irbo rn e, th e undercarr iage h ad to be selec ted ' up' as soo n as possib le, a lt ho ugh th e a ircraft should be ke pt in th e 145 to 150m ph ( 230-240k m/h ) ba nd to e nsure a posit ive lock-u p. If flaps h ad bee n used to assist in the ta ke -off, it was know n that th e un de rca rriage red lights wo uld be slo w to go o ut, as the h ydraul ic syste m st rugg led to co pe with t he de ma nds place d upo n it; thus th e flaps wo uld co mplete th e ir re tracti on first before th e undercarri age.

Th e Tempest in Flight T h e Temp est in flight was q uite a sprigh tly pe rforme r, the refore its limi tin g speed up to 20,000ft (6 ,OOOm ) was restri c ted to 185 mph (298k m/h ) lA S , and was best ac hi ev ed by selecting th e'S' ra ti o se tt ing o nce 10 ,000ft (3, OOOm ) had bee n reach ed. O n ce stra igh t a nd level , sta bility was recor ded as goo d direction a lly, alrhough the re was a sligh t tend en cy to mi sbeh a ve lo ng itud ina lly. The fligh t co n t ro ls t he msel ves were recorded as be ing excel len t, a lt hou gh th ere wer e so me provisos. T h e first of th ese was th at th e a ilerons became sluggish at lo w speeds , whi le a simi la r affli c tion affected the ele vat or s o nce the undercarriage and fla ps we re fully de plo yed . The rudd er rem ained effect ive th rou gh o ut th e spee d range , a ltho ugh a ll mo vem ents h ad to be executed firm ly. A e ro batics in the Tempest co uld be performed witho ut restrictions, except those gene rated by co m mo n se nse and hei gh t req uirem ents. Sta lling , o n the o t he r ha nd, was so me th ing tha t a ll pilot had to loo k out for , that of th e Tem pest giving no o bvious clu es whilst flying a t lo w spee d , except th at th e left wing wo uld d rop sudde n ly. In co n t rast , th e H awke r fighter

Specification- Tempest Type: Powerplant

Single-seatfighter/f ighter-bomber Mk II, 2,520hpCentaurusV/VI; MkV, 2,1 80hp Sabre IIA. 2,200hp Sabre 2,260hp Sabre IIC Empty MkII 8,900lb (4,040kgl, MkV9,OOOIb (4,080kg!. Mk VI 9.1501b (4,1 50kgl: Weights: loaded Mk II 13,250lb(6,OOOkglwith 2 x 90gal j400ltrl drop tanks. MkV 13,5401b (6.140kglwith 2 x I,OOOlb bombs. MkVI 13,700lb j6,200kgl with 2 x I,OOOlb bombs Span 41ft (12.5m): length Mk II 34ft5 in (10.5ml, Mk V33ft 8in(l0.26ml. Dimensions: Mk VI331tl o1in (1O.33ml: height Mk II 15ft lOin14.83ml, Mk V/V116ft lin 14.9ml; wingarea 302sq ft (28.06sq ml Max. speed Mk II 442mph(710km/hl, Mk V426mph (685km/hl, MkVI 438mph Performance: (700km/hl: rate 01 climb Mk II 4.5min to 15.000ItI 4.500ml, MkV5min to 15,OOOft. Mk VI 4.6min to 15,OOOlt: range Mk 11 1,640miles(2,640kml. Mk V 1,530 miles (2.460km l. MkVI 750 miles (1 ,200kml: serviceceiling Mk II 37.500ft (l l .430ml. MkV36.5001t (11,1 25m!. MkVI 38.000ft(11,600ml Mk II, V, VI 4 x 20mmHispano ca nnon Armament(fixed]: Armame nt(disposable)/ 2 x 500lb bombs or 2 x 1.000lb bombs or 8 x rocket projectiles, orother cleared stores lueltanks:

aa

co uld also sta ll at h igh speed should excess ive 'g' be gene ra ted in a turn . This woul d lead to an a ile ro n sna tc h, wh ich , if no t dea lt with correc tl y, co uld lead to th e a irc raft becoming in verted and spin n ing; h o we ver, correct a pplicat io n of th e recov ery proced ure wo uld lead to a safe re turn to nor mal t1 ight.

Landing th e Tempest H aving surv ived t he vagari es of flight , th e pil o t t hen h ad to prepare to land, whi ch inv o lved mor e checks. Fortun at el y these we re m inimal: the undercar riage h ad to be selecte d do wn and three gree ns obta ined, th e propel ler co n tro l leve r pla ced fully forw ard , the superc ha rge r put in 'M' ra tio , th e flap s and the rad iat or sh utt e r fully down . \'V'ith a ll th ese co nd it io ns sat isfied, th e pilo t co uld th en a t te mpt hi s land ing, wh ich too k pla ce betwee n 100 and 120m ph (1 60 and 190km/h ), dep end ing o n flap pos it ion. Emergenc ies occ urre d, ho wev er, even wit h the Tempest , and ce ntred ma inl y around th e undercarr iage. O ne of t he grea test co nce rn was t ha t of the gea r e ithe r no t depl oyin g co rrec tly, o r no t locking dow n . If t her e was a red undercar riage ligh t, an d th e engi ne pump see me d un able to dr ive t he gea r fully do wn , th e pil ot h ad a choice of usin g the h a nd pum p, o r ope ra ting the rel ease ped a ls and pn eumatic assisre r syste m . If t he p ilo t need ed to aba ndo n th e ai rcraft, th e first requirem ent was to jett ison the canopy. This was done by pu llin g

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th e red h and le o n the inst rument pa nel, a nd as th e hood dep arted t h e ai rcraft, th e starboard side pa nel we nt with it. O nce the canopy h ad dep art ed the a irc raft, t he pi lot co uld be face d wit h t he possib ility of d itching, especially if he wa s t1yin g at lo w level - a lthough in fac t he was ex h orted to cl imb to h eig ht and ba le o ut, if at a ll possible. If that o pt io n was no t ava ilable, the a ircraft flaps ha d to be lower ed to ha lf dow n , a nd t he tou chdown made a t the low est speed possible. Just be fore h itt ing t he wat er, t he drop tan ks h ad to be jetti so ne d, and t hen t he Tem pest place d in a ra il-do wn positi on just befo re im pact.

Surviving a Cras h Landing Forced landings a nd th e ir surviva l wer e a lso tau ght to th e budd ing Tempest pil o t . T h e first give n in stru c tion was to tr y to len gthen the glide by pulling t he prope lle r speed co nt ro l as far back as poss ible , a lthough t here h ad to be o il pressur e avai lab le fo r t his to h appen . In ex te nd ing the length of glide it was a lso recommended tha t th e undercarr iage and t1aps be kept re tracted, wh ich gave a ve ry fla t glide ang le with a spee d of I 70 mph ( 275km/h) fA . T hi s procedure was ma nda to ry in t he eve n t of a mainwh ee l tyre burst in g, as t he defla ted tvre co uld make th e a ircra ft uncontrollab le o n th e gro und. O nce o ur t rainee pi lo t h ad mastered a ll th ese tech n iques and inst ruc tions at th e ope rat io na l t raining unit, h e wo uld th en be co ns ide red co mpe tent eno ugh to join a fro n t lin e sq uad ron.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Tempest in Combat The Hawk er Tem pest 's combat serv ice during the period A pril 1944 to May 194 5 may h ave been shor t , but it was a form idable aircraft, and its add ition to th e streng th of the 2nd TAF was a posit ive asset. However, its ap pear ance was the result of some stren uous efforts by th e Royal A ir Force and Hawker 's to clear the type for service and prod uce sufficien t a ircraft to und ertake air superiority missions during th e D-Day landings and th eir aftermat h. The prop osal, as suggested by the AFDU, was to create at least one win g to operate th e new figh ter, the chos en ro ute be ing to re-equ ip a Typh oon win g, th us reduc ing the co n version t ime. The first un it to recei ve a handfu l of these n ew machines was No. 486 ( Z) Sqn , whose ini tial exa mples arrived at Tan gmere in Januar y 1944 . The ir tenu re with th e Ne w Zealan ders was sho rt. as No . 3 Sqn at Mau ston wou ld end up bein g th e first un it to fully co nv ert after a move to Bradwel l Bay on 6 March 1944 . O nce th e initi al work -up had bee n co mpleted , th e squadron tran sferred to th e Ayr APC , wh ere it arr ived in April to undert ake weap ons tra ining, return ing to Bradwel l Bay on 14 A pril. Having success fully

co mpleted bot h pha ses to becom e ope ration al , th e squadron un dert ook its first co mba t sort ie on 23 April in sup po rt of an air-sea rescue sort ie. From Bradwe ll Bay, N o. 3 Sq n moved on to Ne wch urch a fortnigh t later, before sctt ling at Matlask in Sc prern ber,

A lth ough N o. 486 Sqn's in it ial ti me with th e Tem pest had been shor t, that would quick ly cha nge, beca use when it moved to Cas tle Camps during March 1944 it fina lly traded in its Typhoons for th e mor e pot ent Tem pest V. O nce again , a trip to th e Ayr A PC was und ertaken after th e successful completion of th e ini tial work -up. \Vith bot h ph ases co mplete, th e squadron wou ld mov e to join o . 3 Sqn at ewch urch in Ken t on 29 April 1944. where th ey woul d form o. 150 Ai rfield . The th ird unit destine d to jo in No. 150 A irfield was o. 56 Sqn at Acklington ; it had just receiv ed a fairl y new batch of rocket- firin g Typh oons during March , altho ugh th ese were quickly exc hanged wit h No. 137 Sq n , wh o passed on th eir olde r, un modifi ed aircraft. Eventually No. 56 Sqn wou ld re-equ ip with Spitfire IXs, and it was st ill equipped with th ese wh en it moved south on 28 Ap ril to become

Below The Focke Wull Fw 190was one 01 the main adversaries to lace the Tempest in the war over Europe. However. it was consistently outflown by the British lighter. especially below 20.00011 16.000m). Big Bird Aviation Collection

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part of No. 150 Wing, as part of No. 85 G roup. The delay in Tempests becoming ava ila ble for th e th ird squadron had been caused by industrial ac t ion at Hawker's Lan glcy factory ov er pay rat es offered to those build ing th e ne w type . T h e co mmande r of th is sligh tl y m ixed bag of a ircraft was none othe r tha n Wi n g C om mandc r R. P. Bcam ont DSO , DF , wh o h ad already spe n t some time flying th e Tempest as a test pilot at Hawker's. C ombat operations by the Temp ests of o. 150 Wing initiall y inv o lved armed an t i-sh ipping reconnaissan ce, plus some strafi ng sort ies. However, th e problem s with the apie r Sa bre h ad started to plaguc th e Tempest. with two be ing forced to makc eme rgency landi ngs afte r eng ine failure. As before, stren uous efforts wer e made by all concerned with maintaining th e a ircra ft to red uce thi s probl em to a minimum . O verall this was a success ful strategy, although o . ISO Wing had to wait un til th e inv asion was well und er way on 8 Ju ne before th ey co uld join th e ac tion. Os tensibly th ey had been kept in reserve in th e event of the Luftwaffe attempting to int erven e in an y strength during the ini tial stages of the in vasion. O n that dat e, \Vin g C dr Bea mont led ni ne of N o. 3 Squad ron's aircraft on a swee p ov er th e landi ng beaches close by Rouen . Here th ey enco unt ered five Messerschm itt Bf 109s, and sho t down two of th em , Beam ont himself ta king one of th em . Whi lst most of th e pi lots h ad been invo lved with int erce pti ng th e five Ge rma n fighters, th e rema in der h ad been c irc ling cl ear to prov ide any requi red co ver - a nd it would be required , as two o th er Mcsscr schmir rs tri ed to bounce th e formation already in co n tac t. But the Luft waffe a tte mp t was foil ed by Pil ot O fficer \Vh itm an , wh o brou ght dow n o ne a irc raft an d scar ed th e o th e r away. After t he se init ial successes th e Luftwaffe stayed aw ay, alth o ugh th e Tem pests wer e fully empl oyed in suppo rt ing th e A ll ied gro un d for ces .

T EM PEST IN COM BAT

Destroying the German Flyin g Bombs A ther e was suffic ien t a ir power over th e o rrna nd v beaches, the Tem pests of 1 o. ISO \X'ing were allocated to a task of no less import an ce. Before th e Tempest h ad en te red service , its predecesso r th e Typh oon had undert aken Noball mission s aga inst th e Pas de Ca lais, wh er e man y of the Fieslcr Fi- !03 flying bombs and their launch ers were located . These in itial launch complexes h ad been fa irly large and relatively easy to destroy, so th e G erma n rocket forces h ad resorted to dispersin g the missiles and th eir lau nch ers in sma ller, wel l camouflaged gro ups, thu s mak ing th em h ard er to detect. The 'V I' rocket itself was a small, aircr aft-shaped weapon with a span of 16ft (5 m) and a length ofZOft (6 m ). Power was co urtes y of a ram jet located on pylon s above th e fuselage, whil e th e warhe ad was locat ed in the nose. Irs speed was approx imately 400mph (6 50km[h ) in th e 1,500 to Z,OOOft (450 to 600m ) h eigh t band , whil st its range wa guided by the amo un t of fuel ca rried. A ny of th ese missiles th at h ad not been sho t down woul d cont in ue on wards with th eir strange pu tt ering so und until the fuel was ex ha usted . A t thi s po int th e rock et wou ld begin its div e towards the

Above Armourers bedecked with ammunition belts load the cannon magazines 01 this No. " 01 ' Coll ll ty 01 Gloucester' Sqn Tempest V that also has 45gal 12051trl tanks under the wings. Ac cess to th w illU rill

III

mt

was excellent due to the large area 01removable panels . RAF Museum Collection

Below Unusually this 'J r -seriall ed Tempest of No.3 Sqn has its D-Day invasion stri pes pointed round the fuselage . This photograph was taken at Newchurch; noteworthy is the cover over the canopy. Roal Wings Collection

93

TEMPEST IN

C O ~ IB AT

Above Amidst the wreck age of Volk el ai rfi el d sits a pai r of No.3 Sqn Tempests receiv ing much needed mainte nance. The groundcrew took good care of their air craft. as the l iberal use of prote ctive covers shows . Real Wings Collection

gro und , dest royin g any th ing close by th e po int of imp ac t as the explosives de to nat ed . Lat er to beco me co de na med ' Divers', t hese missiles wer e first spo tted d uring June 1944 h eading towa rds the so uth of Engla nd . To co mb at thi s th reat , o. 150 W in g was deta ch ed from the 2nd TAF to th e A DG B, altho ugh it would rem ain based at Ne wch urch . First 'd iver' patrol s began o n th e 16 Ju ne , wit h a 'V I' bei ng despat ch ed near Maidsto nc, whi lst ano th er would mee t t he sa me fa te in t he Hvth c area . By th e end of th at day a to ta l of th irt ee n of those launc h ed had been dest royed , and th is would se t th e pa tte rn fo r th e fo llo wing week s. T hro ugho ut the dayligh t hou rs, sta nd ing pa tro ls were flown by th e Temp ests of No. 150 Wing, plus Spitfires attach ed to t he ADGB. S uch were th e n umbe rs of 'V 1' roc ke ts launch ed against Londo n a nd th e south of England that cla ims for destructi o n were filed ev e ry day. To ena ble t he Tempests to do their jobs more effec t ively the y we re fitt ed wit h Rorol prope llers, in preferen ce to the or igina l de Havilland un its t ha t co uld not absor b th e power out put, wh ile th e maxi mum engine rpm was incr eased fro m 3 ,700 rpm to 3, 50rpm, and th e boost from + II to + 13. Eve n thou gh Brit ish Intell igence h ad beco me aware of bot h the 'V I ' and 'V2' after aerial recon n aissance sor t ies, th ey were un able to ver ify th e exa ct det a ils surro und ing th ese wea pons. Bot h missiles

and th eir lau n ch e r " we re subjec t to exten sive bo mbi ng sort ies, howe ver o n ly th e 'v I' rocke t co uld be inter cep ted , as the 'V2' trav e lled at hi gh a lt it udes and supe rso n ic spee ds. Fo rt una te ly for th e A DGB orga n izat ion , th e Tempest h ad the edge o ve r all th e ot he r ava ilable fighters - eve n th e S upe rrna rine Sp itfire XIVs, also assigned to thi s ro le. A s well as h avi ng th e extra spee d , th e Tem pest was also a h igh ly sta ble gun plat form, whi ch mea n t th at sh oo ting t he 'V l ' rock et s dow n was far easier th an th e S pitfire p ilot s' tr ick of tr yin g to dest roy th em by t ippi ng th e weapo n under th e wing-t ip in th e h o pe of destabil izin g th e on -board gyros. The st rike rat e of the ADGB fighte r fo rce was such th a t by m id-A ugust so me 632 flying bombs h ad been sh o t dow n . However, fro m thi s po in t in time o n wards, an ti-a irc raft guns wit h prox im ity-fused sh el ls, and rad ar with better definition , took o ve r the tas k of dest roying these weapo ns. Radar h ad co me of age by thi s time, and was able to det ect th ese small, hi gh speed , lo w lev el tar get s wit h so me degree of success, although th e syste ms we re no t refined e no ugh to place the fighters closer t ha n 500 yd (460 m) to th eir target s. Visual detect io n bot h in th e air and from th e gro und was also di fficult, exc ept in t he most pe rfect of ligh t co ndi tio ns. W h ile t h e Tempests we re bein g successful in th ei r newl y assigne d ro le, th ey were encoun te ring proble ms fro m ot he r, slo we r

94

figh ters eage r to jo in in th e fray. To ena ble the Tempests to carry out th eir task mo re effect ively, th e a rea wh ere th e grea t maj or ity of th e flying bo mbs was e ncoun te red was de cla red a spec ial defence zone , and all ai rc raft except those in vo lved wit h in te rcept io n dut ies were ba n ned from e n te ring it by o. I I Group ; th e gro up' responsibility in intercept ing t h e 'V I' also sa w th e Ro yal O bserve r C or ps dep lo yed aro und th e coast within th e spec ial zone . Thei r task would be to fire sign al flares in th e d irec tio n of an y flying bo mbs a pproa ch ing Brita in , th us ena bling th e inte rcepting radar-guided fighters to pick up th e ir target s more easily. But e ve n as th e ADG B effo rt was ste pped up , so t he G e rma n rocket di visions h ad also inc reased the ir launch ac t ivity, to t he effec t th at flying bo mbs wer e no t o n ly bei n g launch ed d ur ing day ligh t ho urs, but n ight firings were becom in g mor e co m mo n . A ltho ugh the Tem pest an d G riffonpower ed S pitfires wer e mo re th an ca pa ble of despat c h ing th e dayligh t intruders, th eir effec tivene ss at ni gh t was se ve rely limi ted . To co mbat the ni gh t threa t, th e Mosqui to es of th e ni gh t-figh ter fo rce we re e mployed in thi s h azard ou s m ission , th eir o n -board radar being of grea t assista nce . The ni gh t-fighter Mosqui to es initially e ncounte red problem s in intercepting th e flying bombs, as jud ging th e dist an ce a t ni ght was difficult un til th ey realized that approac h ing t he m issiles fro m th e rear was fa r more effec t ive .

Tempests as Night Fighters A ltho ugh t he ni ght -fighter for ce had ac h ieved so me success, thei r ro le wo uld be curt ailed because they we re req uired to ret urn to th eir primary d ut ies. So th a t th e Temp ests co uld tak e o ver th e ni ght inter cept ion ro le, th e lesson s lea rn ed by th e Mosquito cre ws were put in to practice and mod ified by pilot s from th e Fighter Inter ceptor U n it. This sma ll o rga n izat ion h ad the task of develo ping fighter tech n iq ues fo r bot h day- and ni ght-fighte r sq uad ro ns. T h e sma ll det ach ment that arrived at ewch urch o n 22 Jun e 194 4 was tasked with devel opin g tac tics for th e Temp est . To begin with , del ays ca used by bad wea th er meant th at th e first sho otdowns to ok nearl y a week to ach ieve , th o ugh fro m th at point o n , inc reasin g success and also an in c rease in pilots

T El.tP EST IN COM BAT

meant th at th e detachment had soo n grown to a fully fledged fligh t. Dayt ime intercepts by th e ewch urch \X'ing wou ld peak on 23 June, wh en more than two dozen flyin g bombs fell to th e guns of th e Tem pests. The e successes were not with out cas ualt ies, as on 28 June one a ircraft was shot down by British an t ia ircraft fire, whi lst othe rs were damaged or destr oyed by debris fro m explod ing 'V Is'. A lthough every effort was mad e to iden t ify the Tempests to other sec t ions of the defen ce forces, the an t i-aircraft guns were st ill claimi ng intercep ti ng fighters, such as that of Fit Sgt Dom an ski of N o. 3 Sqn , who was fata lly h it by mistake wh ile flyin g Tem pest JN 752 'JF-S' in pursuit of a 'V I'. Possibly one of the un luckiest pilot s in vo lved in chasing th e 'V I' was Pilot O ffice r Lawless of N o. 486 Sqn , who lost two Tempests in ten days: JN 772 on 10 Jun e, and J 859 on 28 Jun e. As June progressed , o. 56 Sq n at last man aged to fully equip wit h Tempests, finally saying farewell to its Spitfires on 24 Jun e. A fter work- up flying, and a short period spe nt at the Ayr APC , th e squadro n bega n operationa l mission s on 2 Jul y, alt ho ugh th ese ope rat ions wo uld on ly co nt in ue until 28 Se pte mbe r 1944 when the unit was des pa tc he d to Europ e to join the 2nd TA F. The n igh t-tim e force, th e FlU det achment, was also beginning to score aga ins t the flying bomb men ace,

Squadron Leader Joseph Berry DFC* Joseph Berrywasborn28February 1920 and initiallylived at Cassop cum Ouarrington Teesdale before the family moved 10 Stampeth NrAlnwick he attended theDuke Grammar School. Leaving school in 1936asa 16year old he joined the Inland Revenue, twoyears laterhe metJoyce whowasworking at thesame branch. Joeenlisted in the RAFVR in August 1940, and in March 1942Joe and Joyce were married . Little is known of Joseph Berry's early service. Dn completion of training as a Fighter Pilot hewasposted to NO.256Squadron at Squires Gate NrBlackpool, thiswasa Night Fighter Squadron flying Defiants. He was commissioned in March 1942 at Squires Gate, this Squadron then transferring to Woodvale, South Port flying Beaufighters, later flying them to Setif, in theAtlas Mountains wherehejoined No. 153 Squadron based at Maison-BlancheAlgiers. He was awarded a DFC in March 1944 and in June was promoted FIt.Lt being posted10 theFlU to fly Mosquito's. FlU formed a special flightof Tempests to intercept theV1's which hadbegun falling onsouth-east England, this flight operatingmainlybynight. Overthe next two monthsJoseph was to establish himself asthe top-scorer against these robots in Tempest. shootingdown 52and oneshared by early August. On 23July he set the record for numbers destroyed, claimingseven in onenight. Four nights laterhepursued one at low level over West Mailing airfield,closing to 100 feet in order to ensure he destroyed it before it fell onthebase. His own aircraft wasdamaged in the resultant explosion which requireda subsequent emergency landing. On 16 August 1944 the Tempest flight moved to Manstonto reformNO.501Squadron,of which Berry became commanding officer. Theunit continued to hunt V1 's, and he personally accountedfor seven more, receiving a Bar to his DFCduringSeptember. During thenight of 27/28 Septembe r, with the V1threat mainlynegatedbythe Allied advance in France, heled twoTempests from Bradwell Bay on1Octobe r ona 'Ranger' sortie over Holland, strafing trainsand other ground targets of opportunity between Bad Zwischenhan in Northern Germany. While flying fast and low to theirtarget; bursts of small arms fire struck Joseph Berry'sTempest rupturing the glycol tank. Although theTem pest wasdamaged Berry struggled to gain height prior to abandoning hisaircraft before it crashed in flames, justover 2 miles 10 the East of Kibbe lgaarn, the pilotfailing 10 escape. JosephBerrywas buried in a quiet plot in nearby Scheemda, onthesimplewooden cross were written the words, 'Unknown RAF Pilot'. Hisoverall total of vrs has been putat 60, but recorded claims appear to indicate 59t. He wasawarded a second Bar to hisDFC onthe20th January 1946, back datedto October 1944.

Below This unidentilied Tempest V 'ZO -M' 01 No. 222 Sqnis the backdroplor some 01the squadron'spilots somew here on the wind- and snow-swept European mainland in the w inter 011944/45. Peter R. Arnold Collection

95

TEMPEST IN COMBAT

their grea test night coming in early Jul y when one pilot managed to bring down four during one sort ie. T hese mission s were as - or more - dan gerous th an their daylight counterpart s, at least one pilot being lost when debris from an exploding missile ca used th e aircraft's eng ine to fail, th e subsequent crash kill ing th e pilot . Others would be destro yed in foggy or incl ement weather when flying close to th e ground. The Fight er Intercepti on Unit boasted one particu larly not eworthy pilot in its rank s, a cert ain Fit Lt Joe Berry, who successfully shot down seven 'D ivers' during the n ight of 23/24 July, and a furt her four the following n ight. Two days later he shot down a 'V l' th reat ening th e airbase at West Mailing. A lthough successful, the Tempest was damaged, whi ch requ ired the pilot to make a force landing at th e base he h ad just protect ed! A t th e end of July 1944, Fit Lt Berry was th e top scorer in th e No. 150 Wing league table, with 36 .5 confirmed hits; he was closely followed by W g Cdr Beamont with twenty-five.

Night Combat Patrols With three squadro ns fully operationa l with th e Temp est , it was th e turn of No. 501 {C ounty of Gl ouc ester} Sqn to reequip with th e big Hawker fight er;

sufficient numbers had by this time become available, as the pay dispute at Langley had been resolved. The date ch osen for the unit to lose its battle-weary Spitfire VBs was 29 July, the location being Westhampnett. This would be a one day chan geover, a most unu sual occurrence, after which the squadron was sto od down from act ive service to work up to operational status . The respite was gratefully received by th e pilots, who had been in continuous action over th e beach-heads since th e invasion of Europ e. Once the conversio n and AP C training had been comp leted, No . 501 Sqn was dep loyed to Mauston on 2 A ugust, with the first 'D iver' pat rols be ing made three days later. Eight days later the aircraft of th e Fighter In tercept ion U n it amalgamated with No. 50 1 Sqn, th is uni t concentrating purely on night combat patrols. Op erat ions at n igh t were flown by individua l aircraft flying within a defined area, one boundary bein g th at of th e London Balloon Barrage, wher e anyo ne atte mpting to enter was warn ed off by red rockets fired by the Royal Observer Corps. T h e remaining boundaries were on land , and were defin ed by sing le sea rch lights flashing a sing le letter Morse code . No. 501 Sqn moved to Bradwell Bay on 22 September, this being followed by a transfe r to Hunsdon on 3 March 1945, before disbandment on 20 April.

Squadron Leader David Fairbanks DFC** Sqdn Ldr David C'Foob' Fairbanks was bornintheUnited States in 1923. Aftercompleting his schooling he ra n away from home to Canada and tried to join theRoyal Canadian Air Force. Initially unsuccessful hewould finally succeed in February 1941 at Hamilton. Afterflying training he was posted to NO.13 SFTS where hewould stay for twelvemonths before pushing for. and getting, a posting to Britain.After advanced and operational train ing David Fairbanks was posted to No. 501 (Countyof Gloucesterl Sqdn at Hawkinge flying Spitfire V's. When NO.501 Sqdn re-equipped withTempest's in July 1944 Fairbankswould subsequently be posted to NO.274 Sqdn which wou ldalsobeequipped withTempest's. Prior to thesquadron moving to Europe David Fairbankswas engaged on combating the'V!' menace destroying at least two. Overthe following couple of months he would shoot down a further eleven andgain a half sharein another. Following on from his NO.274 Sqdn posting Fairbankswould beposted to No.3 Sqdn , arriving in December 1944. His tenure with NO.3Sqdn would be short as on9 February 1945 Fairbanks would return to NO.274 Sqdn upon promotion to Squadron Leader.Within two days David Fairbankswould shoot downan aircraft initially identified as anMe 262 although this was laterconfirmed as anArado Ar 234B. On 28 February Fairbanks was airborne in command of sixTempest's indulgingina bit of ground attack and train busting afterwhich he led his unitagainst a combined force of forty German fighters. Duringthis melee David Fairbanks was shot down bya FW-1 90, captured and spent therest of thewaras a POw. While in captivity Fairbanks was awarded a bar to hisDFC and a second one aftertheend of thewar.Although his warwas over David Fairbanks would remain as thesecond highest scoringTempest pilotonly being surpassed byPierre Closterman. After thewarFairbanks would beemployed bySperry Gyroscopes in Canada where hewould flyVampires and T-33'swiththeRCAFAuxiliary. A return to Britain followed wherehewouldfly Meteors beforereturning to Canada to actasa test pilot forde Havilland Canada Ltd. David Fairbankswoulddiein 1975of naturalcauses at theearlyage of 52.

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Over at Man ston, a few weeks after moving from West Mailing, N o. 274 Sqn was also trading in its Spitfire IXs for Tempests. This was ach ieved on 11 Au gust, altho ugh many of th e personnel would come from N o. 50 1 Sqn, as many of the origina l pilots of No. 274 Sqn were to ur-expired. Both these un its within N o. 150 Wing made th eir presence felt almost immediat ely, racking up successes against the inc oming flying bomb s straigh taway although the need for Temp ests to undertake these mission s was slipping away. C h anges to the way the defence syste m had been set up were part ly responsible for this. Rearrangement of the anti-aircraft belt on the coast to give a greater dens ity of fire, improvements to the capability of the radar system, and the widespread use of proximity fuses in AAA ammun ition , were all h aving a positive effec t from th e point of view of th e A llies {though what th e G erm an rocket forces th ought of all th is is not kn own}. Other factors were also affect ing th e number of flying bombs being fired at Britain, n amel y the increased bombing att acks against the launch sites dotted aro und th e Pas de Ca lais, th e A llied armies man aging to break out from Normandy, and th e destruction of the G erm an 7th Army at th e Battle of Falaise. All th ese major events meant th at by the end of Au gust, there were few reports of incoming 'Divers', the fina l flying bomb being desp atc hed by a pilot from No. 274 Sq n on 1 September 1944. The ove rall score sheet was quite impress ive, with 632 being officia lly claimed by the N ewchurch Wing, although figures returned by indi vidu al un its varied quite a bit from the officia l line: th us No.3 Sqn wou ld claim betw ee n 288 to 305.5 'D ivers', N o. 486 Sq n would declare their ta lly to be between 239 .5 and 24 1, whilst No. 56 Sqn return ed a total between 70.5 and 77. T he smallest score, but no less meani ngful, was that from the FlU, who decl ared their total to be 86.5 'Divers', of whic h all but two were destroyed during n ight enga gements. T he Manston un its also contributed over on e h undred 'D ivers' victories, with N o. 247 Sqn destroying fifteen, and No. 50 1 Sqn being respons ible for eighty-eight flying bombs . These victories were not without cost to the defending fighter force , as eight Tempests were lost wh ile attack ing 'VI s', eithe r by ex plosion of the bomb itself, being hit by friendly AAA fire, or in

Above Photographed in 1943 whilst in its dispersal at Lydd, this early Typhoon 18of No. 175Sqn undergoes ministrationsfrom its fitters and armourers prior to a sortie over Europe. RAF Museum

Right Complete with yellow leading edges and black and white striping,this Typhoon 1Bwas on the strength of No. 257Sqn at Tangmere when this portrait was taken. RAF Museum

Right Possibly one of the scruffiest Typhoons ever flown, this example has not had the rear fuselage modification, although it does sport an area of primer about the fuselage, the cannon fairings and most inconvenientlythe serial number. RAF Museum

Left Capturedon film while undergoing a test flight,this TempestVNV696 would onlyserve with No.222Sqn before being withdrawn on 10 November 1947 as 6474M. However, this view does reveal the upper surface camouflage applied to these machines. RAF Museum

Above Although it wears full camouflage, white identitystripes and yellow leading edges, Tempest II MW764 would never fly with the Royal Air Force, since it was sold to the Indian Air Force in May1948. RAF Museum

Above Inthe post-war period the identification stripes were removed from manyTempest lis. PR533 was operated by both the A&AEE and No. 33 Sqn until struck offcharge in March 1951. RAF Museum

Left Resplendent in Korean War markings, Sea Fury FB.11 VR930 had been restored by British Aerospace at Broughbefore presentation to the Royal Navy Historic Flight (RNHF). Damien Burke

Above Only one Tempest II, HA623, is preserved in India, in the IAF Museumat Palam AB near New Dehli; others are resident in Britain and America. C. P. Russell Smith Collection Left Photographed in the RAF Museum is Tempest II PR536, which had served with Nos 20,152 and 5 Sqns before being sold to the Indian Air Force as HA457 in September 1947. The redundant airframe was recovered from India with others in 1985. Afterrestoration at Cardington, it was placed on display as 'On-H' of No.5 Sqn. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Left Oneof the few Tempestsstill to retain its original markings is this MarkV EJ693. Resplendent in No. 486Sqn marks, this particular aircraft had suffered an engine failure near airfield B.60on 3 October 1944 while being piloted by Pilot OfficerB. M. Hall. Deemed beyond economic recovery,the remains were eventually used for instructional purposes at the Delft Technical School. It was later recovered bythe RAF Museumand placed in storage at Cardington, although the aircraft is now at Booker, reportedly under restoration for new owner Kermit Weeks. Peter R. Arnold

Above Having served with the Fleet AirArm, this two-seater was then operated by DLB in the target-towing role before returning to Britain.This view reveals the location of the instructor's periscope and of the yellow training bands. Nick Challoner

Right Wearingthe 109/GN coding ofthe Eglinton Station Flight, Sea Fury T.20 WG855 of the RNHF flies bythe camera. It would remain with the flight until crashing in 1991. The remains ofthis aircraft were later sold to the USA, where it was last reported undergoing restoration to fly in 2000. Nick Challoner

Right Sea Fury T.20D-CATA is resplendent in its bright red overall scheme, applied by DLB to make the aircraft stand out and to deter over-enthusiastic gunners from shooting it down. Thomas Genth

Above Target tug D-CATA photographed at a later date when the registration had been movedto the fin.The period fuel bowser is worthy of note for the modellingfraternity. Thomas Genth Left Although this aircraft is an authentic Sea Fury FB.11, VX653/G-BUCM, it wears proper Iraqi Air Force markings more suited to the desert than temperate climes. Ni ckChallon er Below Captured just after take-off,this Sea Fury, in authentic Iraqi Air Force markings, is retracting its main undercarriage units;the tailwheel will join the cycle soon after. NickChalloner

Right This undersurface view ofthe Iraqi-marked Sea Fury reveals the light blue under-surfaces and the locations ofthe markings.This machine is currently undergoingrebuilding at Duxford. Nick Challoner

Right Now reported as based in South Africaas N103FD. this ISS Fury is wearing the final colour scheme associated with the Sea Fury in Royal Netherlands Navyservice. This particular machine was originallyimportedinto Britain as G-BTTA by the OldFlying Machine Company. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Below This Sea Fury has worn a variety of markings in its time. but fortunatelythey all appear to have been authentic. In this view is WH588/G-EEMV, marked as 114-NW of No.724Sqn based at Nowra during1961-62. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Above Although traces of its Sea Fury ancestry are still visible - it was VX368 in another life this Sanders conversion, named 'Dreadnought', first appeared at Reno in 1983 as N20SF. It would win the Unlimited Gold race in September 1994 with Neil Anderson at the controls. Nicholas A. Veronica

Right Sporting Royal Canadian Navy markings, TG114 was being piloted by Dennis Sanders in 1999, during which 'Argonaut' came third in the Unlimited Silver race. Nicholas A. Veronica

Below One of the most radical Sea Fury conversions involved 'Critical Mass', which had started life as a T.20 WE820. Now registered as N85SF and owned byTom Dwells, this machine took part in the Unlimited Gold race in September 1996. Nicholas A. Veronica

Above Caught banking the angle round the pylons is Bill Rheinschild's No. 74'Bad Attitude', which achieved fifth place in the Unlimited Silver race during September 1999. Nicholas A. Veronica

Left Once a Fury ISS of the Iraqi Air Force, this machine is now registered to Howard Pardue as N666HP; it is pictured at Reno in 1995. Nicholas A. Veronica

Below In the years prior to its importation into Britain, Sea Fury FB.11 WH857 was registered to Lloyd Hamilton as N26DX. During this period it was bedecked in RAN marks, and achieved a fifth placing in the 1996 Unlimited Gold race. Ni cholas A. Veronica

TEMPEST IN COMBAT

co llisions with oth er attack ing aircraft. As well as outr ight losses, the Tempest squadrons lost another twe nty-three due to accidents or engine failure .

Flying Bomb Combat Intensifies A lthough the launch bases on th e Pas de C alais had been effectively stopped, the G erman forces h ad turned to other means by which to launch th e 'flying bomb s'. One of the most successful was the emp loyment of the mod ified venerable Heinkel He lllH bomber, wh ich had a pylon fitte d under the starboard wing so that it could act as a launch aircraft for the 'VI '. The mission profile for th ese attacks would plac e th e carri er aircraft over th e N orth Sea where th e launch would be initiated . To co un te ract this threat, N o. 501 Sqn rem ained on 'Diver' patrols, for which purpose it departed from H un sdon to Bradwell Bay, arriving th ere in September 1944. Although th ere were a certain amo un t of Luftwaffe flying bomb sorties, th ey were not as numerous as th ose against th e ground-based version s. To ta ke up the slack, N o. 501 Sqn took part in offens ive sort ies over Europe, during wh ich th ey lost th eir comm anding officer, Sqn Ldr Berry, on 1 October. The last claims for flying bom b destruct ion made in 1944 were for four sho t down over th e nigh t of 17/18 December. The fin al 'Diver' claim would be made by N o. 501 Sqn on 27 March. On 1 April th e war again st the flying bomb menace was declared officia lly closed, and th e squadro n was redeployed to daylight attack mission s. However, there was a lack of trade for th is unit, and N o. 501 Sqn was disband ed on 20 A pril 1945 . O n 29 Au gust 1944 yet ano the r Spitfire IX un it, N o. 80 Sq n, had traded in its Supe rmarine machines for th e Hawker Temp est; this cha ngeover was completed by 6 September, th e squadron th en moving to Man ston to begin 'Diver' mission s. As th is part icular phase of th e war was coming to a close, th e 'D iver' patrols were suspended, and the Newchurch Wing ch an ged from ADGBspo nso red sort ies of ch asing flying bomb s, to tha t of taking th e war to Europe. In th eir first mission , No. 150 W ing went to Emden for a show of force and to tem pt the Luftwaffe into th e air; whil e in th e next

Above Some of the bases occupied by th e advancing Tempest squadrons were somewha t batte red in nature, as is evident in this view of two No.3 Sqn Tempests at Volkel . Of note is the heating truck pumpin g hot air into the radiator of the nearest aircraft. This was much needed in the winter. as the Sabre coul d be very temperamental in th e cold. RAF Museum Collection

sort ie four days lat er, aircraft from Newchurch strafed their counterpart s on the ground at the Netherl ands base at Leeuward en, where two Messerschmitts were destroyed .

Tempest in Ground-Attack Role With th e menace of th e 'VI ' flying bomb no lon ger a th reat, and th e Luftwaffe virt ually containe d with in the borders of Ge rmany, it was time for th e Temp est to prac t ise th e othe r part of its repe rto ire, tha t of ground attac k. Its predecessor th e Typhoon had carved - and wou ld con tin ue to carve - a ni ch e in th e comb at hi stor y of the Royal A ir Force, eve n if it did have a slightly dodgy engine and a te ndency for the tail end to come adrift at inopportune moments. The Temp est h ad already visited Europ e at th e beginning of Se pte mber 1944, and th ey would return on the tenth of that month, this t ime th e figh ters of N o. 80 Sqn acco mpany ing a force of 9t h AF Douglas B-26 In vaders to attack th e airfield at Leeuward en . Bomber escor t duties were no t the on ly mission s assigned to th e Temp est

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squadro ns: th ey were also tasked to emu lat e the Typh oons in the ground-stra fing role. T he hardest mission assigned to the Mau ston-based Tempest units would occur on the 17 Septe mber in suppo rt of Operat ion M arket Garden. Their task was th e suppression of the flak defe nce un its in th e vicin ity of th e Amhern, Nij megen and G rave bridges, as well as th ose at Wallen see, Scho wen and on the Scheidt estuary. A lthough the strafing attacks were successful, th e attacking Temp ests would return to base with three fewer aircraft th an th ey left with. There were various ch an ges afoot for the Tem pest squadro ns: on 19/20 Se pte mber, Nos 80 and 274 Sqns dec amp ed to Coltisha ll, whi le Nos 3 and 56 Sqns wou ld move to Matl ask ove r th e next two days. Over the follow ing week th e Tem pest squadro ns contin ued to operate in a kind of limbo, in th at they were st ill assigne d to ADGB, altho ugh th eir mission profiles were purel y in support of th e 2nd TAF operati on s. This position was rati on alized at th e end of th e month when Nos 3 and 56 Sqns depart ed the shores of Brit ain for airfield B.60/Grimbergen, near Brussels; here th ey would come und er the control of N o. 122 Wing tha t had previously operated th e North Am erican Mustan g III.

TEM PEST IN COM BAT

O ne fina l unit would ar rive later at B.60 : o. 486 Sqn with its Tempests, whi ch brou gh t the win g up to full streng th . O n 29 eptember the a ircraft of 1 o. 150 Wing were airbo rne in suppo rt of the gro und force en gaged in O perat ion Market Garden. Duri ng th is engage me nt on ly one Tempest would be lost to flak, wh ile on the profit side th e fighters woul d shoo t down four Fw 190s and damage ano ther from a large force that had been ac t ive over th e battlegro und . A lthough Operati on Market Garden d id n ot prove to be as successful as had bee n hoped , th is did n ot stop the A llied forces push ing forwards. A s the Germa n forc es retreated, it was imperative tha t air support be av ailable for th e A llied arm ies, therefore the Tempest win gs would move aga in to new bases. O n 1 Oc to ber 1944 , o. 122 Wing - cons isting of os 3, 56 and 486 Sq ns - moved from Belgium to B.80/Vol kcl in the erherlands, A lso movin g to Holl an d was o. 125 \X'i ng that had acquired os 0 and 274 Sqns from o. 122 Wi ng, and wou ld end up at Airfield B.82 at G rave. The ir sojourn at Grave was to last on ly a week, as the two Tem pest squad rons joi ned up wit h their co mpatriots at Vo lkel to brin g th e wing back up to its full streng th of five squadro ns. Wh ile they were settl ing into th eir new quart ers they were visit ed by a flight of Messersch m itt Me 262 figh ter bombers, who dropped bom bs on the airfield.

Above Swirling clouds of dust. behind them a pair of Tempests allocated to No. 274 Sqn scramble down the PSP runway at B.91 Kluis in April 1945. RAF Museum Collection

Tempest as Bomber Escort Bomber e cort was an other role give n ove r th e Tempest squadro ns, as those assigned to N o. 122 Wi ng wou ld find out. O n II Se pte mber 1944 , th ree of th e units from th e wing - os 3, 56 and 486 Sqns were assigne d to escor t a mixed force of Halifax and Lan caster bombe rs, to ta lling some 340 aircraft, to attac k the o il storage fac ility at G clsen kirche n in the Ruhr. Led by W g C d r R. P. Beam o nt , th e thirty-six a ircra ft , co mplete wit h ex te rna l drop tan ks, lin ed up at Ne wch urch to dep art . The Tempests would be operat ing at maximum ran ge, so any enta ngleme n t with ene my fighters, or fuel tan ks dam aged by flak, and th e figh te rs would be struggling to get h om e. Unda unted the fighters took off, and cl imbed up to thei r operat ing height of 18,000ft (5,5 00 m) . Enterin g Germa n y and in sigh t of the Rh ine, th e drop tanks were jettison ed and the Tempests were clea red for any co mbat. Righ t o n tim e, the bomber force attacked the Gelenkirchen fac ility, adv ancing through an ascend ing wall of flak . A lth oug h th e bombers suffered losses, the Te mpests dep art ed un scathed , and lan ded back at base afte r a fligh t that had covered 600 mil es (960 km) and lasted 2hr l Omin, with some of the fighters landing virtu ally on fumes. to

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Tempes t in th e Air Superiority Role \Vhil e th e appe arance of the Germa n jet fighters might have been the precursor of th ings to co me, their visitat ion was in fact a rarity, as Luftwaffe in terferen ce with air operations was kep t to a mini mum by supe rior A llied forces. T h is meant th at the Tem pests h ad a fairly easy life in th e air superiority role, whi ch wou ld allow th em to attack ta rget s of oppo rt un ity - but on ly wit h their ca n no ns , as th e un clerwing weap ons a lready clear ed for their usage would not in fact becom e ava ilable to th em until th e closin g mon ths of th e war, and mean whil e the Typh oon force was ta k ing them all. As the Tempest was a fast and stable gun platform, it spen t much of its tim e in combat against th e G erma n fighters; it would score n um ero us vic tories aga ins t the defending Fw 190s, a lth ough there were st ill losses being suffered as a ircraft were bro ught clown by flak. Germa n jet fighters were also pu tting in appearanc es, be ing see n on n umerous occasions during the closin g mon ths of 1944 ; however, as all th e A llied fighter pilot s would find out, ca tch ing the Me 262s was a diffe rent matt er ent irely. While the A mer ica n fighter pi lots wou ld place th eir clai ms for aircraft sho t down wh ile tak ing off and land ing, the ir Tem pest

TE ~ I PEST

counte rpart s dec id ed to tr y it a m uch h arde r way. The ir first success was ac h ieve d o n 13 Oc to be r when tw o patro ll in g Tempests inter cepted an M e 26 2 in th c area of G ra ve . O pcn ing fire in th e chase . a lucky burst from o n e of t h e Tempest s hit th e je t figh ter, wh ich b lew up in the most spec tac ula r fash ion. T hi s wou ld be th e last co nfirmed vi ctory for a whi le, a lt hough the re we re 'damaged' cla im s put in o ve r o the r e ncoun ters th ro ugh o ut o ve rn ber, Fur t her successes wer e scored against th e Me 262 fighters: o ne wa s cl ai me d o n 19 Nove mb e r wh ilst rak in g off fro m Rh ei n e , a nd seve n d ays later No.3 Sqn dest royed anot h er two o n th e sa me a irfiel d d uri ng a gro und -strafin g run ; furthe rmore th e m o nth wo u ld e n d o n a h igh n or e wh en a Ju 1 8 and a H einkel H c 2 19 were sho t down. But e ven wh ile th e Tempest sq uad ro ns were scoring successes, they wer e st ill losin g ai rc raft to eng ine failures, e igh t go ing d own in th e last two mo nt h s of 1944 . Flak an d Luftw affe fighters would eve n tu ally brin g t h e to tal o f losses up to tw enty-o ne a ircraft an d ten pil ots. O f t he five uni ts th at m ad e up No. 122 Wi n g, No. 56 Sqn was leading th e fie ld : n ot o n ly di d th ey man age to sh o o t d own the mor e co n vent io na l fighter s suc h as Bf 109s and Fw 19 0s, th ey were also successfu l aga in st M e 262 -, on e be in g c la imed o n 11 De ce mbe r b y Fit Sg r Jack son . Furt h er co m bat suc ce ss wou ld co me th e way of a ll five figh te r sq ua d ro ns that made up No. 122 Wing, pr in c ipa lly dur in g th e at te mp te d G e rman br eak -out fro m th e A rde n ne s, late r kn ow n as th e 'B att le of th e Bu lge' . This wo u ld be th e fin a l deci sive p ush by the Ge rma n for ces, bo th lan d an d air for ces exert ing m ax im um pr essur e aga in st th e A ll ies. O n th e ir side was the weather, wh ic h re mained in cl e me n t fo r m uch of th e ba t t le. H ow ever , it cl eared o n 17 Decem ber, whi ch allo wed th e 2n d TA F to launch e ve ry figh te r t h a t co uld fly to p ro vi de mu ch n ccd ed suppor t for th e strugg ling ar m y un its. D uring th is bricf respi te , th e p ilots of N o . 27 4 Sq n shot d own three Bf 109 s, wh ile o . 3 Sq n's p ilo ts wou ld cl aim an o ther. T h e to p scorers, o . 56 Sq n , wer e a lso ga in ing more v ictories, as t hey cl a ime d five M esse r ch mir ts an d an H e 219 ' U h u'. O n a la te r pat rol , M c 262 - we re encounte red aga in, o ne be in g brough t down by the co m ma n de r o f o . 122 \V in g, W g C d r Wray. A s a lways , these successes

IN CO ~ IBAT

we re co un te red by losses, at least t wo ai rc ra ft bc ing th e vic t ims of flak; h ow eve r, th ese pat rols wou ld ce ase te m porarily as th e weat h er clampe d dow n aga in. T h is a llowed th e Ge rma n a rm y to push for wards against the forces befo re th e m, un til the A ll ies mad e a d eterm in ed sta n d at Bastogn e, wh e re th e push wou ld fin a lly be b ro ugh t to a stan ds t ill. The wea ther kept th e a irc raft o f th e 2n d TAF o n the gro und for th e ne xt fiv e days, but as soo n as possib le the Te mpests of j as 3 and 2 74 q n s were a irborne agai n; on th e ir first patro l they enco untered a flight

of Bf 109s, o ne o f whi ch was successfully despa tch ed . A no the r two Ge rma n fighter s wer e shot down wh en they we re sporte d a t ta ck ing a pa ir of Typhoons, both be in g c la ime d by No . 27 4 Sqn. T h us both C h rist m as Eve a nd C h rist mas Day wer e ruined by th e Luftwaffe , but th ey pa id for th e ir impu d ence in th e loss of a n A rado A r 23 4 je t bo mber an d ano th e r M e 262 . Peace re ign ed ov er Boxing Day, h ow ever h osti lities resumed o n 27 De ce mbe r: but agai n, th e Lu ftw affe pa id d early, losin g fo urteen fighter s for the loss of o n e Tempest.

Above Tempest VI NX126 w as on the inventory of No. 249 Sqn based at Habbaniya when this photo wa s taken. The removal of many wartime restrictions meant that the squadrons could apply a bit of colour to their aircraft: thus the letters are red outlined in white, and the squadron 's badge is on the fin . This aircraft would be written off in an accident in October 1949 at Deversoir. Big Bird Aviation Collection Below Tempest VI NX237 was allocated to No.8 Sqn at Khormaksar ; here it is being rearmed prior to its next sortie. It would remain in service until struck off charge on 15 May 1951 . C. P. Russell Smith Collection

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T E ~ I PES T

Tempest Combat Fortunes during 1945 January- February 1945 A t the beginni ng of 194 5 th e Luftwaffe laun ched ano th er attack on th e A llied airfield in Euro pe under the code na rne O pe rat ion BodenJilatte. It bega n at dawn and caugh t everybody unprepared , alth ough th e Temp est base at Vo lkel see me d not to be on the roste r; h owever, th eir Typh oon co unte rpa rts wou ld bear th e brunt of th e offens ive. To co un te rac t thi s incur sion th e Temp ests already on patrol over Han over were hurried ly recalled , whil st ot h ers wer e quick ly laun ched from Vo lkel. T h e Tempests from No. 486 Sqn would in tercept th e G erman intruders and shoo t down five Fw 190s near Hel mond . Furt her victories aga inst the Luftwaffe would be sco red by pilot s from os 3, 56 and 80 Sqns , who woul d cl aim anot h er five figh ters. The following few days wou ld be quiet as th e weather closed in aga in , wh ich allowed both sides to replace th e ir losses. But on 14 Jan uar y th e a ir war resumed aga in, wit h pilo ts from o. 122 W ing claiming ano ther six fighte rs. T hen n in e days later th e Tempests acc umulate d an impressive score of successes, star t ing ear ly in th e da y with N os 80 and 274 qn s claiming four fighters near G urersloh: thi s was followed by the p ilots from No.3 Sqn clai ming four Fw 190s des troyed , and two more dam aged . No 80 Sqn wo uld featu re

IN COI, IB AT

on th e score sheet later th at day, wh en two Messerschm itt s were sh ot down , and ano ther put for ward as damaged . In th e fin al engage me n t of tha t day, p ilot s from N os 56 and 4 6 Sqns sho t down six of the opposit ion n ear Rh e inc.

Converting to Tempest Units As the situ at ion over Europe ch anged from one of defence to att ac k, so th e co mpos it ion of the 2nd TAF itself cha nged, as furth er Tem pest units formed. T h e first of th ese wer e two former Spitfire IX squadro ns, os 33 and 222, who h ad returned to Predannack in Corn wall on 15 Dece mber 1944 where th ey began th e Tem pest co n version process. O nce this was co mpleted , bo th un its recei ved A PC traini ng before bei ng sent ove r to Europe: th ey landed at airfield 13.77 at G ilze-Rije n on 20 and 2 1 Janu ary. Thei r arriva l was th e signa l for th e two remain ing S pitfire IX un its at th e same base, Nos 349 (Bel gian) and 485 ( Ne w Zealand ) Sq ns , to return to Britain for th e same co n ve rsion process. Their base for th is wou ld also be Predan nack, wher e th ey arrived on 24 Febru ary 194 5. 0. 349 Sq n woul d begin its con version usin g a mix of Tempests and a few Typh oons; however, the war was progressing at such a pace that the co n version pro cess was even tually aba nd oned . No . 4 5 Sq n was sligh tly luck ier in th at it managed to at least rece ive its Tempests, whi ch it man aged to h an g on to for a co uple of weeks, befo re re-equip ping

Below Complete with a full load of rockets and rails. this is Tempest II. PR530. of No.5 Sqn, at Poona in Jun e 1946. This is one of the aircraft handed over to the Pakistani Air Force in September 1947. RAF Museum Collection

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wit h Typh oons. However, th e wh ol e co n version process was aba n do ned in mid A pril, as th e requirem en t for furt h er Tem pest squadrons h ad reced ed .

Operation Clarion - and Mistak en Ident ity Ret urn ing to th e war over Euro pe , N o. 122 Wing had rece ived reinforcement on 5 December 194 4, wh en o . 4 1 Sqn h ad jo ined th e wing wit h its Griffon -po wered S pitfire XIVs. T h ere was no intent ion that th is uni t wou ld cha nge its eq uipme n t , as its role woul d be th at of hi gh -lev el defen sive co ver ove r the followin g weeks, alt hou gh th is would be revised in September 1945 wh en Tem pest Vs were recei ved . O n 2 1 Feb ruary, 2nd TAF would begin its part in Operat ion C larion, whose premi se was to totall y wipe o ut all forms of G erma n transportat ion prior to th e 2 1st A rmy Gro up crossing the Rhine. For th e Tempest un its thi s mean t strafing gro und ta rget s, and N o . 274 Sqn was qui ckly in to th e fray, attacki ng gro und target s of oppo rtun ity, pl us an un lucky [ u 88 . T he next day Clarion wo und up to full spee d, with o. 3 Sq n straigh t in to th e ac t ion over th e N ien burg Plain . Ho wever, it was not the enemy th ey enc oun te red , it was the 9t h A ir Force and its Mustangs, wh o misto ok th e British fighters for Fw 190s. Fortunatel y th e Tem pests outflew the A me rica ns and co nt in ued with the ir mission. When the squadron h ad reach ed its target area close by Stei n h ude r Lake , th ey encoun te red a sing le 13-24 Liberato r, wh ich so me of th e Tem pest s wou ld esco rt over A llied lin es to safe ty, wh ilst the ir co mrades car ried out th e ir designated

TEMPEST IN COMBAT

Right Airborne on a training sortie from Odiham is this Tempest II, MW798, of No. 54 Sqn. The aircraft's tenure with this unit wa s short, as the squadron re-equipped w ith Vampire fighters i n October 1946. RAF Museum Collection

st rafing atta cks. H aving pu lled clear of th e ta rge t, th e flight of Tempests encoun te red a pa ir of Messerschmi tt s near Rhe in e, o ne of whi ch was sho t do wn and a no ther damaged . How ever, th is a tt ac k h ad be en see n by ten Fw 190s, wh o a tt acked th e reform ing Tempests, successfully sh oo t ing o ne of th em do wn . But the Luftw affe figh te rs d id no t get away Sc o t free, as a irc raft from No. 56 Sq n jo ined in th e me lee, successfully sh ooting o n e of the G erma n figh te rs down , and c hasing t he othe rs away. H a ving cl ear ed th e Luft waffe away, t he Te mpests were aga in bothered by P-5 1 Mu st angs of th e 9 t h A F: th eir a irc raft recogn ition was o bvio usly di sast rou sly la x, as ye t aga in the Brit ish figh ters we re att acked by th em . U nfort una tel y th ey succeede d in shoo t ing down the Temp est pilo ted by Fit Lt Green, who was nursing hi s flak -dam aged a irc raft to wa rds base; t rag ica lly h e was killed . A nd o n ye t ano th e r oc cas ion t he A meric a ns we re guilt y of m ist ake n identity: t h is t ime th e a ircraft were P-4 7 T h under bolt s, a lso of th e 9 th AF, who at tac ked the Tempe ts of No. 486 Sq n who h ad been o n an inter ceptio n co urse to wards a pair of marauding Fw 190s. Fortuna te ly t he P-4 7 pi lo ts were bad e no ugh marksm en , and o n ly o ne Tempest was dam aged . By now a ll th e Tem pest uni ts had bee n warned to ke ep a goo d loo ko ut for th e Luft waffe and th e figh te rs of th e USAA F. Wi t h th is in mind , th e Tempest sq uad ro ns co n tin ued th eir searc h fo r th e Luftw affe, a ta sk in whi c h th ey would sco re mor e succ esses. 1 o. 274 Sq n sta rt ed this ro ll of succ ess by shoo t ing dow n a pair of Fw 190 D-9s nea r Rhe ine: two days lat er a single Fw 190

was despat ch ed, a nd this was q uic kly foll ow ed by a pai r of Bf 109s by o . 486 Sq n near Bra msch e . La ter th at day o . 27 4 Sq n wer e back in the vicin ity of Rh e ine, wh ere th ey woul d clai m o ne dam aged Me-262 and the despatch of a Jun kers [u 88, whil st a nothe r variant, a j u 188, was dest royed o n the gro und . O n the follow ing day t he Tem pests we re ai rbo rne agai n, wit h a ircr aft from N os 33, 56 a nd 222 Sq ns succe ssfully sh oo ting down four Bf 109s from a to ta l of fiftee n - a lth ou gh in this exc ha nge , o ne Tem pest was sh o t down and ano the r was da maged .

Com bat Fortunes in March The fo llow ing month bro ught a ch ange of missio n emphas is fro m H Q 2nd TAF, wh o

issued ord ers th a t ground a ttac ks wer e to be st rong ly di scouraged , while fligh ts in to Ge rman a irspace we re to be mad e in str e ng t hs of six te en a irc raft or mor e, as th e Luftw affe was se nd ing up intercepting figh te rs in greate r number s. How ever, pil ots co uld nev er resist a n ea sy ta rget, so ver y ofte n th e gro und attack ru le was q uietly forgotten ; but in evi tably th is resul ted in greate r losses, a to ta l of twentyth ree by the end of March, many to t he dead ly acc urate flak th at th e Ge rma ns wer e th rowing up. eve rt heless, March h ad bee n a goo d month fo r the Tempest sq uad ro ns: th ey had brough t down an A rado A r 234 B a nd dam aged ano the r, and shor tly afte r h ad swiftly despatched fo ur Messerschrnitrs th a t h ad tr ied to bo unc e th e Briti sh figh te rs.

Below Tempest VI NX139 undergoing low-power engine runs; it would be used by both Nos 6 and 249 Sqns before being sold to the MoS in May 1951 . C. P. Russell Sm ith Collection

70 7

TEMPEST IN COI-IIlAT

Above Never delivered to the Royal Air Force, th is Tempest II. MW742 , was eventually del ivered to the Indian Air Force in M ay 1948. Big Bird Aviation Collection

O n 4 March N o. 122 Wings a ircraft were o n pat rol in the Rh eine area when they enco unt ered a fligh t of four Fw 190Ds; they managed to shoot the m down, though th e act ua l co mba t was reported as be ing except iona lly difficul t. Soo n afte r, cha nges were made to the make-up of th e Tempest wings: on 17 March No . 274 Sqn was transferred from No . 122 Wi ng to o , 133 Wing at B.77 G ilzc-Rijc n to bring them up to a fai rly equalized strength . Sev en days later, the 2 1st A rmy G roup began its crossing of the Rhine, with an aerial umbrel la provided by th e 2nd TA F. During thi s manoeuvre, pilots from No . 222 Sqn shot down four ene my fight ers, whil e 0.80 Sqn despatched anothe r one. o. 222 Sq n was on th e sco re shee t lat er that day when they sho t down th ree out of eleven Fw 190s. O n th e down side , the Tem pests lost two ai rcraft to th e ub iquitou s flak.

Com bat Fortun es in April Ap ril 1945 was th e fin al complete mont h of the war, and duri ng thi s period the Tempest wings scored their grea test successes - alt ho ugh th ey would do it without th e services of o. 3 Sqn, who ret urn ed to Brita in to under tak e an A PC co urse at \X!ann wel l. W ith in the first week of the month th e Luftwaffe lost twelv e aircraft , wh ile th e Temp est losses stood at four, thr ee cla imed by the Luftwaffe and one to flak.

In th is mon th the Tempest wings moved to new airfields, fo llowing th e ground forces as they adv an ced. No. 135 W ing, co ns isting of 33, 222 and 274 Sqns, decamped to a irfield B.9 1 at Kluis near N ijmcgcn, arriving on 7 April. Four da ys later No. 122 W ing also moved forwards, on ly thi s time they land ed in Ge rmany, on the airfield co mplex B. I 12 and B.1 18 at Hopsten . S ix days lat er the wing was back up to full streng th again , as o. 3 Sqn had retu rn ed fro m its A PC at Wann well. Even though moving bases had caused some d isrup t ion , th e Tempest sq uadro ns had cont in ued their combat pat rols, and it was d urin g one of these sor t ies that a ircraft from No. 222 Sqn atta cked the Luftwaffe airfield at Fassberg, stra fing the jet figh ters on the ground , plus one tak ing off, wh ich crashe d soon afte rwards. O n 16 April pilo t' from No. 4 6 Sq n beca me enta ngled with a flight of Fw 190s, two of wh ich were shot down , whi le ano ther was claimed by a pilot from N o. 80 Sqn; however, from these engageme n ts two of the Tem pests failed to return , incl ud ing the leader of o. 122 Wing, W g C dr Brooker. Furt her victories were claimed by N o. 0 Sqn , who brough t dow n one Fw 190 D, and mar ked up anothe r as dam aged; on the down side, one Tempest was lost in the exchange . No. 135 W ing would also be busy dur ing th is per iod, wit h a ircraft from os 222 and 274 qns clai ming a single Fw 190 and a pa ir of Do 2 17 . o. 135 Wi ng wou ld move bases soon aft er th is, when they flew to Germany to

102

take up residence at airfield B. I09 at Q uackenbruck . From here they would begin a series of offensive sweeps aga inst the airfields in th e Hamburg area. A s th e amo unt of territory available to the German forces was co ns ta n tly sh rin king, th e number of Luftwaffe figh ters seen was increasing, bo th on the a ir and on th e ground. T h is increase in ava ilable targets would result in th e Tempest uni ts notch ing up an increasing n umb er of victor ies aga inst th eir Luftwaffe oppo ne nts. O n 20 A pr il, two Fw 190s were sho t down near Ham burg, wh ilst o. 4 6 Sqn brough t down a Mcsserschmitt and a Focke-\X!ulf respecti vel y; on the down side the 2nd TAF lost a Tem pest. Further sort ies would be lau nch ed that week aga ins t the remaini ng G erman airfields , with o. 135 Wing leading the adva nce . To th e fore were the pilot s of o. 33 Sq n who, during an attac k on airfields nea r Kiel , destroyed six German aircraft on the ground and dam aged as man y more . O n 24 A pril, aircraft from all the wings' squadrons retu rned to the Kiel area to resume th eir attacks. Swee ping lo w ac ross Lak e Rat zenbu rg, th e Tempests destroyed Arado A r 196 floatplane s moored on th e water. O ther aircraft from th e win g h it the a irfield at Skvdstrup in Den mark , where two enemy aircraft were destroyed and anot her thi rteen were seriously dam aged. No. 274 Sqn also jo ined in the fun , attacking Flensberg where four aircraft were tot ally destroyed and anot he r eleven were dam aged. But even though the German sta te was on the verge of collapse, their flak weapons were st ill havin g a devasta ti ng effect , with th ree Tempests sho t down . o. 122 W ing followed the rest of the Tem pest force int o German y, its squadrons arriving at airfield B.52 at Fassberg on 26 A pril. O nce the d isruption of the move was over, the Tempests resumed ope rat ions, the first victory falling to the guns of No. 486 Sqn, who despatched a Jun kers j u 52. The next day, 29 Ap ril, the sq uadron was on pat rol over Lauenburg, home of Sch lacht gesch wader 151 th at had recen tl y co n verted from be ing a traini ng esta blishment to be ing a fron t-line figh ter un it to defen d aga inst the advan cing Russian s. A s th e Tempests approache d , aircraft from th e a irfield rose up to meet th em - which was a fatal mistake, as th ree Messer-schmidts and thr ee Fw 190s were shot down in qui ck succession , wh ile ot he rs were claimed as damaged. A nd in a further raid by the same

TEl-IPEST IN COl-IBAT

sq uad ron late r in the day, an o ther three Fw 190s were q uickly despat ched from a flight of ten . A th ird and fin al swee p th at day wo uld see the sq uadron 's pilot s cla im ano the r Fw 190. In re ta liat ion, t he G erman fighters claimed just one Temp est, the pilot escaping . O n 30 A pr il the 2 1st Army Grou p crossed th e River Elbe wit h an a ir um br ell a pro vid ed by th e a irc raft of 2nd T A F. N os 3 and 56 Sqns cla imed so me furt h er ene my a ircra ft shot do wn for th e mo n th , bringing the fin a l to tal for e n emy a ircraft dest ro yed to sixty-one co n firme d.

Com bat Fortun es in May In th e beginning of M ay 1945 th e a ircra ft of o, 122 W ing patrolled o ver t he north e rn coasta l a irfie lds of G erm an y in orde r to keep th e fighters fro m inte rfering with t he o n ward ad va nce of t he A llied a rm ies, a nd to stop th em esc ap ing to Scand ina via. O n th is day, three Ge rma n a irc raft we re shot down ncar Sc h we rin, wh ile o n 2 May ano th er nine Luftwaffe a ircraft were de stroyed, seven being claimed by o . 56 Sq n. In return, th e Germa n A n t i-A irc raft Forc e cl a imed at least o ne Tempest . By t hi s ti me a via t io n fue l sh o rt ages wer e wid esp read across t h e re main in g territory held by t h e G er ma ns, a nd in t he face of th is, mu c h of the Luftw affe was gro un de d ; t h us t h e o ppo rt un it ies for

co mba t v ictories in t h e a ir we re a lmost non -e xistent. Ho weve r, t h ere wer e st ill v icto ries to be had, as a few co mm un ica tions a irc ra ft were st ill ab le to fly: t h us Ficsler Fi 15 6 S torch ligh t a irc raft wo uld becom e pr im e targets, both in th e a ir a nd o n th e gro und . The oc ca sio n a l spo tt e r p la n e being used in t h e co mm un ica t io ns ro le was a lso shot d o wn , suc h as a n Fw 44 W ei h e dest ro yed by a pi lo t fro m o . 486 qn . Occas io na lly o ne of t h e few rem a in in g figh te rs tha t was servicea b le , an d h ad fuel a nd am m un it io n, was e n co un te red : th us o n 4 May, o n e of th e few Fw 190s st ill ab le to fly was sho t do wn by a p ilot fro m N o . 56 Sq n . N o .3 Sq n was a lso act ive in t he a ir, a nd carried o ut a fighter swee p o n 3 May in th e area of Sc h leswig, wh er e a pair of Fi 156 S to rches were sho t do wn , as was a lo n e Fw 44 . In the co urse of further so rt ies by t h e sa me uni t, in th e sa me region , ele ve n mor e a irc raft wer e dest ro yed o n t h e gro und , with fo urtee n cl ai med as dam aged ; th e sq uadro n itsel f lost o ne Tem pest. In t hese last few d ays of the Ge rma n Re ich , th e Tem pest sq ua d ro ns we re cl aimi ng th eir fin a l co m bat vi cto ries: thus o . 274 Sq n sh o t down a lo ne Do 2 17 bomber n car Kiel , No. 56 Sq n destroyed a flee in g Fw 19 0, wh ile 0 . 48 6 Sq n shot down a pair of Ju n ker s ju 8s flyin g at hi gh spee d a nd lo w lev el in t he Tege l a irfield ar ea.

O n 4 May, 0. 48 6 Sq n claimed a Fiesler Stor ch o n th e gro un d, while la ter in th e da y an o th er three were dest royed . O vera ll, a generous mi x of a ircraft was place d o n t he sco re sh ee t, t hese co mp rising four Dornie r Do 24s, a [u 52 , a Bf 110 , a nd a sing le Bv 138 flyin g boat.

In Conclusion W hi le the Tempest uni ts were st ill pla n ning a nd carry ing o ut o pe ra tio ns , nego t iati on s were ongoing co nce rn ing th e to ta l surrende r of th e Ge rman for ces. Even so , o n t h is fina l da y of hostilit ies, o . 3 Sq n wou ld ac tua lly use th e Tempest in th e figh ter-bombe r ro le aga inst an a irfield n ea r Kie l. A lso o pe rat io na l in that area, N o . 222 Sq n cla imed four de st royed and twelv e damaged a ircraft. Th is wo uld be th e fina l co mba t o rt ie flown by a ny un it of o. 84 Group . O n 5 May, a ll at tac k sor t ies were can cel led, wh ich gave the Tempest sq uad rons a shor t period of rest - a lthough N o . 3 Sq n d id fly a few a irc raft to pro vide esco rts for Dakotas transporting t roop s and supplies to assist in the fin a l libera tio n of Den mark . Two days late r th e war was declar ed offic ially over. Th rou gh out th is ph ase th e Typhoon s and Tempests of 2nd TAF h ad carried th e war succ essfully to the G e rma n s.

Scores Table for Tempest Pilots The appearance of theTempest in RAF servicegavethe squadrons a more manoeuvrable heavyhitting fighter that was more than capable of taking on the Luftwaffe and the'V1' flying bomb, as the highscores table shows. Pilot

Overall theTempestswould be credited with 240 confirmed destroyed or probable aircraft victories. these being accrued between June 1944 to May 1945.

Nationality

Unit(s)

Victories

Sqn/ldr D. C. Fairbanks DFC"

American

Nos 3, 274 Sqns

11 or 12

0

Sqn/Ldr W. E. Schrader DFC '

New Zealander

NO.486 Sqn

9

1(0.5)

2

British

NO.56 Sqn

6

0

0

NewZealander

Nos 274, 80 Sqns NO.1 22 Wing

5

1(0.5)

3

0

Canada

NO.56 Sqn

5

1(0.51

0

0

Sqdn/Ldr CL Sheddan DFC

New Zealander

NO.486Sqn

4

310.5 ea)

0

0

Flt/LtP. H. ClostermanDFC '

French

Nos.274, 56, 3 Sqn

4

0

7

0

Fg/ OffA. R. EvansOFC

New Zealander

NO.486Sqn

4

0

0

Fg/OffJ. Garland OFC

British

NO.8o Sqn

4

Fg/Off V. L. Turner OFC

Australian

NO.56 Sqn

4

Flt/LtA. R. Moore OFC'

British

Nos 3, 56 Sqns

3

Fit LtJ. J. Payton DFC Wg/Cdr E. D. Mackie DSO DFC' Fg/Off D. E. Ness DFC

103

Shared

On Ground

Probables 0 0

0

0

0

0

0

1(0.51

0

0.5

CHAPTER NINE

Tempest After the War Even tho ugh hostilit ies ceased in Europe in May 1945, it would be a few months before an y radica l changes were mad e to the Tempest fleet ; the Typhoon fleet, on the othe r hand, had all but d isapp eared by the end of the war. However, the requ iremen t for furt her Tempest Vs had ceased at war's end , and th is left the Royal A ir Force with e igh t sq uad rons with the type, of wh ich seven we re on the streng th of 2nd TAF, with the remain ing un it bein g a llocate d to the A DGB . Plans to con vert two furt her squadrons, Nos 349 and 485, at I'redan nack in Corn wall had even tu ally been canc elled after a start had been made using spare Typhoon FR. I Bs bor rowed from th e gene ral suppo rt un its. Both squadrons would q uick ly re-equip with Spitfires and rejoin the 2nd TA F to co n t in ue combat operations over Euro pe , altho ugh their to tal parti c ipat ion in th is phase would be measured in weeks.

The Final Phas e of the War A s the test fligh ts in volving the Bristo l Cen ta urus-powered Tempest II prototype had proved successful - even thou gh problem s wit h the mounting of the engine to the firewall had taken some t ime to resolve - prod uct ion con trac ts were soo n fo rt hco ming for Hawker 's to sta rt the co nstruc t ion of a ircraft for RA F service. First exa mples of the Hawker Tempest I! had begun to roll off the produ ct io n lines dur ing October 1944 , altho ugh a ircraft for service use did not arrive at main tenan ce un its for pre-release preparat ions unt il March 1945, as man y had been placed in store await ing the del ivery of

major co mponents , such as the po wer plant. When the Temp est lIs fina lly arrived at the ir design ated mainten ance un its, th ey were immed iat ely allocate d for the eme rgen t 'Tiger Force' that was be ing form ed to tak e the war to the Japan ese in th e Far East. W h ilst the Tempest had been cho sen as the fighter co mpo nent, the bomber element was ini tially the Avro Lancaster B.V I!, although developm en t of the enlarged Lancaster as the Lincoln B. l was being accelerated so tha t it co uld be the prim ary strike weapon . T he figh ter part of 'T iger Force' began form ing at C h ilbo lron in A ugust 1945 und er the command of non e ot her th an

Below Hawker Tempest VI NX288 would be oper ated by the makers and the A&AEE. before being sold to the MaS in June 1953. Of note is the extended pitot head fitted to the port w ing . C. P. Russell Smith Collec tion

104

T E~ IP E S T

\Ving Comma nder R. P. Beamon t, wh o ha d recently returned to Brita in afte r hi s shor t period of capt ivity. The first uni t to begin eq uipping with the Hawker Tem pest II was o. 183 Sqn ; it had ori ginally been a Typh oon uni t, alt hough it had been operat ing the Spitfire IX for a few mont hs wh ile wait ing for the new ve rsion of the Tempest. O n 20 A ugust 1945, one of the last Typho on -equipped uni ts, No. 247 Sqn , return ed hom e from 13.158/ Lubeck in Germany to trade in its olde r Hawk er aircraft for the newer Tempest, the first of wh ich arrived later th at month, with the who le process being completed by mid September. But the creat io n of 'Tiger Force' was bro ugh t to an abrupt halt with th e d roppin g of the ato mic bombs over H irosh ima and agasak i, a cataclysm that brough t th is fin al ph ase of the war to an end. Th is mea nt th at th e requirem en t for further Tempes t squad rons within Brita in was she lved , a lthough the two sq uadrons already equipped co n tin ued to operate the type ov er th e following few mon ths. But changes took place even with in th ese un its when j o. 183 Sqn was ren umb ered as No. 54 Sqn , and re-equi pped with de Hav illand Vampire jet figh te rs, as would its co mpa n ion N o. 247 Sqn , bot h tradi ng in the ir piston figh ters in October and Ma rch 1946 respecti vely. Bot h un its would even rua llv tran sfer from C h ilbolto n to Odiharn, whi ch wa more suited to th e op eration of jet aircraft. Just prior to its d isbandment N o. 54 Sqn had spe nt a short ti me con vert ing some pilot s to the en taurus ve rsion of the Tem pest prior to th eir deployment to the M iddle East; but here, ironi cally, they would find the mselves a t the con tro ls of the Sa bre-po wered version of the fighter. Th is was th e last t ime there was a permanent Te mpest presence in Britain , as bases overseas would hencefort h be their remi t.

T h e Tempest in Germany To ind icate the altered status of the RAF in G ermany, the 2nd TAF was renamed th e 'Brit ish A ir Force of O cc upation'. O ne of the prim ary figh ters a lloca ted to th is force was the Tempest , wh ose role would grad ua lly ch ange from keepi ng a watchful eye o n the Germa ns and an y possible resista nce, to th at of safeguard ing the

AFTER T IfE WA R

Above Normally the commanding officer's personal machine, Tempest II PR736 'EG-M' was being piloted by Flyi ng Officer D. W. Baldock when this portrait was taken. Prominent are the Mark III rocket rails. Michael Baldock

\Vest from its erstwh ile allies in the east, the Russians. T he Tem pest wings still residen t in G erman y inclu ded No . 122 \Ving at Fassberg and N o. 135 Wing at Q uackenb ruck, although th e sq uadro ns themselv es were undergo ing some cha nges . o. 80 Sq n had returned to Fassber g from th e War mwell A PC just in ti me to enjoy the benefits of VE Day in May, wh ile No . 486 Sqn had dep arted to Ce lie on detach ment before tak ing up a permane nt posti ng to Kastr up in Den mark, where the ot he r th ree sq uadrons wo uld end up in June 1945. T he squad rons of the othe r win g were also undergo ing changes, as exe mplified by the dep arture of No . 222 Sqn to Mo leswor th on 23 O cto be r 1945 to co n vert to the G loster Met eor E3. O nce co n verte d, the squadro n became part of Fighter Comma nd , whi ch had replaced the A ir Defen ce of G rea t Britai n organ izat ion . The two rema ini ng squadrons, N os 33 and 274 Sq ns, would move to B. 155/D edelstorf on 19 A ugust and 20 Ju ne 1945 respect ivel y, altho ugh th e tenure of o. 274 Sqn at its new base was sho rt , as it soo n departed to \Varmwell for an AP C refresher. As th is was a per iod of rati on alization with in the Royal A ir Force, man y high-n umb ered squad rons wo uld find the ir num ber plate changing to a lower o ne ; th is was the case th at affected N o. 274 Sqn, wh ich was ren um bered No . 174 Sq n on 7 Sep te mber 194 5 duri ng its tim e at Warmwcll. The previous ho lder of th e nu mber pla te had originally been a Typhoon combat sq uadron.

105

Those uni ts that had been resident in Den ma rk would even tually return to G ermany to var ious bases, and the or igina l mob ile wing structure dispensed with , since the re was now no longer an y need for it. At the beginni ng of 1946 th ere was furt her evide nce of an a ir force wind ing down from its earlier wart ime strength when N o. 486 Sq n fin ally said goodbye to Euro pe, parked some of its a ircraft at Dunsfo ld in Surrey, and then depart ed for hom e , most of th e squadron havin g gone some th ree mon ths earlier. Those aircraft th at remai ned in Germa ny were passed on to o. 41 Sq n tha t was based at the t ime at Lubeck : they wo uld lose th eir fa irly new Spitfire XIVs fo r a ba tch o f H awker Tem pests that had obv io usly see n bett er days. A lso at Lubeck was o. 0 Sq n , both un its co ns t itut ing N o. 124 W ing for the short t ime rem aining, befor e it di ban ded. O ver at Ded e lst or f, N o. 135 Wing was also the sho rt- term pa rent for os 33 and 174 Sq ns, who were joined by N os 3 and 56 Sqns, to brin g the wing's stre ng th up to fo ur squad ro ns for a sho rt pe riod, before th ey tran ferred to Fassberg in Oc to be r. o. 135 W ing would be redu ced to thr ee un its wh en No .3 Sqn left Fassberg at the begin n ing of 1946 to mo ve ro \Vunstor f to jo in N o. 123 W ing, where they jo ined N os 4 1 and 80 Sq ns, onc e of Lubeck's N o. 124 Wi ng. T hu s os 123 and 135 \Vings would rem a in as the Tempest sq uad ron 's par ent o rgan izat io ns whil st the type rem ain ed in front-line serv ice in Ge rma ny.

TEMPEST AFTER Til E WAR

Left Caught diving past the camera is the Tempest II PR663 - ' Echo' of No. 16 Sqn based at Fassberg in Germany. Note the incorrect underwing serial . M ichael Baldock

The Royal A ir Force, like man ysuch large organ ization s, seems to thrive on the turm oil that uph eaval can cause: th us, havin g settled on two wings with th eir constituent squadrons as adequate for the purposes of BA FO, th e 'powers that be' obviously decided that furth er cha nges to th e Temp est force in Occupied G ermany was necessary. T he first of these took place over th e night of 30 Ap ril/! May 1946, when all the better-kno wn figh ter-squadron number plates were returned to the custody of Fight er Command. T his required that No . 41 Sqn should be renum bered No. 26 Sqn, wh ile No 56 Sqn would becom e No. 16 Sqn. No . 174 Sqn was the un lucky un it in this line-up, as it was disbanded. T he makeup of th e two BAFO Wings was thus: No. 123 Win g at Wunsrorf, with o. 3 and 80 Sqns, while at Fassherg, o. 135 \Ving was parent to os 16, 26 and 33 Sqdns. As thi s was peacetim e, th e training regimes assoc iated with th e pilots and their qualificati on s to fly came to th e fore. T hus Sylt and its armament practice camp beca me the ven ue for each of the Tempest squadrons in turn to let loose with canno ns, rockets and bombs. The need for rocket qua lificati on had arrived once the Typhoon had left RA F service, and ther e was a plentiful supp ly of redu ndant German armo ur lying about th at needed dismantling. A rotation of deta ch ments to Ga tow ncar Berlin were undertaken as much as to pro tect British interests as to keep th e Russian s at bay.

Re-equip ping wit h the Centaurus Tempes ts During thi s per iod th e squadro ns were still eq uipped with N ap ier Sa bre- powered Tempests, alt hough thi s was set to cha nge as more Bristo l Cen ruurus-powercd version s of th e a ircraft were begin n ing to roll off th e Hawker product ion line. Thus th e Tem pest II bega n to rep lace th e earlier version during the midd le of 194 6: N o. 26 Sq n received its repla cement fight ers from 17 June at Fassber g, No . 16 Sqn rece ived its aircraft from A ugust on wards, whi le N o. 33 Sqn receiv ed the irs from O cto ber. O n ly th e Fassber g wing would re -equip wit h th e rad ial-cngined fighters, wh ile ove r at \Vunsrorf 0.80 Sqn wou ld retain th eir Sa bre-cng mcd Tempests until Jan uary 194 : then th ey moved on to th e Supc rmarinc Spitfire F.2 4s, with No. 3 Sqn reta in ing th eir Hawk er fighters un t il April 1948, when the de Havilland Vamp ire jet fight ers were received. No. 16 Sqn would man age to make the head lines on th e BBC on 18 March 1947, when one crash -lande d in the Russian Zone . A t th is t ime the un it was restri cted to flyin g wit hi n the c ity limit s, alt hough th ere were a few incursions in to so-called 'friend ly terri to ry'. O n one of these, Warr ant O fficer Angus Macka y was flying an approac h into Garow in Tem pest II PR667 'EG -S' when the engine failed at

106

1,000ft DOOm), some five mil es (Skm ) from to uchdo wn and ov er th e Russian sec to r. A cco mpan ying th e lo ud bang of th e eng ine seizing was a spray of o il that covered th e wind scre en panels. A lthough th e Tem pest had a reason able glide ran ge, th e available heigh t and d ista nce meant that G arow was beyond reach, so W. O . Macka y cast about for a suita ble place to touch down in an area cove red by pine forest. See ing a small ploughe d field, he turned th e a iling Te mpest towards it, and fortunately for hi m it had just eno ugh forw ard mom entum to scrape in to it. Just prior to crash- land ing the pilot had called G atow for a rescue , and was more th an pleased to sec a small RAF van tu rn up. O n boa rd was a ph o tographer, who enjo ined the pilot to sta nd by h is battered fighter for photographs for the record s. T he other occupan t was an ar mourcr, who rem oved the st ill-secret guns igh t , and packed it away in a spec ial box. Bot h then cl imbed in to their vehicle and depa rted , leaving the bewild ered warr ant officer be h ind! Fortun atel y for him, th e sq uadro n CO turned up and re cued h im from becoming a guest of the Russian s. The re mai ns of th e Tempest were returned ro G arow a few months lat er, wh ere invest igati on of th e C en raurus en gine revealed that one of the sleeve va lves had seized. Having tang led with va rious US A A F a ircra ft durin g co mbat opera t ions in the skies over Germany, it made a pleasant cha nge fo r the Tem pest squad rons to meet th ei r American co un te rparts in happi er circumsta nc es, with neit her side tr yin g to shoo t th e o ther down. The Amer ican armed force ' were also being subjected to a period of upheaval, th e main beneficiary being th e flying side of the U S Army, whi ch in 194 7 was establishe d as a separate service and called the U n ited Sta tes A ir Fo rce. A s th is was th e period before the rapid revo luti on in jet a ircra ft developmen t , the oppos ition enco unt ered by th e Tempest squadrons co ns isted of th e latest version s of the Republic P-47 Thu nd erb o lt and th e o rth Amer ican P-51 Mu stang. T he pilot s of the form er wo uld espec ially pra ise th e Tempest II, as it co uld outperform th e big America n figh ter with case.

TEMPEST AFTE R TIl E WAR

T he Squadrons Re-Equip O th er or gan ized deta ch ment s wou ld see fligh ts of Tempests return ing to Britain to ta ke part in va rious exerc ises, incl ud ing in vo lveme nt in th e September 1946 offic ia l RA F film covering 'C ombined O perat ions', for wh ich th e fighters und er took roc ket- firing run s over th e range at Brau nton Sands cl ose to C h iveno r. It was dur ing thi s period th at th e first in klings of the C o ld \'V'ar - tha t woul d occ upy mi lit ar y minds for the succeed ing gen erat ions would rear its ugly head , whe n in Jul y 194 7 os 16 and 26 Sq ns wer e detach ed to the A ustrian air base at Zelte g hard by the Yugoslav border to cov er Russian man oe uvres. But th e ir per iod of residence was short -lived , as th ey wo uld ret urn to German y in th e foll owin g month , just in t ime to relocate to a different base, G utersloh , Here th e squadrons would rem a in with their Tem pe t li s until th e begin n ing of 1949 . N o . 16 Sqn was th e first of th e G utersloh uni ts to re-equi p, trad ing in its Hawker mach ines fo r de Havill and Vampires, whi ch were officia lly taken on cha rge in Decem ber 1948. Three mon ths later, in Ap ril 1949, 0 .26 Sqn woul d also becom e offic ially equipped with th e de Havill and jet fighter. T h e fin al uni t, No. 33 Sqn , would h ave to wait a littl e longer in its hi stor y to bid farewe ll to th e Hawker Tempes t II, as in Jul y 1949 th ey would depa rt Germa ny for Renfrew near G lasgow, wh er e th e figh ters wou ld be prepared for sea passage aboard th e aircraft car rier HM S Ocean, the ir dest in at ion C h angi in the Far East. A lthough the Tempest V h ad performed more th an adeq uate ly during its per iod of co mba t, pro duct ion of th is version was te rmina ted in prefer en ce to that of the C en raurus-po wercd Tem pest II, soo n to be th e Temp est F. 2, and th e Tempest V I, later to be re-design at ed th e Tempest F.6. Th is latter version , power ed by a Na p ier Sab re, was mod ified with im proved filters and system coo lers for service with th e squad rons in the M idd le East. T h ese uni ts wer e equipped with a mi xt ure of types such as S p itfires, P-5 1 Mu stan gs on Lend Lease term s, plus a var iet y of twin -cngined types, incl ud ing the de Havil land Mosqui to: th e latter was viewed with suspicion in some q uarters, given its meth od of construc tion , namely form ed plywood glued toge the r. ot on ly did th e Mosqui tos need rep lacing, but th e S pitfires were close to

Above Although the Tempest was used more in the ground-strafing role during World War II, it was quickly cleared to use all the other weapons in the RAFinventory. This Mark VI. NX135. used by both Nos 6 and 249 Sqns in the M iddle East. is being prepared for a live firing sortie. By this time the zero-length rocket rails had replaced the earlier Mark III type . This was another machine that would eventually be sold to the MoS in 1951 . C. P. Russell Smith Collection

life-expired , and th e A merican a ircraft n eeded to be e ither purch ased , returned or scrapped.

Tempest VI in the Middle East It would tak e until lat e 1946 for enough Tempest V is to becom e ava ilable to replace the original mi xt ure, but wh en th ey d id , rep lace me n ts arrived in dro ves. The new fight ers wer e flown out to Fayid in Egypt by pilot s fro m the Ferry U n it in gro ups of fou r, eac h led by a Mosquito from th e same unit , tha t acted as a sh eph erd and n avi gati on lead. The first unit to receive th e Tem pest V I was o . 249 Sqn based at Habbani ya in Iraq , wh er e th ey arrived in Decem ber 1946. The next recipi ent was 0 . 6 Sqn based at icosia in C yprus, wh o also re-eq uip ped in December 194 6. o . 2 13 Sqn, based at the sa me airfield , wou ld also receive th e new fighter in January 194 7, whil e a fourth un it , N o. 8 Sqn , based in Aden , wo uld ga in its new Hawker aircraft in March 194 7. Of all these un its, 0.8 Sqn was th e first into act ion , making a destru ct ive attac k aga inst th e village of A l Hu sein in a puni t ive measure to co mbat guerilla figh te rs ope ra ting in th e region , wh o h ad ho t and killed a local gov ern me n t age n t. Further missions of a sim ilar nature, see n by man y as a return to th e o ld Colon ial days, wo uld

107

fo llow. U n like th e missions of later years, th ese sort ies were preceded by a leaflet drop possibly up to forty-eight hours ear lier. The result of th is was, th at wh en th e Tempests att acked, th e buildin gs wer e deserted and th er e were no cas ua lties. O ver on th e isla nd of C yprus at N icosia th e two Tempest un its, Nos 6 and 2 13 qns, wer e reformed in to o. 32 4 \'V'ing, wh ich h ad last been ac tive in th e Medit erran ean area, equipped with S pitfires. T he oth er two squadro ns , du e to the ir det ach ed locat ions, woul d rem ain as ind epend ent op er ati onal uni ts. By th e end of 194 7, all four Midd le East squadrons were under th e co mmand of war-time Typh oon un it co m ma nde rs: th us N os 6 and 2 13 Sqns came under th e co nt rol of Sqn Ldrs Den n is Cowley- M illing and Colebrook, whil e No. Sqn in Aden came under th e co mma nd of Sq n Ldr Frank Jensen ; th e final Mid dle East uni t, 0. 249 Sqn, was placed in th e hands of Sqn Ldr Pet er S te ib. The latter unit h ad spent th e first year of its life as a Tem pest opera to r, tra ini ng for operat ional readi ness and gett ing to grips with launch ing unguided rocket projecti les. Even in lat e 194 7 th e situat ion in th e Middl e East was un stable, Israel was becomi ng a realit y, th e A rab co unt ries we re wrack ed by various forms of internal unr est , and th e embryon ic Palestine liber at ion isrs wer e beginning to protest Vio len tly aga inst wh at they percei ved to be th e co mp lic ity being sh own by some of

TE ~ IPEST

AFTER TH E WAR

Above Not the most dignified end to a landing , as the upside-down NX134 shows . Wearing the codes of No.6 Sqn, the Tempest VI had swung out of control part-way through the landing and overturned at Nicosia on 11 February 1949. In the background the recovery crane can clearly be seen. C. P. Russell Smith Collection Left Pictured at Khartoum is Tempest VI NX264, w hi ch had been pl aced in the hanger just after collid ing with NX247 on take-off on 24 Janu ary 1949.After repair, the air craft would resume its career with No. 39 Sqn, before being sold to the Ministry of Supply in Apr il 1954. David Howley Co llection

Left NX247 was the other machine involved in the Khartoum collision on 24 January 1949; no further service deta ils are known about this machine , although it ended its career with No. 39 Sqn. David Howley Collection

108

TEMPE ST AFT ER T HE WAR

the Arab coun tries. By early 1948 N o. 249 Sqn was on alert sta tu s in case of troub le in Palestine, for wh ich purp ose four of th e squadron 's Tempests were based at Ram at David airfield. A lso on th e mov e were th e aircraft of No .6 Sq n , who left Khartoum for Fayid in Egypt, bot h squadrons being charged with pro tecting th e Briti sh forces as th ey withdrew from th e ex- Brit ish pro tecto rate. This would fin all y be accomplished during May 194 8. In order to prov ide furt her suppo rt for Brit ish forces leaving various possessions in the Midd le East and Afri ca, N o. 2 13 Sqn left Khart ou m for Mogadishu, part of Itali an So maliland, wh ere th ey arrived in A ugust 1948 to co ver the with drawal fro m Oga den , No t long afte r thei r arriv al, the 90g al (4 1Olrr) extern al tank became ava ilable for usc by the Tempest. T hi s modification meant th at N o. 2 13 Sqn co uld safely depart for Deverso ir on 2 1 Octobe r 1948, whi le No. Sqn , still operating out of Aden, co uld co ver the withd rawal, as the new ta nks would allow patro ls of some four and a half hours. A s well as the So ma liland cov erage du rin g October, o. 8 Sqn was also busy o n an t iguerilla sort ies in th e vic in ity of \X1adi M irria aga inst the Man suri Tr ibe. Dur ing a three-day per iod a group of seven pilots flew ove r one hund red sor ties, du ring wh ich fifteen ex- Foreign Legion forts were attac ked, wh ich required th e firing of fo ur h undred and sixty rocke t project iles. To co ver th e gap left by No. 2 13 Sqn 's depart ure to co ve r the Soma liland with -

drawal, th e new ly form ed N o. 39 Sqn had arrived at Khart oum on 1 Ap ril 1948. Their post ing was destined to be quite busy, as the squadron was required to send a detachment of three Tempests to Asmara in Eritr ea provin ce , Eth iop ia, to oversee and provide suppor t for Brit ish troops and local milit ia as th ey hunted down gangs from th e Sh ifra tribe th at were ter rori zing local village popu lations. But th e te n ure of N o. 39 Sqn as a Temp est uni t would be shor t , as it wou ld d ispe nse with th e Hawk er fighter o n 1 March 194 9 so th at it co uld reform as a Mosquito F.36 operator.

Working for the United Nati on s The two un its forming No. 32 4 Wing, os 6 and 213 Sqns, would eve n tua lly find th emselves based at Deversior in Egypt, ac t ing on beh alf of the U n ited lat ions. This organ izat ion had negot iated hard to bro ker a ceasefire between the A rab nation s that bounded the newly eme rgent sta te of Israel. W hen the squadro ns had first arrived at Dev ersior, pitfires of th e Egyptian A ir Force had , so th ey reported at th e t ime, acc ide nta lly att acked RA F bases th rough out th e region , ca using da mage to aircraft on the ground , espec ially at Rarn ar David. However, the ir impud en ce would cos t th em dearl y, with some Egypt ian Spitfires being sho t down in ret al iati on .

Over th e foll owing few mon ths the Royal Air Force co nfine d itself to pat ro ls on ly, altho ugh th e squadrons would soo n find th emselv es embro iled in furt her hostili tie when Israeli forces were found to be infiltrating Egypt and Jord an - th e latter was regard ed as a British ally, and was deemed wort hy of externa l prot ecti on. To th is end, Spitfire ' from o. 208 qn were despat ch ed on regular reconnaissance pat ro ls to fly along th e borde r. During one of th ese patrols the part icipat ing aircraft were shot dow n by Spitfires from o. 101 Sqn , IAF. To prot ect aircraft on these patrol duti es it was dec ided th at a fligh t of Temp ests from No. 2 13 Sqn wou ld esco rt the next recon naissance fligh t , this be ing a Mosquito . In suppo rt were a furt her four Tempests of No .6 Sqn , in a ho ld ing pattern ov er the lsrn alia to El A uga road . A furth er flight to fin d the missin g Spitfire pilot s required that th e Tempests fly to p co ver for the N o. 20 Sqn search pa rty Spitfires. The who le force was approach ing the bord er when furt her Spitfires of th e Israeli Ai r Force jum ped them, and in th e ensuing dogfigh t a Tempest of o. 2 13 Sqn was sho t down and a furt her th ree were damaged , one of which would lat er require a wing cha nge due to main spa r dam age. To co mpo und th e prob lem, th e Tempests had departed in such haste th at th e ca n no n had not been cocked, thereb y rendering th em less th an useless; th erefore th e Tem pest pilo ts had on ly th ei r spee d, altho ugh thi s did allow th em to break clea r

Right Hawker Tempest VI NX131 'A' was the personal machine of Sqn Ldr Jensen from 1947-49 when he was CO of No.8 Sqn based at Khormaksar. Peter R. Arnold Collection

' ~ ."' ''''' '

109

T E~ I P E S T

of th e fracas. During th e break-o ut , man y of th e Hawker figh ters exceeded the maximu m speed lim it , wh ile ot he rs were spu n with fuel tan ks "t ill fitted , both he ing forb idde n in th e Pilots' No tes. W hat added to the co nfusio n was th at bot h se ts of pitfires were spo rt ing red spin ne rs, wh ich were di fficult to dist ingu ish in th e me lee. G reate r cha nges were also ahead for the Tempes t force in th e Mid dle East, as in March 194 9 No . 249 Sq n dep art ed from Habbani ya to replace o. 2 13 Sqn at Deversior, wh ere it would meet up with 0. 6 Sq n to main ta in the streng th of No. 32 4 Wi ng, No. 2 13 Sqn having flown to icosia to take part in an A rma ment Practi ce Camp. By September of that year, all thr ee units wou ld begin re-equ ippi ng with the de Havill and Vamp ire, a pro cess tha t would co n t in ue until Mar ch 1950 , whe n th e last Tem pests depart ed .

Tempes t lIs for Ind ia Furt he r from Brita in the Far East woul d also hegin to receive Hawker Tempests. Origina lly the Tempest II had been dest ine d to form th e fighter backb on e of the 'Tiger Force ', alt ho ugh with th e latter's ca nc el lat ion du e to th e co llapse of Japan ese resista nce, there was less need to re-equ ip squadrons for th is role. However,

AFTER Til E WAR

as th e fight ers and fight er bombers in Ind ia needed repl acing, it was dec ided th at th e Tempest II sho uld be deployed for thi s. Th e first exa mp les were des pa tc he d to Indi a during 1945 for flight tri als, alt ho ugh it wasn't unt il Dece mbe r tha t large num bers of Tempests were sh ippe d to Karachi . Even tua lly a tot al of some 1 0 o. 320 aircraft were deli vered to Mainten an ce U nit, based at Drigh Road , for assembly and pre-de live ry flighttesting. Th e first un its to recei ve Temp ests were Nos 5 (ex-Republic Thund erbo lts) and 30 (also ex- T h unde rbo lts) Sqns based at Bho pal, whi ch were offic ially equipped with th e type du rin g March 1946, wh ile the Agra-based No . 20 Sqn (ex-Spitfire XIVs) would receive th e ir quot a du ring May 194 6, wit h o. 152 Sqn (ex-Sp itfire XIVs) at Risalpur do ing th e same in Ju ly 1946. To help the Ind ian -based pilots co nve rt to th e Tempest , Hawk er 's had despatched a test pilot , one Frank Murphy, once a pi lot assigne d to o. 4 6 Sqn flying Typh oon s, to help th e Ma int en an ce Unit pilots co n ve rt to the new type with as little trou ble as possible. This did not , however, prove to be th e case, as th e Tempest II with its radi al eng ine had ver y different handling charac te rist ics in co mpa rison to th e Sabre-eng ine d versions of the same aircraft. T he nose profile of the Tem pest II

Below Pictured in serene flight is this Tempest VI. NX135, 01 No 6 Sqn, photographed in ea rly 1949. Visible under the wing centre section is the system air cleaner unique to this version and the standard lit 01 zerolength rocket rails. The dark patch on the radiator inspection panel is the background to the squadron badge, while it is repeated on the lin Ilanked by the unit's bar insignia. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

110

was wider tha n that of the Sa bre- po wered ai rcraft, whi ch mea nt that th e a irflow pat tern ove r th e rear fuselage foll owed a different flow pat h , making th e rudd er almos t ineffective, eve n if fully deflected, with th e rear fuselage in th e tail -down positi on . Furtherm ore, th e runw ays in Ind ia were ofte n lin ed with monsoon drain dir ch c on eac h side, and so it was inevit able tha t some acc idents would occ ur. To co mpound th e probl em th ere was always the possibility of a cross-wind, whi ch in the ea rly days would ca use aircraft to run int o the d itches, tea ring off th e un dercarri age legs. T he answer was to teach the pilots to land with the ta il held in the hori zon tal, and to keep the amo unt of dow n flap to the m inimum , wh ich would allow the rudd er to remai n effec t ive unti l touchd own on th e main wheels first. T hi s would a llow th e pilot to straigh te n up an y drift from the runway ce nt re line before the flying spee d dropped off and the tail dropped down. Having taught th e mainten an ce unit pilot s th e vagar ies of flying th e Tempest II, Frank rvl ~ rphy would mov e on to th e four Ind ian-based squadro n to give th em th e same lectures; but the pilo ts of th e squad rons were far more exc ite d abou t the perfor man ce of their new moun ts.

APe Training O nce the squadrons had acco mp lished co n version flying, it was t ime for AP C training. This ent ailed moving to Poon a, wh ere live-firing of a ll wea pons was prac tised , and d isplays were la id on for th e local arm y co mma nde rs th roughout Ind ia. O nc e the se displays of potenti al had bee n given, th e Tempest sq uadrons were sent on ar med patrols over the lorth- \Vest Frontier to quel l var iou s tribal disturbanc es. To practi se flying over th e mou nt ain ous terr ain th e squadro ns were detached to Risalpur and Pesh awar: here they were also give n firing practice ove r the ranges. O nce these tria ls had bee n co mpleted , th ey were sent o ut on gene ral and armed patrols, co mplete with roc kets and can no n ammun it ion, to int imidate the local tr ibe "men in an attempt to redu ce th e ir attacks aga inst settle me nts in th e region . De tach men ts were also sent out to outly ing bases, in sce nes remi n isce nt of the 1930s whe n biplan es ru led the skies. In a sim ilar man ner to the ir antecedent s, th e

T EM PEST A FTE R TIl E WAR

Above No. 33 Sqn would eventually take its Tempest Vs to the Far East. Based at Changi and other bases in the region . it would retain the Hawker fighters until June 1951 . Of note are the different finishes applied to the aircraft: some retain camouflage. whilst others are unpainted . C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Tempest squad rons wou ld find themselves de tache d to such locat ion s as Fort M iramsha h , where they wou ld occ upy the acco mmodat ion built for th eir RA F forebears. A lso from those pre-war times were the much needed 'road open patro l' days, dur ing wh ich the Tempests flew pat ro ls up and down the var ious roads in th e region in suppo rt of supply co n voy tr ucks en route to var ious rem ot e outposts. These missions were flown fully armed , with full rad io co mmun icat io ns being main ta ined th roughout, and these were co nt in ued dur ing daylight ho urs. O n their return , figh te rs were placed in the ind ivid ua l han gers ori ginally co nstruc ted in th e 1930s.

The RAF Withdraws Havin g sat isfied the needs of th e Royal A ir Force in India, it was the tu rn of the Roya l Indian A ir Fo rce to rece ive some of th e aircraft fro m th e Tempest production lin e, to replace the ir origina l equipmen t. T h is improv ement to the Ind ian A ir Force and its equipme n t, and the forthco ming partition of the Indian sub-contine n t, meant that a Royal A ir Force presence was no longer req uired; therefore preparations were pu t in hand to pass over the de fenc e of th e co un try to th e indi genou s air force, and to withdraw th e RA F squadrons. T he first RIA F uni t to receive the

Hawker Tempest was No. 3 Sqn RIAF, th eir first exa mples arriv ing in Se ptember 1946, wh ile N o. 8 Sqn RIA F received its new machines during th e fo llowing No ve mbe r. Following o n from the RIA F re-equi pm enr, the Royal A ir Force began to d isband its own uni ts. T he first to go was No. 30 Sq n on 1 December 194 6 , quick ly fo llowed by No. 152 Sqn , d isban ded otficiallyon 15 Jan uar y 1947. Later that year, on 1 A ugust 1947, No. 20 Sqn ceased to be a Tempest ope rato r, wh ile No. 5 Sqn followed suit the next day. Befor e th eir d isbandment , the pilot s of No . 5 Sqn had ac ted as the co n version uni t for the ir co unterpa rts of bot h the RIAF and the Pakistani A ir Force. O n 15 A ugust 1947 th e official part it ion of Ind ia and Pak istan took place, and the era of the British Raj came to a close. However, as far as the two eme rgent air forces were co ncerne d , the depart ure of the British d id mean th at they were well eq uipped, as most of the RAF aircraft were left behind .

A Last Fling for the Tempest O pe rat ion Firedog was the last fron t-line fling for the Hawker Tempest, wh en No . 33 Sqn was tran sferr ed to S inga pore instead of re-eq uippi ng with Vamp ires like th e rem ainder of the BAFO sq uadrons. T heir task wou ld be to ope rate alongside

777

the Bristo l Brigands of No. 84 Sqn in pursuit of Commun ist insurgents ope rating across Malaysia. The aircraft were transpo rted aboa rd the aircraft carrier H MS Oce an, wh ich was ope rat ing in the tran spor t role at the t ime (it wou ld no t return to active duty un t il the Korean War). The carrier arrived at Se lerar where th e a ircraft were disem barked ; they were then ta ken to C ha ng i, wh ich meant th at th e uni t was ab le to resume flyin g on 16 A ugust 1947. T he primar y mai n base for No . 33 Sqn would rem ain C hang i, although deta ch ment s would be mainta ined at Kuala Lum pur, Malaysia, up to and incl ud ing the early mon ths of 1950. From C hang i th e squad ron moved for a brief per iod to Ten gah, before finally departing to Butt erwort h in Malaya for its last period of operat ions, wh ich ended in May 195 1. T he sort ies flown by No . 33 Sqn incl uded strikes aga inst the Commun ist insurgent s, who were, however, very elusive in nature; th is mean t th at a great man y can no n she lls and rocket pro ject iles were expe nded on empty jun gle. O the r mission s were flown aga inst fixed target s tha t had been iden t ified by in telligen ce gathe ring, photo reconna issance and o the r so urces ; th us the Tempests would attack villages and jungle enca mpmen ts in an effor t to flush out the insurgents and dr ive them into wai t ing ambushe s. O perat ion Firedog wou ld occ upy the Royal A ir Force and th e othe r forces for at least two more years, a ltho ugh the Tempest itself flew its last sort ie on 6 Jun e 1951 . T he fo llowing day the un it began co n ve rt ing to the de Havill and Hornet F.3

T E ~ IP ES T

- alt ho ugh there would be trou ble with thi s aircraft beca use th e glue in the skin suffered in the hum id ity of the Far East.

Target-Towing Tempests A ltho ugh th e Tempest had fin ished its front-lin e ca ree r in 195 1, th ere was still a role for it in th e providi ng of seco nd- line services. This would on ly encompass the Sabre-po wered Tem pest V, wh ich would re-emerge as th e ca pab le, targe t-to wing Tempest IT.5. Con ve rsion work of redun dant fight ers for the ir new role began in

AFT ER T HE WA R

Feb ruary 1950 at Hawker's Langley works, and wou ld co n tin ue un t il the fina l mach ine was rolled out in May 1952 after eigh ty mach ines had been con ve rted. In serv ice th e co n verted figh ters were operat ed by uni ts based in Britain and Germany. W ithi n the bo und s of Brita in th e Tempest IT.5s were flown by the Ce nt ral G unnery Sc hool, the Armam ent Practi ce Camp at A ck lington, plus os 226, 229 and 233 Opera tiona l Con version U n it' based at Strad isha ll, C hiveno r and Pemb rey respec t ive ly. Each of the tar get-tug un its co ns iste d of two target-towi ng flights, whose periods of flyin g was dependent upo n th e weather:

th is meant that in the wint er, an y flying was done in one sh ift , but in the summe r the flying was don e in sh ifts from dawn to du sk, with eac h pilot co mpleti ng at least three sort ies d uring a sh ift. T h is part icular post ing was ve ry mund an e fo r th e pi lot s, as each sort ie was flow n to a strict pattern so the re was no requirem en t for an y vio lent manoeuvring exce pt in an eme rgency o r whil e un dertaking post-serv icing a ir tests. Even th ough th e Tempest IT. 5 was a purely peacetime co nve rsion, th e pil ot s were beset with th e norm a l prob lem s of o il in the cockp it wh ich led to sta ine d boo ts and co veralls, and a persisten t pcrva sivc odo ur.

Left SN329 was a standard Tempest VSeries 2 that was converted to be the prototype n .5 target-tow aircraft. seen here with an air-driven winch under the w ing. After extensive trials with the A&AEE from 1947 to 1949. the aircraft would lose its airdriven winch in favour of a simple release-shackle arrangement. After Boscombe Down,the Tempest was allocated to the APe at Sylt; it would be badly damaged in a forced landing on 4 June 1952.

J

Big Bird Aviation Collection

Below This side-on view of the prototype n .5 SN329 shows the target-towing winch in greater detail. Ofnote are the roundels and fin stripes associated more with war than peacetime. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

172

T EMPEST AFTER T il E WA R

Right Having flown with No. 485 Sqn, Tempest V. EJ875, was returned for conversion to n .5 standard . It would then be allocated to Sylt APe , before being sold to the MoS in 1955. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Right Tempest n.5 SN340 was operated by both the Acklington APC and No. 229 OCU; it w as withdrawn from use in November 1954. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Below At the end of their careers some aircraft ended up as training and displ ay ai ds. Such a fate has befallen SN219, which had been a n .5 with the Ackl ington APC and No. 233 OCU before ret ir ing in 1955. Big Bird Aviation Collection

113

TEMPEST AFTER Til E WAR

Above As a Tempest V. NV699 served with No. 222 Sqn before being reworked as a IT.5. In this guise. periods would be spent at Andover and with Nos 228and 229OCUs. after which the aircraft was sold to the MoS in July 1955. C. P. Ru ssell Smith Collection

Left Illustrating that target-towing could be a dangerous job is Tempest IT.5 EJ839. which served as a target tower with both the Acklington and Sylt APCs. When it was with the latter it was hit by a shell from an attacking aircraft. resulting in its being struck off charge on 6 September 1954. C. P. RussellSmith Collection

Left Only part of the Central GunnerySchool's 'FJ-U' is visible on this Tempest TI.5 SN261 . the groundcrew of which appears to be awaiting the arrival of the pilot. As with many of this version. the aircraft would eventually pass to the MoS in November1950. C. P. RussellSmith Collection

77 4

TEMPEST AFTE R Til E WAR

Over in Germa ny th e target -towing Temp ests were operated by th e A PC at Sylt. Bot h th e officially co n verte d Tem pest TT.5 and the un official conv ersio ns of th e Tempest IV were flown in large n umb ers in suppor t of th e target-tow ing role. In service the banner plus its tow ca ble wou ld be laid out a long the runw ay in th e dir ecti on of take-off. C areful marsh alling by ground sta ff wo uld d irec t th e pilot towards th e en d of the ca ble. O nce sto pped, th e cab le was attached to a shackle un der th e fuselage, afte r whi ch the pilot was cle ared for take-off. O nce a irbo rne , the a irc ra ft was d irected to wa rd s th e ra nge wh er e t h e p ilot would pursue a pr ese t h eight a nd co urse. To max im ize th e usage of th e ba n n er, the first leg was flo wn pa rallel to t h e ra n ge ce n tre line , afte r wh ich a recipro cal co urse was flow n . Th is dum bell co urse wo uld be fo llo wed wh ile a ttac k sort ies we re flo wn by sq ua d ro n pil ots a t a ra te of fo ur per h o ur. O nce t h e req uir ed a ttac k sor t ies h ad been co m ple te d, th e a irc ra ft would be d irect ed to a design at ed d rop spo t wh er e t h e pilo t wou ld pull a rel ease h a n dl e to drop t he ban ner. O nc e recov e red by th e gro un dc re w th e h its wo uld be co un ted , an d t h e resu lt tel ep h on ed to t h e ra nge off ice r. A lo ngside th e ta rge t- tug Tem pest uni ts, a h andful of th e type was o pe ra ted by th e Cent ra l G un ne ry Sc hool at W est Rayn h am , orfo lk, for th e tr aining of fut ure sq uad ron and fligh t co mma nde r . Bot h Mark Vs and Mark li s wer e used betwee n 194 7 and 1949 , with th e latter be ing regarded as the ad va n ced le vel a ircr aft. O utside th e Ro ya l A ir Fo rce, the Empire Test Pilot s Sc hoo l was also a user of t he Mark II a t Farnbo ro ugh . The last G e rma n -ba sed Tem pests wer e flown to th e Mai nten an ce U n it at Aston Dow n for sto rage a nd fin a l d isposal. A t C h ive nor, t he silver Tempest TT.5s, with th e ir bl ack -and -yell o w str iped undersur faces, wou ld a lso be flown to 20 Mainte nan ce U n it, A sto n Do wn , durin g December 1954 . The h o no ur of flyin g th e last Te mp ests in se rvice fel l to N o. 233 OCU based a t Pembrey, wh o woul d dispose of th e ir co n ve rte d H awker figh ters du ring Ju ly 1955 , a ltho ugh not be fo re man y h igh -ran king ex- Te mpest co mba t pilo ts h ad ar rived for a last nosta lgic fare we ll fligh t in th e big figh ter. While th e Ro yal Air Forc e was disposing of its Tempests, the ir co un te rparts in the Royal Ind ian Air Force wer e get t ing to grips with the ir new mounts. O rigina lly

man y of th e RIA F sq uad ro ns h ad bee n eq uippe d wit h vario us marqu es o f Spitfire, whi ch wer e desperat e ly in need of repl acement. o. 3 Sqn was th e first unit to tr ad e in its S upe rma rin e S p itfire V Il Is for Tem pest lIs at its Ko lar ba se d uring Se pte mber 194 6. Lat er that year , a s 8 and 10 Sqns RIAF woul d also relinqui sh th e ir ea rlie r a ircraft for th e big H awker figh ter, a pat te rn th a t wou ld be fo llo wed by j o . 4 Sqn o nce t hey h ad retu rned to In d ia afte r d uty wit h th e British Commo n wea lth A ir Compone nt as pa rt of th e Army of Occ upa t ion in Japan . O rigina lly eq uippe d with the G riffo npo we red S pitfire XIV, th e newe r Tempest 's were grat efu lly acce pted by th e un it, a sim ilar e mot io n be ing expressed by Nos. I , 7 and 9 Sqns R IAF, wh o dispensed with th ei r S pitfire V Il Is in time for the In dep ende nce Day ce lebrat ion whi c h took place o n 15 A ugust 1947 . But th e use of th e Te mpest by N os. I and 9 Sqns was to be short- lived, as th e pa rti t io n of th e Ind ian sub-cont ine nt in to Ind ia and Pakistan meant t hat thirt y-five Tempest l Is wou ld be passed o n to t he Ro ya l Pakist an A ir Force. The rem a in in g five Ind ian sq uad ro ns wo uld fo rm th e co mba t backbone over the next co uple of years, an d wou ld q uickly find th em se lves in ac t io n aga ins t insurgents o pe ra ting in th e Kashmir sta te, a sta te of affairs th at pe rsists to this day. Man y of th e in su rge nts were Kashmiri tr ibesme n, and to qu ell th eir vio len t tenden cies t he Ind ian Army qui ckl y depl oyed troops into the region , co urtes y of a n a irlift.

In iti al a ir suppo rt was give n by a h and ful of S pitfires , a lt h ou gh th is was q uick ly cha nge d to N o. 7 Sq n a nd its Te mpests. Their ar riva l, and the ir ab ility to car ry both bombs and rock et proj ecti les, mea n t th a t th ey wo uld play a decisive pa rt in suppressing th e insurgents, an offens ive th at wo uld c ulm inate in an ac t io n tha t becam e kno wn as the Bat tl e of Sh ela tung. Th is parti cu lar ca mpa ign would last so me fifteen mo nt h befor e a ceasefirc ca me in to effec t o n I Jan uar y 194 9 bri nging a fragile se nse of peace to th e region.

Tempests for th e RIAF H a ving ga ined th e ex- RA F Tempests, t he R IAF or igina lly h ad a st reng t h of 124 Tem pest lls, wh ic h would be supplemented by a furt he r e igh ty-n ine mach in es th at had bee n pu rchased by Hawker A irc raft from th e surplus stocks in storage at 20 M U , A ston Do wn . After refur bish ment, the reworked fighter bo mb ers were so ld to Ind ia, with de live ries tak ing place d uri ng 1949. A further twe n ty a ircraft wo uld be purchased by th e Indi an go ve rn ment direc tly fro m redundant RAF sto c ks held a t th e ma inten an ce units du ring 1951. During 1950 Ind ia becam e a repu blic, th erefore th e word 'R o yal ' was d ropped fro m the title of th e a ir force, whi ch fro m th en o n woul d become know n as th e ' Ind ian A ir Force' . By this da te th e IA F had fou r units eq uipped with Tempest F.2's, th ese be ing os 3,4, 8 and 10 Sq n,

Below Once MW764 01 the Royal Air Force. this Tempest II has been reworked lor the Indian Air Force; thus it bears the new seri al HA554 and the early version 01 national insignia. Photographed at l angley. the success or to the Tempest. the Sea Fury. can be seen in the background. C. P. RussellSmith Collection

115

TEMPEST AFTER Til E WAR

kn own as 'Toofan is' in th e service of th e IA F. T he Tempests did not imm edi ately disapp ear from the skies of Ind ia, however, as nu merous seconda ry roles were found to keep th em usefully employed, such as pilot training and, in a similar manner to the RAF, in the target -tu g role.

Tempests for the PAF

Above Tempest II HA626 pictured at Langley, awaiting delivery to the Indian Air Force; of note is the application of the now standard, three-colour rounde ls and fin fl ashes. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

wh ile No . 7 Sq n had re-equip ped with the de Havilland Vampire in 1949, altho ugh they were st ill dedicat ed to the fight erbomber role. Fo llowing on from No . 3 Sqn, furthe r Vampires were purchased to re-equ ip No s. 3 and 8 Sqns for much the same du ties, wh ile in May 1953 No . 10

Sqn wou ld trade in its Temp ests for th e two-seat de Havilland Vampire N F. I 0, for operat ion in th e nigh t-fighter role. T he fina l Tempest unit, No. 4 Sq n, would retai n th ei r big Hawker figh ters un t il these were rep laced by th e Fren ch -built Dassault O uraga n jet -powered figh ter bo mber -

Over the bord er in Pakistan , th e Tem pest F. 2s acq uired from Ind ia afte r the division were used to eq uip No s 5 and 9 Sq n of th e Royal Pak istan A ir Force, from its incept ion in 194 7. In a man ner similar to that of the RIA F, th e Temp ests of the RPA F were soon see ing ac t ion, main ly against recalc itran t tribesman on the No rt h- West Fronti er. During th ese policing actions, the full gamut of th e Tempest's weaponry was employed: thu s th e tribesmen co uld be faced with bo mbs, rocke ts or ca nno n shells, or a mix of all th ree. To build on the origina l th irty-five a ircraft gaine d afte r the parti t ion , th e RPA F purchased a furth er twenty- four

RIAF Tempests Although the warin Europe and the Far East had ended in 1945, there were still residual aircraft contracts in place; thus Hawkerswould continue to rollout Tempest lis, even thoughthe re was no real requirement for them. Many of these mach ines would see no servicewith the Royal Air Force and sowent straight into storage, mainlyat 5 Maintenance Unit, Kem ble, and 20 Maintenance Unit at Aston Down. To soak upsome of this surplus, many of these aircraft would findthemselves being transferred to theemergent Royal Indian Air Force that had come into existenceduring 1947. The initial batchof 124 aircraft wereofficially handed overon 25 September 1947; all would eventually acquire RIAFserials,although no tie-ups areknown. MW405,MW406, MW407, MW410, MW411 , MW412, MW413, MW414, MW419, MW420, MW421,MW435, PR527, PR529, PR536, PR539, PR540, PR541, PR543, PR544, PR545, PR546,PR54B,PR551, PR552, PR553, PR556, PR557, PR55B, PR559, PR562, PR564, PR567, PR5B4, PR5B5, PR590, PR591, PR592, PR593, PR594, PR595, PR597,PR59B,PR600, PR601 , PR602,PR603,PR605,PR606,PR607, PR609, PR610, PR61 2,PR61 4, PR61 7, PR61 B, PR619, PR620, PR621,PR647, PR651, PR652, PR653, PR655, PR65B, PR660, PR664, PR666, PR66B, PR671 , PR675, PR677, PR67B, PR6B1, PR6B4, PR6BB,PR713, PR714, PR7 17, PR71 9,PR721, PR722,PR725, PR727, PR72B, PR729, PR730, PR731, PR732,PR734, PR735,PR739, PR740, PR741, PR747, PR74B, PR750, PR751 ,PR752, PR773,PR775, PR7BO,PR7B3, PR7B7, PR7B9, PR791, PR794, PR795, PRB01, PRB04, PRBOB, PRB13, PRB14, PRB 15, PRB30, PRB35,PRB36, PRB37, PRB40,PRB42, PRB43, PRB49,PRB63, PRB6B

HA547, PRB74,HA54B, PR907, HA549, PRB93, HA550, PR902,HA551 , MWB31 , HA552, PRB90,HA553, MW3B5, HA554, MW764, HA555, MW751, HA556, MWB31, HA557, MW404, HA55B, MWB54, HA559, MWB47, HA560, MWB51 , HA561 , MW743, HA562, MW770, HA563, MWBOB, HA564, MW376, HA565, MW74B, HA566, MW742, HA567, MW760, HA56B, MW377. HA569, MWB17, HA570, MWB07, HA571, MWB19, HA572. MWB24, HA573, MW761, HA574, MW739, HA575, MW403, HA576, MWB53, HA577. MW773,HA57B, MWB30, HA579, MW777. HA5BO, MW75B, HA5B1 , MW402, HA5B2, MWB56,HA5B3, MWB23,HA5B4, MW752, HA5B5, MW392, HA5B6, MW763, HA5B7, MWB56, HA5BB, MW39B, HA5B9, MW395, HA590, MW3B2, HA591 , MWB10, HA592, MW3B7, HA593, MWB50, HA594, MW762, HA595, MW3B6, HA596, MW396, HA597, MW754, HA59B, MWB09, HA599, MWB22,HA600, MW746, HA601 , MW750, HA602, MW759, HA603, MW793, HA604, MW401 , HA605, MWB14, HA606, MW796, HA607, MW759, HA60B, MW795, HA609, MW76B, HA610, MW797, HA611,MW397, HA612, MWB29, HA613, MW400, HA614, MW791, HA615, MW769, HA616, MW756, HA617, PR525, HA61B, MWB55,HA619, MWB52, HA620, MW390, HA621 , MWB2B, HA622, MW741, HA623, MWB4B. HA624, MW767, HA625, MW3B9, HA626, MW391, HA627, MW37B, HA62B, MW3BO, HA629, MW771, HA630, MW3Bl, HA631,MW3B3, HA632, MW379, HA633, MW399, HA634, MW393, HA635, MW3BB A further two batches of Tempest lis would be purcha sed by the RIAF afterservice with the Royal Air Force. As before, these machines were purchased byHawker's via theMoSfromstorage at No.20 Maintenance Unit. Aston Down. Purchasedatesfor thesetwo batches tota lling twenty airframes wereconcluded on9 July and 29 August respectively.

Three of these aircraft, PR54B, PRB49 andPRB36, were delivered forspares usage, and categorized as Cat.5 before delivery, as unfit to fly. Six months after thefirst batch of aircraft wasdelivered to the RIAF, Hawker Aircraft would purchase,via theMinistryof Supply, a further 113Tempest lis that were surplusto RAFrequirements, that were in storageat 20 Maintenance Unit. Aston Down. After refurbishmentby Hawker's, eighty-nine weresold on to the RIAF. As before, theseTempestsweredrawn from aircraft in the MWand PR·serialied batches.

Batch1: PR659, PR676, PR736, PR743, PR745, PR746, PR756, PR774, PRB51,PRB56, PR867, PR901 , HA465(RIAFI Batch 2: PR555, HA407(RIAFl, PR663, PR683, PR733, PR7 58, PRm, PR779, PR834 Eventually India would receive a tota l of 233 Hawker Tempest lis.

116

TEMPEST AFTER TIlE WAR

HA623

Hawker A ircraft refur bish ed machines, so the two ori ginal un its ach ieved an esta blishm ent of sixteen aircraft each , and would allow for the form ati on of a furt her uni t, nu mbered as o. 14 Sqn , A furt her twen ty-one Tem pest F.2s were purchased dir ectl y from red undant RA F stoc ks for att rit ion replace ment pur poses du rin g 195 1/5 2. A lthough th e rAF, as it h ad becom e, had built up a respectab le q uantity of Tempests, its days as a front -line figh ter were num bered, as they would all be ret ired to secondary dut ies by 1953. T he a ircraft destin ed to replace them would be anot he r Hawker product, th e Fury FB.60 . In second- line service the Tem pests were used for pilot train ing, weapon s train ing and finally as tar get tugs before fina lly be ing retired to sto rage. T hey were finally redu ced to scrap e1uri ng 1958.

Above Marked as HA623, this Tempest II is the only complete restored exampleon display in India. C. P. Russell SmithCollection Below Hawker Tempest II PR871 spent a short period with Hawker's until being sold to the Pakistani Air Force in February 1952. C. P. Ru ssell Smith Collection

PAF Tempests Upon the divisionof theIndian sub-continent into India and Pakistanin 1947, both countriesturned to Britain for equipment fortheir respective air forces. Those delivered to India are dealt with elsewhere. while those destined for thePakistan Air Force would bedelivered in three batches. The firstgroup of Tempests acquired bythePAF were thirty-fiveex-RAFmachines handed over on 25 September 1947just after parti tion. Some time after receiving their Tempests they were re-serialled into the PAF numbering sequence, which was prefixed with an A followed bythree numbers. PR530, PR535, PR549. PR560, PR563. PR565. PR566. PR581, PR587, PR588, PR589. PR608, PR61 1, PR623. PR648. PR649, PR656, PR661 , PR662, PR670, PR686, PR715, PR71 8, PR723, PR724. PR737,PR754, PR755,PR772, PR796,PR799, PR800, PR810. PR831, PR832

A1 28, PR866,A1 29, PR898,A130, PR906,A 131 , PR892.A 132,PR894,A133,PR806, A1 34,PR872,A135. PR865,A136. PR876,A I 37, PR91 4.A138,PR749,A139,PR809, A140, PR900, A1 41, PR91 7,A142. PR910, A143,PR615. Al44. PR875, A145,PR909. AI46,PR897,AI 47, PR891 , AI48. PR889, A1 49, PR91 5.A150.PR912,A 151,PR899 A final batchof twentyone Tempestswou ld bepurchased byPakistan in the period 26 November 1951 to 11 November 1952. this bringing thefinal total to eighty·eight aircraft. All of these aircraft werereti red RAFexamplespurchased fromstocksheld at No. 20 Maintenance Unit. Aston Down, before being refurbished byHawker'sfor onwarddelivery. MW408, PR528. PR531, PR542,PR550, PR613, PR673, PR685, PR771 , PR784, PR803, PR805, PR847, PR860, PR871, PR873,PR896, PR903,PR905, PR913,PR919

A second batch of Tempest lis waspurchased by Hawker's from thestocks held at No. 20 Maintenance Unit. Aston Down, viathe MoSin May 1948. After refurbishment these twenty-four aircraft weredelivered to Pakistan.

117

CHAPT ER TEN

The Fury and Sea Fury To most , th e Hawk er Sea Fury is a bit of a myster y, but it is in fact th e fin al ex pression of th e compa ny's fighter design policies tha t str etched back to the b iplan e era. Prior to th e Sea Fury, the Flee t A ir A rm ha d flown a var ied se lec tion of mod ified land figh rcrs for use on fleet and escort ca rriers, some of the bette r know n o nes bein g th e Hawker Se a Hur rican e and th e uperrn arine Seafire . When h osti litie s h ad cea sed in 1945 th e Royal N avy was faced with a cho ice co ncc rn ing its a ircraft , as a good majority of the m were used on a 'Lend Lease' basis from th e nit ed Sta tes; so th e cho ices were sta rk: e ither scra p th em, bu y the m, or send them back. In most cases th e A mcr ica n mach ines were removed fro m th e FA A in ven tor y very quick ly. T h is left the Fleer A ir A rm with a sho rtag e of ai rcraft for its sq uadrons , and some of those alrea dy in service were desper at el y in need of rep lacem ent. Int o the breach woul d ste p Hawk er 's, with an almost ideal replacem en t - whi ch, ironi cally, h ad sta rte d life as a design for th e Royal A ir Force .

The Ligh t We ight Fighter The Sea Fury owed its developm ent to th e ea rl ier Tempest. Th is fighter, although outsta nd ing in th e gro und att ac k and h cavy fighter ro le, was cons ide red too big and h cavy for such du ties as po int defence. Hawker's had alread y sta rted to inve st igate the building of a ligh ter a ircraft , usin g the Tempest as a basis. T he new fight cr des ign was in tended to ret ain as mu ch as possible of its predecessor and wou ld bc put forward as th e 'Light Weight Fighter '. T hc first mov es towards crea ting the LWF had bcgun in Se pte mbe r 1942, and inv o lved the replacem ent of th e or igina l wing cen tre section with onc of sho rte r span , to whi ch wou ld be affixed mod ified Tempest outer wing panels. A formal presentation of th e project was begun in Janu ary 1943 with th e issuan ce of Spec ification E6/42: th is gave th e aircraft th e titl e 'Tempest Ligh t Wcight Fighter (C entauru s)' , A furt her refinem ent of th e design by ydncy C amm and hi s team at Hawker Aircraft would result in Specific at ion E2/43 bc ing issued by th e M inistry of S upp ly.

Below Prior to the appearance of the Sea Fury, the Fleet Air Arm was equipped with the Supermarine Seafire and the Sea Hurricane, as shown here. NF717came complete w ith arrestor hook, wing -mounted cannon and launch spools; the only thing missing were the folding w ings. Big Bird Aviation Collection

118

Foll owing on from the presentati on of the L\VF ca me a requ est from th e Admiralt y in A pr il 1943 for a sh ip-bo rne figh te r th at would be based on th e same air cr aft. T hc spec ifica t ion issued by th e A d miralty was N .7/43, to whi ch Syd ney am m responded by concl ud ing that both figh tc r requ irem ents could be based on a sing le design , with minim um mod ifications bci ng app lied for each service . To cate r fo r each service requirem en t, supp lementar y design slicers wou ld be issued alon gside rh e primary a irc raft blueprints. It was intended from th e outset th at both ve rsions of th e Light Wc igh t Figh ter would be powered by the Bristo l C cn raurus XII p iston eng ine , with Hawker be ing respo nsib le for the design lead and th e aircra ft built for th e Roya l A ir Force , wh ile the Fleer Ai r A rm aircraft woul d be ub-con rracred to Boulto n Paul A ircr aft based at Wolvcrh ampton.

An Eng ine for th e New Fighter A Ithough th e Bristo l C en ta urus was th e prefer red eng ine, its pop ula rity meant that alterna t ives h ad to bc seriously cons ide red . To cat er for thi s, six LWF prototyp es were o rdered in December 194 3 to S pec ifica tion E2/43 . Two woul d h ave Bristo l Cen taurus XXIIs insta lled, on e would h ave a C en raurus XII fitt ed . whi le two wou ld have Roll s-Royce G riffon eng ines und er the hood. The final mach in e was destined to spend its life as a fat igue test spec ime n. Cate ring for th e n ava l changes wo uld result in th e issue of a supplemen rarv spec ificat ion co ming from the Ad mira lty: j .22/43 . Wi thin the Hawker Aircraft fram ework th e co mpany referred to each version by its own model number: thus th e P. I0 18 woul d cov er the proposed api er Sabre IV, P.IOI9 covered th e Ro lls-Royce Griffon 6 1, wh ile P. 1020 cov ered th e Bristo l Cen raurus versions .

Til E FURY AND SEA FURY

--- - _.~.~~~--Above and left This pl an and side view of the Hawker Sea Fury sing le -seat fighter reve als its Typhoon and Tempest ancestry . Big Bird Aviation Collection

Right The Griffon 85 installation on the front of the Tempest/Fury prototype LA610 was not the neatest ever seen; however. it served its purpose well . as both an engine and propeller testbed . Big Bird Aviation Collection

Right When specificat ion N.7/43 w as issued . one of the ai rcraft produced as the Naval Fury was SR661 . which w as the firs t rolled out. This particul ar machine made its first flight on 21 February 1945and was semi- naval ized in that it featured an arrestor hook but lacked fold ing w ings . FAA Museum Collection

119

TIl E FURY AND SEA FURY

Above Airframe LA610 had originally been ordered as a Tempest III, although it would eventually be completed as the Sabre VII-powered Fury prototype. In this view it sports a four-bladed propeller assembly. Big Bird Aviation Collection Left This air-to-air view of the F.2/43 Fury NX798 show s how close this aircraft wa s in shape to the fin al production Sea Fury. This part icul ar machine had first flown on 1 September 1944, powe red by a Bristol Centaurus XII engine. It would later be fitted with a Centaurus XVIII, and would end its days in Egypt after refurbishment. FAA Museum Collection

Left Although powered by the Napier Sabre VII, the F.2/43 Fury LA610portrays many of the features that would filter through to the product ion Sea Fury, including the tail unit. Big Bird Aviation Collection

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The maiden flight of proto type N X798 bu ilt to pec ificatio n E2/43 was on 1 Se ptember 1944 , with Hawker test pilot Ph ilip Lucas. The powerplan r install ed in th is mach ine was a Bristo l Ce n taurus XII, altho ugh th is would be rep laced later in the test programme by th e Cen raurus XV III. O nce NX7 98 had successfully co mpleted its in itial fligh t test eva luation , it was th e tu rn of the G riffon-p owered LA6 10 to make its maiden flight on 7 Novembe r 1944. In co nt rast to the earlier mach ine th is aircraft's eng ine d rove a six-bladed co nt ra- rotat ing Rorol prop eller assemb ly. W ith both protot ypes successfully ai rborne . the process of dispensing names began; th us th e aircraft for th e Royal A ir Force became known as the Fury, wh ile its Royal Na vy co unterpa rt was origina lly na med the av al Fury, although th is was soo n changed to th e far more apt Sea Fury.

Pos t-War Dev elopment Progra mme \'V'ith the succe ssful assault upon Euro pe well und er way, it was inevitab le that many aircraft contrac ts wou ld be drast ica lly cut or dispen sed wit h altogethe r. O ne of the first co n trac ts to go was that of th e Hawker Fury, as th e Royal A ir Force had nu me rous order s out standi ng for G riffonpowered Spitfires of various marques, plu s grea t n umbers of Tempests bei ng deli vered new to the ma in tena nce un its for storage. A lthough the RAF had dec ided no t to pursue the Fury fight er, th e Ad mira lty would co n t in ue push ing the development of the naval version as a much needed supplement to th e Supermarine Seafires and Fairey Fircflys already ava ilable. Both type s were essen tially figh ters, th e former see n as a fleet defen ce fighter. wh ile the latt er was a long-range fighter, alt ho ugh both did have some form of gro und-a ttack capa bility. T he on ly othe r possib le a lte rnatives were the A mer ican aircraft already in serv ice, although thei r purchase carried with it the att endan t prob lems of spa res and support costs. G iven these two fac tor s, the Fleet Air Ar m wou ld ev ent ually say fare well to its G rumma n and C ha nce Vou ght figh ters once hosti liti es had cease d , man y being d isposed of by heavin g th em over the side of the ca rriers into the sea . After th e withdrawal of th e RA F from the Fury progra mm e, the two already

Above The Sea Fury range 01 aircraft encompassed the Mark X and Mark 11 single-seaters, plus two versions 01the T Mk .20 training variant. the latter three being shown in this general arrangement drawing. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Below Although the Sabre VII inst allation had smoother cowlings than the Typhoon and Tempest set-up, it still required extensive cool ing, hence the enlarged intakes in the wing's leading edges, Big Bird Aviation Collection

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the fallouts from th e redu ct ions an d contrac t ca nce llations was the recall of prod uction of the Sea Fury from Boulto n Paul at \Vo lverhampton to th e Hawker Aircraft facto ry at Kin gsto n , to ensure th at th e primary cont ractor 's wor kforce was fully occ upied until the post-war manufactur ing position had sta bilized. Fo llowing on from the ret urn of th e co nt ract came the parti ally co mp leted pro totype VB85 7, whic h was mov ed by truck to its new hom e duri ng Janu ary 194 5.

The Fur y 's Maid en Fli ght Above This side -on view of LA610reveal s the care taken by the Hawker designers to achieve a good. cle an, aerodynamic airframe . Big Bird Aviation Coll ection

Above During its flying history the Fury prototype LA610 was initially powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon 85 driving a six -blade, contra-rotating propeller assembly. Once these flight trials had been completed, the Griffon was replaced by a Centaurus XV, before the Napier VII was fined . Big Bird Aviation Collection

co mpleted aircraft were transferred to Navy de velopment wor k. They would be jo ined by two furt her pro totypes, th e first of whi ch, N X80 2, powered by a Bristo l Ce n ta urus XII en gine , made its maiden flight on 27 July 1945. T h is was followed by the seco nd airframe, VP207 , which was eve nt ually co mpleted in 1947 and made its first fligh t that sa me year. T h is parti cu lar machine was one of the air craft orde red as a back -up to th e Cen taurus Furies, being powered by a apier Sa bre V II. \Vh en test- flying th is mach ine , it was found that its to p speed was some 4 5mph (780k m/h) lA S in level fligh t, wh ich made it the fastest ever figh ter buil t by Hawker A ircraft . As the Fury fligh t tri als were

successfully, Hawker's proc eeding co ncl ude d that the deve lopmen t programme co uld be safel y split to follow two distinct paths: one wou ld co nt in ue to suppo rt th e Sea Fury development programme, whil st th e other wou ld co nc ent rate upon developing the type for pot enti al expo rt custo me rs. W hil e th e Royal A ir Force was reducing its co mmi tment to buy ing furt her figh ters from H awker's, the Royal av y, whil e st ill retain ing its opt ions for the Sea Fury, was also looking closely at its post-war a ircraft req uirem ents. After much deliberation the in itia l purcha se of Se a Furies was reduced to a to tal of one h undred airframes, thi s later bei ng dropped to fifty aircraft. O ne of

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T he delay in completing the prototype VB857 at Boulton Paul meant that the first Fury prototype to make its maid en fligh t was SR66 I: it took to the air on 21 Febru ar y 194 5. Aft er co mplet ion of manufact urers' flight tri als, and the inevit able tweaks that th is process norma lly enge ndered, airframe SR66 1 was transferred to RAE Farnborou gh for more fo rmal evaluation d urin g May 194 5. T hese co nce n trate d upon th e aircra ft's beh avi our und er simulated carrier opera t ing co nd it ion s, and espec ially in th e perform an ce of the rudder th roughou t the entire spee d range encountered d uring take-off and landing. T he int erim repo rt from the test pilot te am co mme nted that , give n th e power output of the Ce n ta urus eng ine , full rudd er deflection to sta rboard was required to co un terac t th e to rque gene rated by the propel ler under full power duri ng the ta ke off run . Problems were a lso enco un te red with the ove rall han d lin g of th e aircraft, as pilot s complained abo ut the lack of rudder 'feel', whi ch was exa ce rba ted by th e be hav iour of th e fitted spring ta b. O ne of the final co nclusions in th e report con cerning rudder han dl ing was that th e 'feel' problem req uired urgent addressing, as it was post ulat ed that tyro pilot s co uld end up mishan dling th e ai rcraft if unp repared for its idiosyncrasies. T hi s behavio ur becam e even more pronoun ced when th e rudder was fully deflect ed to the left before th e take-off run began , th us as soo n as a ir pressure was applied to the rudd er surface , the rudder spring tab imm ediate ly began to co mpensa te, wh ich in turn caused the air craft to swing mor e to the lefr. Sho uld th is pilot -ind uced swing contin ue, it co uld be reversed by th e appl icati on of opposite rudder - although thi s woul d norm ally occ ur just as th e Bristo l C en raurus power -

TIl E FURY A ND SEA FURY

plant was ach ieving full power. T he use of flap deflecti on up to th irty degrees could also cause furt her problem s. Th e engine inst a lled in th is first prototype was th e Bristo l Ccn raurus XII, whi ch d rove a four-bladed Ro ro l propel ler assembly, and as it was purely a development mach ine, SR66 1 was built with out fo ld ing wings, although it was fitt ed wit h an arrestor hook for deck -land ing trials. Fo llowing on from th e first flying pro totype ca me SR66 6, a fully nav alized a ircraft featu ring fold ing wing oute r pan els as well as the requ ired arres to r-hook eq uipmen t. As th is was also a devel opmen t a ircraft , th e wing-fold mechani sm was completely manua l, as were the win g locking pin s. Th is aircraft would make its first fligh t on 12 October 1945, being powered by a C en ta urus XV instead of th e proposed C en raurus XXII dest ined for th e pro du ctio n aircraft, as Bristo l's had enco untered some manu facturing difficu lties with thi s version . Brin ging SR666 closer to the req uired produ ction standa rd, it was fitt ed with a five-blade Ro tol-balanced propel ler assembly. W hat wou ld become the thi rd flying pro to type, VB857, had been sitt ing in the Hawker's factor y since its retu rn from Boul ton Paul. It wou ld fina lly be co mpleted in late 1945, mak ing its maid en fligh t on 2 1 Janu ary 1946.

Bristo l's final cure to the engine cran kshaft eizurc prob lem was th e repla cement of the or iginal Cen tnurus with the in tended product ion power planr , th e Cen ta urus XV III. Mu ch of the devel op ment work plus airborn e tr ials had been ca rried out usin g the F. 2/43 pro tot ype N X802 . While Bristol 's and H awker's wor ked hard to restor e co nfide nce in the Cen raurus eng ine, in it ial lan d -based fligh t tr ials prior to full sca le carrier tri als were be ing ca rried out at A &AEE Boscom be Down during 1946, using prototype SR666 . O nce these tri als had been succ essfully co mpleted, the whole process

was then moved aboard th e fleet aircraft carrier, HM S Victorious.

Flight-Handling Trials T hi s series of tr ials wou ld concent rate upon the behaviour of th e rudder und er carrier operat ing co ndit ions, especia lly during deck land ings or waved-off missed approaches. Prior to the sea- based fligh ts with their atte nda n t and co mplicat ed approach and landing patt erns, the land -based trials had revealed th at the rudd er surface on ly rem ained effec t ive

Engine Problems Above Marked with Royal Navy titles and prototype mark ings is the second Sea Fury prototyp e SR666. It

As V B85 7's co mplet ion had been so dela yed, it allowed Hawker's to roll it out fully navalized . With thr ee airframes ava ilable , two fully navalized and one not, full scale developm ent fligh t-testing could begin from the test airfield at Kingston to hasten th e program me along. However, th ese good int ent ions woul d be placed unde r a great strain , as th e Bristol Ccn ta urus engines devel oped th e distu rbing habit of breaking cran kshafts in the a ir. In vest igation int o th e problem event ually traced th e fault to th e lubricati on system that was found to be operat ing in term itten tl y; th is wou ld cause the cranks ha ft to overheat and break und er the she ar load generated. Unt il the fault was cured by Bristo l's, quite a few pilots wou ld find themselv es walking home to the test airfield at Langley afte r their aircraft's engine had failed. Fort unately, because the compan y's test pilot s were so experienced, it meant th ere were no casualties, altho ugh th ere were a few bumps and bruises.

made its first fl ight on 12 October 1945, and came completely naval ized as it sported both an arrestor hook and folding wings. w. A. Harrison Collection Below Having completed its flight trials, SR666 then spent time at the gun butts for weapon performance and harmonization trials. For this purpose , the rear fuselage was lifted on trestles to approximate flying trim. W. A. Harrison Collection

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whil st using maxi mum cli mbin g power, whil e the usc of full power und er th ese circumstances reduced th e rudder's effect iven ess. It was also intended that th ese trials would in vest igate the repor ted d irection al instab ility experienced during the actual land ing run afte r to uch -do wn . The recom men ded act ion given to pilots was to usc harsh , aggressive wheel bra king to keep the aircraft moving in a straigh t line. To hel p co mpe nsate for thi s longitu d inal drift it was recom mended stro ng ly in th e tri als report that a pilo t-opera ted railwheel lock be incor por ated in th e prod uct ion machi nes after protot ype fligh t tr ials. A benefit of incor porati ng thi s lock wou ld mean th at th e railwheel uni t wou ld remain fore and aft, thus allowing the tai l leg unit to retract without inciden t. Prior to th is, th e castoring tail wheel had exh ibited a tend ency to remain off cent re after ta ke-off, whi ch wou ld prevent it from retractin g.

O ne aspect of handling th at had been inherited from the Tempest was similar sta ll character istics, as the a ilerons wou ld lose full co nt rol autho rity at 98mph ( 158km/h ) lA S in landing configuration; however, th e elevato rs would st ill retain the ir posit ive han d ling down to 88 mph (14 2km /h) lA S und er similar circumstances. Having cured the lubricat ion problem s with the C cn ta urus eng ine , bot h Bristol and Hawker's were faced wit h a vibration prob lem in the I ,700rp m region and below, where th e rigidl y mounted powerplant caused serious vibrat ions that wou ld co nt in ue th rough ou t the land ing approach, all th e way to to uch-do wn . Coupled to the eng ine beh aviour was that of th e prop eller, whi ch exh ibited a tend en cy to overspced, espec ially if go aro und or emergenc y power was sudd enly applied.

Below Photographed overflving HMS Formidable. this Sea Fury X would soon join the circuit to land. Fleet Air Arm Museum

Tes ting the Arrestor Sys tem O nce th e fligh t-h and lin g tria ls had been co mpleted, it was the tu rn of the ar restor system to un dergo exte nsive testi ng, wh ich began during Ju ly 194 5. It had already been estima ted that bot h the pilot and aircraft would be subjected to loads of 3 gs when land ing on th e fligh t deck , as th e po int of hook engageme n t was offset from the deck cent rel ine by some 15ft (4.5m ) eithe r way to ens ure th at ope rationa l Se a Furies had enough leeway to land un der all seago ing co nd itions. Duri ng these trials th ere was the usual selec t ion of missed wires, appro aches and bounced wires, altho ugh th e great majori ty of co n nec ted lan d ings were successful. Most of the problemati c lan d ings were ca used by the arres tor hook bou nc ing on to uchdown. To improve the behav iour of the hook assemb ly, the aircra ft was returned to Hawk er's Langley facto ry for modification s to the hook damper, whose st iffness was increased. First eva luat ion flights were und ertak en at RA E Farnborou gh, SR666 arriving on 27 July. The lan d and sea tri als q uickly prove d that the modifi cati on had erad icated the fau lt, th us it was quick ly appro ved for embod imen t in produ cti on mach ines by the end of the month .

Deck-Landing Trials Full-blown deck-landin g trials began aboard the fleet a ircraft car rier HM S O cean on 10 A ugust and were jud ged successful enough for th e next stage to be starred. To begin wit h , th is next seq uenc e was land-based, and required th at SR666 be despat ched to RAE Farn borough dur ing July 1946 for deck -cat apult launch ing tr ials. In itially the aircraft was lau nched from the esta blish ment 's lan d based ca ta pult in the tail-down hold-back position , however thi s arrangement generated forces of such int en sit y, 2.2g, that th e tai lwh eel assembly co llapsed under th e load. To repair the a ircra ft it was necessary to return it to the manufacturers, espec ially as one of the runw ays at Langley was grass, therefore a temporary rep air was insti tuted to a llow the damaged figh ter to retu rn ho me and land on th e less abras ive grass surface . In vest igation by Hawker 's soo n revealed th at th e co llapse had been caused by th e un locked ta ilwheel sh immying o n lau nch , whi ch increased th e already h igh load

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TilE FURY AND SEA F RY

placed upon the assembly. So that the laun ch tr ials could co n t in ue, a temporar y ta il leg was installed, whi ch was locked in the dow n positi on; howev er, with th e te mpo rary modifi cati on in place , th e maxim um spee d was limited to 200 mph (320km/h ) lA S. Although th e airbo rne spee d was limit ed , th e tri als were resum ed , thes e be ing bro ugh t to a swift co ncl usion during th e first wee k in Octobe r 194 6. U n like num erou s o the r aircraft operated by th e Fleet Ai r A rm, th e Sea Fury was fitted with a ce n tre line catap ult spoo l, wh ich had proved to be more efficient with th e rnilwheel assembly in the locked posit ion . S ix mon ths later the Sea Fury X, co mplete wit h foldi ng win gs, was in product ion for th e squadrons of th e Fleet A ir Arm. From the early-build mach ines the fourt h air craft, TF989, was seco nded to RAE Farn boro ugh for cata pult acce ler at ion tr ials. Foll owin g on from th ese tri als the Sea Fury was transferred to HM S Illustrious to ev aluate the beh avi our of th e prod uc t ion machines dur ing th e crit ical take-o ff and landing ph ases. uccessfully co mpleted, th e nex t seq uence of trials aboa rd th e same ca rrier used th e sixth prod uct ion machine, TF900 , altho ugh these inv olv ed the full ran ge of ca rrie r ope ratio ns. In co nt rast to th e protot ypes and th e initial prod ucti on Sea Furies, th is aircraft had bee n fitt ed with an arrestor hook wit h a lon ger arm th at was far mor e rigid. Fitmcnt of thi s kind of hook assembly had immediate ben efit s, one of wh ich was increased sta bility of the a ircraft afte r co n nect ing with the arr estor wire and duri ng the subsequen t land ing run. T he inspirat io n for thi s modificat ion had been a repo rt by th e Int ensive Se rvice Tr ials U n it , whi ch had strong ly noted th at the sho rte r arr estor hook had been quite flexible and had ca used weather coc king on th e land ing run out.

Testing the Armament Having co mplete d th e land ing and tak eoff tri als successfully, it was turn of Sea Fury X VR920 to be passed to RA E Farn boro ugh for eva luat ion of th e RAT OG eq uipme nt; this too k place duri ng No vembe r and December 1947. W h ile th e RAT O G firing and laun ch tr ials were co mpleted with few prob lem s, the same could not be said of the wea po nry trials. The grea test culprits were the

Above Sea Fury X TF895 wa s the first production machine. and is pictured here at Langlev. In contrast to earl ier mach ines. onlv one large intake is mounted on the w ing leading edges. and the propeller assembly w as still a four-bl aded unit. Big Bird Aviation Collect ion

und erwing roc ke t projecti les and th eir zero-leng th laun ch rails . In th eir ori gin al manufactured co nd it ion th e mounting shear pin s sho wed a disturbing te nde nc y to fail und er th e high 'g' loading gene rated by an off-ce nt re line-arrested landing, which resulted in 60 lb (27k g) roc kets skitte ring across th e ca rrier deck . Fortunat el y for all involv ed th e warh eads were co mp letely inert, but eve n so, it would tak e a ll th ose inv o lved ano the r eleven mont hs to cor rec t th is fault.

Maid en Flight of th e Firs t Prod uc tion Mac hine While th e occas iona l glitc h occ urred d urin g th e Sea Fury car rier tri als, never theless it was sufficien tly adva nced for producti on to co ntin ue. The fina l total of Sea Fury Xs orde red from Hawk er 's would reach fifty aircraft, as it was see n as an int erim version and woul d be useful as a developm ent and training mach ine. Thi parti cu lar va rian t was very similar to th e pro totype SR666, alt ho ugh its powerpl ant had bee n cha nge d to the pro duc t ion Bristol Centa urus 18 eng ine rat ed at 2,480 h p, whi ch in turn d rove a fourbladed propell er assembly. T he first production mach ine, co mplete wit h a shor t arresto r hook, was rolled out after gro und trials during Septe mbe r 194 6, and

125

at th e end of th e month TF895 made its maid en flight from th e Lan gley a irfield, pilot ed by co mpa ny pilot R. V. Morell. O f th e fifty a ircraft manufactured , at least twenty would be div ert ed for test, tri als and development pu rposes. The manufacturers ret a ined a ircraft TF895 and TF897 for gene ral perform an ce and handling tri als, and TF900 for th e spec ific purp ose o f testing the rudder spring tab to det erm ine th e best sett ings for its usage. T he tr ialling of weapon s was car ried out using TF9 23, whil e aircraft T F898 and TF899 were used for ground- and car rierbased land ing trials, and pre-serv ice release tr ials were un dertaken at A&AEE using Sea Furies TF902 and TF908. Further pre- re lease tri als inv o lvin g the internally mounted Hispan o Mark V short- ba rrelled cannon arma me n t and ot he r exte rna l weapon load s were also un dert aken at Bascombe Down, using any ava ilab le aircraft . In add it ion, tri als invol vin g mod ified undcrw ing roc ke t projec tiles were car ried out at th e A&AEE, eve n tua lly sixtee n being cleared for ca rriage on Dup lex mount ings. Whil e some of th e produ cti on aircraft were inv ol ved in th ese tri als, th ere was still a ro le for prototype SR66 6, whi ch was to ca rry o ut release and ca rriage tri als for both 500lb and I ,0001b bombs. C lea ranc e was a lso obta ined for o the r exte rn al sto res already in Fleet Air Arm service , which includ ed I ,OOOlb incendi ary bombs, Type

TIl E FURY AND SEA FURY

2 Mark II smo ke floats, plus th e 45 and 90ga l (205 and 41 Olrr) und erw ing fuel tan ks. It fell to TF9 23 to act as the ca rrier ai rcraft dur ing the tria ls involving the design and developm ent of napal m tanks. o t only d id th is invo lve th e behaviour of various sha pes, it also included their performance whe n dro pped from d ifferen t altitudes. O nce all these n umerous trials had been co mpleted, the Con tro ller A ircraft cle ared th e Hawker Sea Fury X for operationa l service on 3 1 Jul y 1947.

Below With only its underwing seria ls appl ied. the first production Sea Fury X TF895 has emerged unpainted into the sunl ight fo r its initial off icial portr ait. Big Bird Aviation Coll ection

Above Although the Sea Fury X present s an unbalanced appearance in this head-on view. it had no effect on perfor mance. TF895 spent most of its l if e undertaking trials work w ith Hawker's and the A&AEE. Big Bird Aviation Co llection

The Sea Fury int o Active Service Having run the gamut of Hawkers, th e A&AEE and the Int ensive Flying Trials U n it , the ea Fury was cle ared for use by the Fleet Ai r A rm, wh ose No. 778 Sqn , based at R A S Ford , acc epted their first machine in February 194 7. O bservers of the FA A will insta ntl y recogn ize that No. 778 Sqn was dest ined to act as the Sea Fury co n version and training un it. Ini t ially it rece ived th ree machines - T F90 5, T F906

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and T F90 7 - altho ugh th is was qui ckl y redu ced to two when TF906 was lost in a crash on 20 June, the cause be ing att ributed to mishand ling by the pilot. Fo llowin g on from o. 77 Sq n , th e first ope rat ional un it to receive the Sea Fury X was No. 80 7 Squadron based at Eglint on , wh ose first machines arrived during Se pte mber 194 7; the new fighter was rep lac ing th e ea rlier and sligh tl y more doc ile Supe rmar ine Scafire XV II. T he cont rast in aircraft behaviour was po in ted up o n ly to o c learly when T F9 15 was lost in a crash on 2 1 A ugust 1948. A s Hawker's and the Fleet A ir A rm had resolved the faul ts of the Sca Fury X, th e co mpan y fclt able to offer th e A dm iralty the far more ca pable Mar k II ; th is featured power-foldi ng wings as standard , amongst othe r in novations. O ne of the benefits of such a system was th at it wo uld improve the strike-do wn tim es for th e deck c rews tryin g to run a ca rrier fligh t dec k und er pressure. T he power-folding system fitt ed to the Sea Fury I I was h yd rauli cally ope rated: it fo lded and extended the oute r panels, and locking was ach ieved using pins driven by similar mean s. To ena ble th e new version of the Se a Fury to becom e ope rational as quick ly as possib le, all th e weapons previo usly tr ia lied using th e

T il E FURY AND SEA FURY

Mark X were cleared for use with little fuss. A no ther change from the ea rlier Sea Fury version was the use of a ba lan ced fiveblade d propeller assembly dri ven by a Bristo l Cen taurus 18 engine rat ed at 2,480h p. These two cha nges wou ld raise the basic weigh t of the a ircraft to 9 ,240l b (4,190kg). T h e in trodu ct ion of the Se a Fury in to the Fleet A ir A rm bro ught abo ut so me changes in the mak e-up of th e A ir Wi ngs aboard th e aircraft car riers. As th e Sea Fury nor mally new with ex te rna l tan ks fitted as standard, th e A dmiralty decid ed tha t thi s aircraft would ac t in th e figh terbomber ro le , wh ile th e new ly int rodu ced Supermarine Se afire F/FRA 7 wou ld act as a shor t- range fleet defen ce fight er with a secondary reconnaissan ce ro le. T hose A ir W ings still ope rat ing the Fair ey Firetlv V would use thi s mu lti -place machine as a long- range defen ce fighter. Product ion of th e Sea Fury would be spread ove r a period of seven yea rs; all in all, Hawk er's ro lled out 6 15 aircraft from its fac to ry at Kingston . Such a producti on run allo wed nu merous Fleet Ai r A rm sq uad rons to re-eq uip with th e heavy figh te r; th us N o. 802 Sqn would be th e first ope rationa l unit to rece ive th e Sea Fury II in A pril 194 8 , wh ile based at Eglinton . Fo llowing on from No. 80 2 Sqn came N os 80 I, 804, 805 and 80 7 Sqns, wh ich would eq uip with the type in March 195 I , Ju ly 1949 , A ugust 194 8 and Februa ry 1948 respecti vel y. During th is period th e un its were based at Lee-onSe len t, Hal Far, Malta and Eglin to n , although all four wo uld embark aboard the fleet ca rriers HM S Ocean, T heseus and Glory for sha ke-do wn cruises and ca rrier qualificat ions during th e period 1949 to 1950.

A dmiralty Standards of Pre/Jaration manual, before making its first fligh t from the Hawker test a irfield at Langley on 15 Janu ary 1948. After the successful completion of co mpa ny test-flying, the trainer pro tot ype was tra nsferr ed to A &A EE Boscombe Down for eva luat ion and preservice release. It was during thi s series of fligh ts th at VX8 I8, st ill with its two separate canopies, suffered a co llapse of the rear bub ble cano py. In vest igations of thi s failure revealed th at the rear ca no py, alt ho ugh of similar design and co nstruction to th e fron t assembly, was un ab le to wit hstand the stresses and strains of man oeu vring. T he answer was to

co ns truct a gree n house affair that was basically two canopies co n nec ted by a perspex tunnel , since th is assembly ensured that there would be equa lized pressure betw een the two coc kpits. Hav ing solved th e coc kpit pressure prob lem, atte n tion now turne d to providing a mean s fo r the instruct or to moni to r th e student in the front seat. T hi s was made possible by insta lling a peri scope mounted on a fram ework abov e th e tu n nel. A t th e co mpletion of these tri als, th e trainer was cleared for product ion as th e Se a Fury T.20. The produ cti on version of th e T.20 requ ired th at some further adjustments be made to th e a ircraft's weights

Above Sea Fury 11 VR941 w ears the early origin al co lour scheme appli ed to the type in its first years, where the dark sea grey reaches most of the w ay down the fusel age. This particul ar machin e w as all ocated to No. 703 Sqn based at Lee-on-Sol ent. FAA Museum Collection Below VX818 had oriq in ally been built as one of four aircraft for the Iraqi Air Force ; however, it w as diverted by the MaS for use as th e Fleet Air Arm prototype T M ark 20. In this view the overhe ad periscop e has still to be installed. Fleet Air Arm Co llection

The Sea Fur y Trainer Pro to type S ince the Hawker Se a Fury was viewed as high spirited , it is surprising that a two seat co n version train er was not included in an y of th e ori gina l produ cti on con tracts. The first Sea Fury trainers were actua lly built for the Iraq i Fury cont rac t , and originally featured two separate cano pies. T he first Sea Fury trainer for th e Ad m iralty was a di vert ed Iraqi machi ne: re-seria lled VX8 18, thi s machi ne was rework ed to th e standards set in th e

12 7

Til E FURY AND SEA FURY

Left Sea Fury T 20 WG655 wears the codes and tail letters of the Station Flightat Eglinton in this view taken at Yeovilton. Clearly visible under the wings are the mounting points for the zero-length rocket rail. W. A. Harrison Collection

Above Sea Fury VX652. also of No. 738Sqn, sports a full range of practice rockets under the wings. whilst waiting for its pilot at Culdrose to begin its next mission. W. A. Harrison Collection Left Also based at Culdrose was No. 738 Sqn, whose role was that of air-to-air and air-to-ground training as part of the Naval Air Fighter School. Sea Fury T 20 VX308 was employed in the conversion and training role by this unit. W. A. Harrison Collection

128

TIlE F RY AND SEA FURY

and bala nces , hence two o f th e win gmo u n ted H ispan o can non plus a nc illa ries were d eleted , as was th e a rrestor hoo k, since t h e tra in er was not cl ear ed fo r ca rrier opera t io ns. It was, h ow eve r, fully capable of car rying th e full range o f weaponry cleared for th e single- seat versio ns. O ve ra ll a to ta l o f sixty Sea Fury T. 20 tra in ers we re manu fac tured for Fleet Ai r A rm usage. T hey wo uld e n ter se rv ice d ur in g 19 50 , with del iver ies co n t in uing unt il 195 2. U n its opera t ing th e Sea Fur y tra ine r in cl uded os 703 , 736 , 73 8 , 75 9 , 766 , 77 1, 78 1, 78 2, 78 7 a nd 799 Sq ns in the sup po rt ro le. T h e front -lin e un its a lso h ad e xa m ples fo r co n ve rsion and t ra in ing purposes ; th ese in cl uded Nos 80 1, 80 2 and 809 Sq ns . The Ro ya l N avy Reser ve was a lso eq uipped wit h th e T. 20, th ese being os 1830 , 183 1, 18 3 2, I 33 and 1834 Sqns, plus va rio us sta t io n fligh ts.

Above Sea Fury FB.50 6-16 w as operated by the Royal Netherl ands Navy's No. 860 Sqn, and was caught on film heading towards the aircraft carrier HrMs Karel Doorman. FAA Museum Collection

Export Sales for th e Sea Fur y O utside th e Flee t Air A rm , H awk er' s h ad mana ged to mo unt a n in tensive sa les dr ive tha t wou ld re ul t in reaso n able o ve rseas sa les. The first co un t ry to p lace an o rde r fo r expo rt Sea Fur ies was th e j e th e rland s, who req ui red t he m for th e Ro ya l Ne th erlands Na vy. T he co n t rac t, N /S F/ 200 I , was placed o n 2 1 O ctobe r 1946 , and co ve red th e del ive ry of t en Sea Fury E5 0 fighte rs t h at wer e di rec tl y eq uiva lent to th e Mark X o f th e FA A . Serialled 10- 1 to 10 - 10, t h ey were in tended for se rv ice aboa rd the light fleet carrier HM S Nairana, whi ch wou ld even tua lly becom e th e first H rMs Karel Doorma n upon tr ansfer to the Dut c h avy. The operat in g unit of th e Hawker fighte r would be N o . 860 Sq n , wh ich had origin a lly bee n fo rmed as a Flee t A ir A rm unit befor e th e nu m ber plate h ad been surrende red to th e R. Nerh Na vy afte r the co n cl usion of h ost iliti es in 1945. N o. 8 60 Sqn unde rtoo k its wor k ingup period at RN A S S t Me rrvn before th e a irc raft were flo wn o ut to joi n th ei r car rier. In a sce na rio th at p receded the c rea t io n o f AT O , the Se a Furies o f th e R. et h avy worked in co n junc t ion with th e ir co unte rpa rts o f th e Fleet Air Arm ; th us it was q uite norma l p ract ice to observe Se a Fur ies fro m bo th se rv ices flyin g fro m land ba ses a nd ca rriers bel o n ging to both se rv ice '. Dur in g 194 7, j o . 860 'I n a nd its Sea Fur ies we re in ac t ion o ver the Dutch East Ind ies, wh er e they fle w in suppo rt o f

Above This excell ent portrait of a Royal Neth erl ands Navy Sea Fury FB.50 6-34, on approach to land at Valkenburg, shows the full spread of the flap s in the fully down position, the underwing fuel tanks and th e zero-le ngth rocket rails . w. A. Harrison Collection

gro und fo rces t ryin g to pu sh o u t C o m m un ist insur gents. T h e fo llo wing yea r th is first fleet ca rrie r was re turned to the Ro yal a vy wh o , in tu rn , woul d rel in q uish th e ir o wne rsh ip o f th e vesse l to its origin a l c iv ilia n owne rs, T h e Se a Fur y F. 50s wo uld re ma in in usc by No. 860 Sq n unr il t he ir re tir em e n t fro m the fro n t lin e o n 18 March 19 50. T hi s lack of an a irc raft ca rrier and operat io na l a irc raft was a sh o rt -lived sit uat ion , because on 15 Ju ly 19 50 N o. 860 Sq n RN N was reformed by the sim ple exped ien t o f rena m in g the Gevech tsvliegop le id ing - or the Fighter Pilots Combat Sc hool - wh ich was based at Valkcn burg. T h is un it was eq uipped wit h t he H awk er Sea Fury FB.5 0 , the equ ivale n t

129

of the Fleet Air A n n 's FB. II . T h e co n trac t, /S F/300 I , was pla ced wit h H awk e r's o n 12 Jan uary 19 50 , and co vered the del iver y of twel ve ai rcraft pl us spares and suppo rt. To ta ke th e sq uad ro n to sea , th e R. N c th N avy ac q uired th e fleet car rier H MS Venerable and renam ed it th e H rM s Karel Deerman afte r tra nsfer on 1 A pril 1948 . Loca l produ ctio n of th e Sea Fury FB.50 was under ta ken in th e erh erla nds by Fok ker, br in ging th e final total o f a irc raft up to fo rt y-e igh t. N o. 860 Sqn RNN wo uld co n t in ue to ope rate its Sea Fur y FB.50s until d isba ndi ng o n 15 j une 19 56, passing its machi nes o n to th e new ly formed 0. 3 Sq n R , wh ile the replacem ent fo r the Sea Fury wou ld be ano the r H awker prod uct , the jet- po we red Se a Hawk .

TI l E FURY AND SEA FURY

Above Parked up for the night is Sea Fury FB.50 6·36, one of a batch of aircraft buil t in Holl and by Fokker. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Above Sea Fury 10-2 w as one of the first batch of ten Sea Fury FB.50 fighters sold to the Royal Netherl ands Navy. It wa s all ocated to No. 860 Sqn, and w ears the earl ier sch eme where the dark sea grey reaches to the botto m lin e of the fuselage. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Sea Fur ies for Canada O utside of a fut ure ATO pa rt ne r, Hawker 's wo uld also sec ure sales from co un tries wit h in th e Commo n wea lth . O ne of th e first to benefit was th e Ro yal Cana d ian av y, whi c h h ad becom e a se pa ra te service fro m the Ro yal Cana d ian A ir For ce in la te 1945 . The ne w service wo uld co nt rac t fo r th irt y-five aircraft , altho ugh no indi vidual agree me nt was issued, as th ese mach in es wo uld be d ivert ed o ut of Fleet Ai r A rm req uiremen ts and be rep laced later o n . Del ive ries

were mad e be twee n 1948 a nd 195 1, th e a ircraf t used to eq uip o . 83 q n, wh ich was pa rt of the l Srh Carr ier Ai r G roup , and o . 03 Sq n of the 19 th Carrier A ir Group. T h e first Sea Fur y, basically a Mark I I , was accepte d by the RCN o n 23 Jun e 1948 at th e RC AF base at Roc kliffe . H av in g for med two ca rr ier ai r gro ups, th e Ro yal C ana d ian avy acq uired its first aircraft ca rrier, H MS \Varr ior, d uring January 194 6. T h e pre vio usly assigne d air gro up h ad or igina lly been eq uipped with S upc rrn arinc Sea fires and Fairey Fireflies

130

before th e H awker fighters a rrived . A re place ment for HM S \Van'ior also arrived fo r th e RC N in th e shape of HM C S Magnificent, a me mber of t he Majest ic cl ass of sh ips, wh ich woul d beco me affec tionat ely kn ow n as th e Maggie in se rvice. T h e pro posed air wing co m pleme nt wou ld co ns ist of Fair e y Fircflie for th e ant isubmar ine ro le, with th at of th e Sea Furies being fleet air defence a nd air suppor t for th e Firefl ies. Bein g to th e same sta ndard as th e ir Fleet Ai r A rm eq uiva lents, t he RC machines wer e cl ear ed fo r th e full range of ex te rna l stores , in cl uding fuel tan ks, rocke ts and bo mb s. W h ile th e RC N flyin g sq uad rons wer e be ing give n th ei r ope rat ion al wor k-u p a t RN A S Eglin to n in No rt he rn Ireland , th eir new float ing ho me was ca rrying o ut a sim ilar set of exe rc ises in th e A tl ant ic to prep are for the airbo rne co mp leme nt . \Xlith bot h th e ca rrier and th e air cr aft decl a red ready for se rvice , H MC S Magnificent depart ed for Ca nada with th e Sea Fur ies of bot h th e l St h and 19 th Carrier A ir Groups a boa rd . O nce in Cana d ian terri tori al wa ters, th e airc raft ass igne d to the 1 th C A G wer e tran ferred to th e RC AF Joi nt Ai r cho ol at Ri vers, Ma n ito ba, for further spec ialized training. Wh ilst t he 19t h C AG was to beco me th e co n version and tr ain ing un it for the RC Sea Fur y for ce, th e o the r uni t , th e 18th C AG , rem ain ed aboa rd th e carr ie r for ope rat iona l purposes. To reinfor ce th e usage of th e R A F base at Ma n ito ba, th e Can ad ian C abine t Defence Comm ittee reco mm ended in Septe mbe r 1948 th at th e faci lity be tr ansfe rred to th e RC N . T h is was d uly don e , the new base becom ing kn own as RC NS Shea rwa te r. During th is period of cha ngeo ve r, th e a ircraft of th e 19th C A G ca me ashor e for furt h er exte ns ive tra ining, whi le its pla ce was ta ken by th e l Sth C AG . Wh ile th e latter was accl ima tizin g to life aboa rd a bounc ing a irfield in th e m iddle of th e ocean , th eir co unte rpa rts co mple te d the ir train ing in Can ada, afte r wh ich th ey depart ed to th e US avy base at Quonset Po int ; he re t he y wo uld rece ive tr ai ni ng in US J avy ca rr ier-dec k land ing practi ces. T he met hod used by th e Ro yal Ca na d ian N;lYY in volved fo llow ing a maint ain ed approach h e igh t d uring th e landi ng c ircuit, th en turn ing a nd descending at a ste ady ra te of alt it ude loss, and to uchi ng down o n th e carrie r deck unde r posit ive power. In co n trast , the US Nav y preferred th eir pilot s to fly a ge n tle ,

TIlE FURY A ND SEA FURY

Above Wearing the very first colour scheme and markings is this Sea Fury FB.11 TG120 of the Royal Canadian Navy. This particular machine, coded BGC, was the personal machine of the Air Group Commander, 19th Carrier Air Group. C. P. Russell Smith Collection Right Allocated to No. 803 Sqn RCN, this Sea Fury FB.11, VX690, coded 'BC-O', would serve on HMCS Warrior as part of 19th CAG, before being renumbered No. 870Sqn on 1 May 1951. C. P. Russell Smith Collection Below When No. 870Sqn was not at sea aboard HMCS Magnificent, their home base was normally RCNS Dartmouth. Heading this line-up is Sea Fury FB.11 WG566/132. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

13 1

T HE FU RY A N D SEA FU RY

descending curve before chopping th e th rot tle just above the deck , and com ing down und er th e co nt rol of the deck lan ding office r. C hanging from th eir well drilled and familiar method of deck landin g caused the pilo ts of th e RC N some serious problems. U nde r the origina l tra ining regime, the aircraft would land in a sligh tly ta ildown att itude ; in the A merican fashi on , the aircraft landed on th e main whe els on ly, with the tail held h igher. However, landi ngs of th is type began to cause pro blem s for both the Se a Furies and th e pilot s. For the aircraft , it overstressed th e airframe and caused structural dam age , as the British a ircraft was actua lly designed for a more tail -down att itude during land ing; th e A merica n way saw plan es boun ci ng as the main whee ls hit th e deck, thi s bein g caused by the compression returning th e und ercar riage leg to full ex te nsion earlier than norm al. T he result was th at, although th e Sea Fury might be luck y and engage th e last deck wire, the more likel y outco me was a complete fa ilure to engage as the boun ce carried th e figh ter over the wires. Whi le the aircraft of the 19th C A G were enjoy ing a life of bouncin g over car rier wires in A merica, th e l Srh C AG was at sea pract ising for all event ualit ies although th e cruise would no t be with out incid ent , since at least one Se a Fury wo uld be lost du e to engine fai lure, crash ing int o the sea. For tunatel y the pilot was rescu ed , damp but unharm ed . This loss notwi th stand ing, th e l Srh C A G con t in ued its wor k-up ex ercises, one of whi ch was to practi se an int ercept on a target sh ip tran -

stu ng from the C ana l Zone to Jamaica. The target sh ip was HM S [amaica and wou ld be int ercepted by patro lling Sea Furies some 2 10 miles (3 40km ) from th e carrier. Havin g located the sh ip, the Sea Furies returne d to Magnificent for arming with pract ice weapon s and refue llin g, before flying a further 162 miles (260km) back to wards HM S jamaica wh ere a successful simulated strike was carried out. A s thi s was the era of record s bein g set by milita ry pilots around th e world, it was soon th e turn of the Royal C anad ian N avy to make the ir att empt. The int end ed mission was to fly from Toronto , O n tar io, to Hal ifax, No va Scot ia in the shor test possib le tim e. T he departure po int was fro m Mal to n A irport and the arriva l poi nt RC N AS Dartmouth , a d ista nce of 825 air miles ( 1,32 7km ). T he subsequen t flight in December 1949 was atte mpted by two Sea Furies from No . 883 Sq n , and they too k l hr 54 min at an average 435 .35 mph (700,4 8km/h) lA S . W ith a routin e esta blishe d, the Royal C anad ian Navy was subjected to int erference by Canad ian politi cian s, who decided that th e a ircraft and person nel of the RC needed reorgani zation . T he results of th eir deliberat ion s were presen ted to th e Na vy in Jan uary 1951 . The first cha nges affected the 18th C A G, whose co mpo ne nt un its wou ld be numbered as Nos 82 6 and 883 Sq ns, wh ile th e 19th A G would be ren am ed as the Support A ir Group, with Nos 803 and 825 Sq uadrons as the assigned units. Th is latt er wou ld estab lish itse lf per manen tl y at RC N A S Shcarwatcr as a land -based uni t. A lso establishe d at thi s tim e was th e new

Ex-Fleet AirArm Sea Furies in Foreign Service Royal Canadian Navy Sea Fury FB.ll TF985. TF993. TF994. TF995. TF997. TF998. TF999. TGl13. TG114. TGl 15. TG l 16. TG11 7. TG11 8.TG11 9. TG1 20. TG1 21. TG1 22. TG123. TG124. TG125. TG126. TG 127. TG1 28. TG1 29. VR918. VR919. VW230. VW231. VW563. VW571. WJ299. WJ300. WJ301. WN474. WN479

Royal Australian Navy Sea Fury FB.ll VX724. VX725. VX726. VX727. VX728. VX729.VX749. VX750. VX7 51. VX7 52. VX755. VX756. VX757. VX758. VX759. VX760. VX761 . VX762. VX763. VX764. WE675. WE676. WE678, WE796

Union of BurmaAir ForceSea Fury FB.ll[lT.ll UB454. VR928. UB455. VR 929, UB456, VW566, UB457.VW667. UB458.VW694, UB459,VW717, UB460. VX628. UB461 . VX656.UB462. VX693. UB463. WE720,UB464. WF615. UB465. WH585. UB466. WH613,UB467.W H619, UB468. WJ232. UB469. WJ280. UB470. WM488. UB471. WN486

Union of BurmaAirForce Sea Fury T.20 UB451. VZ368,UB452. VZ292. UB453, VZ354

132

Bomb ing and G un ne ry Ran ge at C hezzetcoo k, wh ich wou ld be ch ristened by the Sea Furies of the l Sth C A G before they depart ed to Q uon set Poin t for a precru ise work -up . O nce the training had been completed , the air wing then flew out to jo in I-1MC S Magnificent, wh ich was cruising off Bermud a. U nfo rt una tely this cruise was not wit hout incid ent, as the group lost two Se a Furies and one pilot in acc ide n ts. Furt her changes were to be infl ict ed upon th e RC N d urin g 195 1, when th e squadrons were renum bered in th e C o mmon wea lth series, wh ich was sim ilar in sequence to that operated by the U S N avy. T hese alterations finall y seve red all links wit h th e Fleet A ir A nn . Th us Nos 803 and 825 Sqns wou ld be renumbered to Nos 8 70 and 880 Squad rons , becoming in turn the air compone n t of th e 3 1st SAG . The 18th C A G was renumbered to become the 30 th C A G , and its or iginal un its, Nos 883 and 826 Sqns, wou ld become N os 87 1 and 88 1 Sqns respectively. T hese squadrons tran sferr ed ashore to RC N A S Shearwate r fo r inten sive ni ght -landing tra ining, before embar king aboard th e Magnificent for a cruise. T he ir place was tem por ar ily ta ken by pilots and a ircraft from the 3 1st SAG. \X1ith its n igh t-time trai ning co mpleted, th e 30th C A G jo ined th eir a ircraft ca rrier; thi s meant th at the 3 1st SAG aircraft co uld return to Shearwarer. T he exerc ise the 'Maggie' and its aircraft were in vol ved in was ent itled Exercise C asnners, and req uired th e pilot s to take part in n um erous night-time an ti-subma rine and combat air patro ls, complete with the added extra hazard of a night -tim e land ing. Exerc ise Casnners was undertaken in Europea n waters during June 195 1, and th e air win g would ach iev e its high est tota l of flying hour s. During th e fo llowing mon th , the car rier and att endant sh ips were sailing in th e Mediterr an ean Sea where some very un season al weather was experienc ed. The sto rms were seve re enough to force four of th e car rier's Se a Furies to div ert to the G ree k air base at A roxas, as co nd it ions surro und ing th e car rier made it to o dangerous to at te mpt a land ing. A s th e fleet progressed th rough the Med iterran ean , th e decision was mad e to move the Sea Furies to the G reek a irbase at Ellin kon , so that another attempt co uld be made to rejoin th e carrier. A irborn e once more, th e four Se a Furies made their approac hes to land

TIlE FURY AND SEA FURY

aboard the 'Maggie'. Two made a successful to uch -down , whi le th e third report ed h ydrau lic problems. As there was no pressing need for the ai rcraft to rejo in th e car rier, the third mach ine was inst ructed to ret urn to Ellinko n with the fourt h ac ting as escort; once in sigh t of the G reek airfield an und ercarri age emergency blowdown was used to lower th e und ercarr iage, and th e aircraft landed without furt her inc ide n t. HM C S Magnificent would lat er despatch a repair crew and spa res in a G rumma n Ave nger to atten d to the ailing figh ter. O nce th e repairs had been ca rried out , all three a ircraft were ordered to rejo in th e air win g at Hal Far, Malt a, wh ich they duly did on 27 july. Havin g cruised in the sun , the car rier group ended up in the orrh A tlant ic during Septe mber 195 2, to ta ke part in O peration Main Brace; thi s was scheduled to last for th irteen days, and woul d act in concert with the a ir group from the Royal N avy Fleet ca rrier HM S Theseus. For the Sea Furies, the mission s would enta il combat air pat ro ls and an ti-subma rine pa trols, befor e act ing as to p cov er escor t for pract ice landi ngs in northern Den mar k. Although th e RCN was quit e at home operat ing alongside its Royal avy co unte rparts , the influe nce of C ana da 's larger neighb our was becom ing increasin gly eviden t. Th is tim e th e squadron design ations were set to cha nge again, becoming clos er in style to th at of the US N av y: th us No. 880 Sqn would be re-design at ed VS 880 , th e o thers bei ng sim ilarly re-designa ted. Dur ing February 1953, th e aircraft of 30 th C AG were ashore operating from the base at Shca rwarer, where th ey were inv ol ved in a close air suppo rt operation ent itle d Exerc ise Assiniboine. Having co mpleted th eir part in thi s simulated war game, th e 30t h C A G was prepared for anot her sea-go ing cruise. This would be ver y much a flag-waving exe rcise, as HM S M a~nificent and its a ir group were scheduled to take part in the Spithead oronation Review flypast. Dep art ing from Ca nada at th e beginning of june, the carrier group arrived in tim e to play its part in th e review on 15 june, in whi ch eigh t RC Sea Furies were in vo lved. Whilst the 30 th C A G was at Sptthead, the 3 1st SA G was vacating its Shearwarer base for a temporar y home at RCAF Scoudouc in N ew Brunswick, whi le its hom e base und erw en t major rcconstruc-

Above Based at RNAS Nowra. Sea Fury FB.11 WZ643 wears the side code 113applicable to No. 805 Sqn RAN. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

tion . The sojo urn of th e AG was shortlived , however, as Scoudouc was scheduled to close; the refore a furt he r reloca tion to th e RCAF base at S umme rside on Prin ce Edward Island was req uired. Wh en th e Korean W ar erup ted , the C anad ian forces were ver y keen to be a part of th e acti on on behalf of the Un ited Na t ions. However, thi s was not to be , as the Ca na d ian govern me nt had stated th at the role of the ca rrier HM C S M a~n ificent was tha t of an t i-subma rine patrols, not that of attack. everthe less, a ltho ugh deni ed th eir part in th e Korean War, th e car rier air group wou ld find them selv es embro iled in Exerc ise Mariner, inv olvin g some 300 vessels and ov er 1,000 aircr aft. T h is exercise was one of th e first pu t togethe r by the nascent NATO as a sho w of co -ope rat ive strength . As thi s was a typ ical AT O ex erc ise , th e oppos ing forces were design at ed as blue and orange. For th e C ana d ians th is meant they woul d be part of the blue force, also regarded as the good guys. For th e Sea Furies of VF 8 7 1, thi s mean t flyin g sort ies th at covered lon g-range co mbat a ir-pa tro l and an t isubmarine missions. A fter th e succ essful complet ion of Mari ner, HMC S Magnificent and its a ir group wou ld con tin ue th e usual round of exercises, cruises and ope rations until mid1956; at thi s tim e th e Se a Furies began to ent er torage, prior to final disposal. T heir place would be taken by th e RC 's first jet aircraft , the McD onnell F2H -3 Banshee. T he final official flight of a Hawker Sea Fury spor t ing RC co lours too k place in

133

early 195 7, when W G5 65 was deli vered to Reserve Air Sq uadro n VG 924 based at Ca lgary, A lber ta .

Sea Furies for A ustra lia Nea rly a world away, the Royal A ustr al ian Navy were also to be recip ient s of Sea Fury FB. l l s, di vert ed from Fleet Air Ann co nt racts. The first aircraft , VW562, was accepted by th e RA N in 1950 , and wou ld be followed by a furt her th irt y-two machines. Two units were form ed to operate the Hawker fight er, these being os 805 and 808 Sqn , both de ployed aboard th e fleet car rier I-IMA S Sydney and th e Royal Navy carrier HMS Vengeance for service in the skies of Korea. N o. 805 Sqn had formed at Eglin ton , N orthern Ireland , in late 1948 with an inventory of thirteen Sea Furies. O nce th e squadro n had co mpleted its work ing-up peri od , the air craft were flown out to the ca rrier I-IMA S Sydne)'; th ey then sa iled from the A tlant ic for A ustralian wat ers. At the co ncl usion of th e Korean War, N o. 80 5 Sqn was dep loyed as th e guard squadron whose role was to protect th e Mont e Bello A to mic Test A rea. It fulfilled th is task unt il its d isband ment on 26 March , at the RA N stat ion at N owra. The o ther Sea Fury operato r, N o. 80 8 Sq n , began its ca reer with the Hawk er figh te r at St Mcrr yn on 25 A pril 1950 , wh ere th ey too would receiv e thirteen aircra ft. Aft er th e obligatory work-up, the squadro n's a ircraft flew out to jo in HMA S Sydney, where it would become part of the

THE FU RYAND SEA FU RY

second ca ree r with o. 724 Sqn , a train ing suppo rt un it. At the end, th e rep lacemen t for the Sea Fury FB.I I in RA service was the de Havilland Sea Ven om, altho ugh a few of th e piston fighters would rem ai n in use with o. 724 Sqn until late 196 2, for target -rowing dut ies, amongst o ther support roles.

Sea Furies for Burma

Above No. 805 Sqn had its home base at Nowra, where it wore 'NW ' tailcodes while at sea aboard the c arr ie r HMAS Sydney ; the code would ch ange to 'K' indi cat ing that WZ649/106 had recently returned ashore to Nowra, as this portrait shows. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

21st C AG . 10 . 80 Sqn split its t ime between th e carriers Sydney and Vengeance whil st undertaking operat ions in the hostile skies of Korea. At th e end of their ac t ive service th e Sea Furies were flown to owra, so th at the squadron co uld disba nd, on 5 O ctobe r 19 54 . O ne othe r

front- line un it flew the Sea Fury: 10 . 50 Sqn , wh ich used twel ve of the big Hawker fighters from Jan uary 1953 to A ugust 1954 for a hort period of service in Korean skies. A lthough the ea Fury woul d leave the fron t-line service of the RA N , it pu rsued a

Below The coding '103·K' indicates that this Sea Fury FB.11, WZ645, was allocated to No. 805 Sqn of the Royal Australian Navy during 1955--58. C. P. Russell Smith Colle ction

134

O ut side the Common wealt h and Europ ean air force s, Hawk er 's man aged to esta blish a reason abl e mar ket in th e sale of refurbished machi nes to o the r a ir forces. O ne of these co un tries would be Burma, whose gove rn me n t , a mor e en ligh te ned organ ization in those days. wou ld o rder e igh teen ex-Fleet A ir A rm FB. l ls. C o n trac t HA L/5 7/ B/03 0 was issued to co ve r th e refurbishment of th ese a ircraft , two of whi ch were fitt ed with under-fuselage shackle po int s fo r tar get towin g. A lthough no offic ia l design ation cha nge was give n for th ese aircraft , th ey were vari ously refe rred to as FB.ll (IT ) o r IT. I Is. Del iver ies of these aircraft were mad e thro ughou t 195 ,the sing le-seate rs bei ng fo llowed by three two-scat IT.20 train ers. The se rials fo r th ese mach in es were UB45 4 to UB 4 71 for the fighte rs, wh ile the train ers were U B45 1 to UB 453 . Flow n by the U n ion of Burm a A ir Force , th e Se a Furies wou ld remain in se rvice un til 1968 , wh en they were replaced by Lock heed T-33s.

TI l E FURY AND SEA FURY

Above The Union of Burm a Air Force pur chased th re e T.20s from Haw ker's. all being ex-Roy al Navy. UB451 had orig inally been VZ368. and would be deli vered in 1958. C. P. Russell Smith Collection Right Gleaming in silver lacquer, thi s Union Of Burma Air Force Sea Fury FB.11 . UB454. had origi nall y been on the strength of the Fleet Air Arm bef ore being delivered in 1958. As these were la ndbased ai rcr aft , th e arre stor hook w as remov ed. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Sea Furies for the M iddle East T he M idd le East would also prove to be a fairly lucrat ive mar ket for Hawk er's. Th e first co unt ry to purchase versions of the Hawker fight er was Egypt , who took deli very of the pro to type F2/43 Fury in mid -1948; it had been refurbish ed by Hawker 's, the work including th e replacement of th e ea rly type of Bristo l eng ine by a pro d uct ion C en raurus XV III. A fter fligh t-t esting, the Fury was regist ered G -A KRY to co mply with ferrying regula t ions. Up on arr iva l in Egypt the Fury was d isplayed to th e hi erarch y of th e Egypt ian A ir Force, who were so en th used by the a ircra ft's perform ance tha t they immed iat ely placed an orde r. But even before the ink was dry, the co n trac t was embargoed d ue to th e growing level of hostilities between the Arab states and the emergen t state of Israel. As th is arms embargo on ly co vered expo rts by British firms, it is

hard ly surprising that ot hers not so affec ted would step into th e breech . O ne supplier was Iraq , who supplied two Furies from the ir own stocks to bo lster th e Egypti an forces. A t least one of these a ircraft was 10 t in a ir-to -ai r co mba t with a Spitfire from the Israeli A ir Force. O f the o the r two mach ines, the Fury prototype and the Iraq i A F mach ine, no furt her report s were fo rt hcomi ng, a lthough it is th ou ght that th ey suffered the same fat e. At the cessat ion of host iliti es the arms embargo was rela xed , wh ich allowed the EA F finally to co nfirm the purcha se of twel ve Sea Furies to co nt ract 17/49/U SS , for deliver y d ur ing 1950- 5 1. Of thi s tota l at least one would be destroyed on th e ground dur ing th e open ing phase of O pe ration Musketeer, the purpose of wh ich was to recapt ure th e uez C ana l du ring th e mont hs of Nove mber/ December 1956.

135

Sea Furies for Ira q In co n trast to more recent ti mes, the \Vest en joyed co rd ial relati on s with Iraq duri ng the 1950s. T he first order placed by Iraq was confirmed on 4 December 194 6, for th irt y sing le-seat fighters, designated as IS or Iraq i single-seaters. and four trainers designated as lOT or Iraq i dual trainers - altho ugh thi s part of the orde r was eve ntu ally redu ced to two airframes . O n 2 1July 195 1 a furth er order was placed for fifteen new-bu ild ISS figh ters, fo llowed by yet ano the r co n trac t on 7 March 1953 for ten refurbished FB.11 s and th ree T. 20 trainers, d ivert ed from Flee t A ir A rm resources. A ll these aircraft were delivered dur ing 1952 and 1953. The company emp loyed to deli ver the Iraq i aircraft was A irwork Ltd, who wou ld co llect eac h bat ch from the Hawker ai rfield at Lan gley and de liver th em via Black bush c, N ice, Malta , Mcrsah Metr uh ,

Til E FURY AND SEA FURY

Above Designated as the ISS Fury - the Iraqi single-seat Fury - this aircraft

Below Photographed at Bl ackbushe, this Hawker Fury would be delivered to

was delivered to Baghdad in 1951 . These aircraft remained in service until

Iraq by pilots from Airwork. Some of these aircraft would eventually go to

replaced by equipment from the Soviet Union. C. P. Russell Smith Coll ection

Morocco, while others would end up in America as pylon racers at Reno. C. P. Ru ssell Smith Collection

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Til E FURY AND SEA FURY

Nicosia and the nce to Baghd ad . Imm ed iately afte r to uch -down, some of th e waiting grou ndc rew would hel p th e pilot out of the coc kpit whil e others ope ned th e eng ine cowlings to increase th e rat e of engine cool ing. Dur ing th eir usc by th e Iraqi A F, the Furies were reportedly used in act ion agai nst th e Kurd ish tr ibesman in ort he rn Iraq . T he increasing influ en ce of Russia in Iraq i affairs woul d lead to th e withdrawal of th e Furies, start ing in 1960, afte r wh ich they were placed in storage. Instead of being scrapped, however, the rema in ing aircraft were pur cha sed by an Amer ica n co nsortium du rin g the 19 70s for use in the Ren o a ir races. Above right The initial Sea Fury trainers built for Iraq featured a double canopy arrangement. although this tended to collapse under changing pressures. Big Bird Aviation Collection Right Althougheach Baghdad Furywas fitted with external 45gal (205Itr) fuel tanks, they still required fuelling stops along the way; even so. some of the stages were a struggle against unpredicted headwinds. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Below Photographed at Nicosia, this ISS Fury on delivery to the Iraqi Air Force will stay on the ground until the early hours of the morning when it will be cooler, thus allow ing the aircraft to take off fully loaded without putting a strain on the engine. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

13 7

TH E FURY AN D SEA FURY

Sea Furies for Morocco No t all the Iraq i Furies went into sto rage , however: a pa ir was given to Morocco for th e embryon ic Aviat ion Royale C he rifien ne on 4 Febru ar y 1960. A furt her pa ir was presen ted to the same service in 196 1, altho ugh the figh te rs saw little ope rat ional usage; they were placed in sto rage at Rabat , before being sold to an A merican dealer.

Sea Furies fo r Pakistan Pak ista n was one of the largest ex po rt custo me rs for th e Sea Fury after the co un-

tr y's ind epen den ce in 194 7. The serv ice doctrine ado pted by the newl y formed Paki stan A ir Force closely fo llowed th at of the Royal Ai r Force , and th e new figh ters were required to rep lace the Tempests already in service with three squadrons. The total of Furies ordered on beh alf of the PA F was ninet y-th ree a ircra ft. T he first was the Fury pro totype F2/43, N X80 2, del iver ed in 1949 after a th or ough refurbi sh ment by Hawk e r's. Fifty produ cti on a ircra ft, designat ed as th e E60 , were ordered during 1950 , whil e a furt her co nt ract for twenty-four was placed in 195 1. Dur ing the per iod

1951- 52 a final order for th irteen newbui ld mach ines was placed with H awk er 's. To co mplete the re-cquipmeut of the PA F, a furth er five figh ters, all ex-FA A Sea Fury FB. l 1s, were orde red, these being de livered to Pakist an duri ng 1953- 54. To hel p with the co n version requirem ents of th e PA F, a tot a l of four tra iners was ordered as T.6! s; one came fro m th e Iraq i co n tract , whil e th e rem a ind er were new build. A s the Furies were del ivered they were used to equip N os 5 and 9 Sq ns during 1950 , whil e in th e fo llow ing year No 14 Sqn wou ld also change over to th e Fury.

Left Hawker Paki stani Sea Fury 60 L982was one of a batch of aircraft delivered during the period 1951 -52 . Further mach ines would follow, some being ex-FAA machin es refurbished by Hawker's. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Below Unlike in later years, the Pakistan i Furies were delivered with thei r cannon and extern al fuel tank s filled . L951 w as one of the second batch of aircraft delivered durin g 1951. W. A. Harrison Collection

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Til E FURY AND SEA FURY

Above Cuban Sea Fury FB.11 541 is one of two on display in Cuba. It is seen here complete w it h underwing rockets. and is rumoured to have taken part in the Bay of Pigs defens ive act ion. FAA Museum Collection

Al so equipping with the Fury was j o. 2 Figh ter Con version School, based at Maripu r, whi ch rece ived a handfu l of F.60 fight ers and the two - eate rs for co n ve rsion and traini ng pur poses. The Fury would remain in PAF front-line service until 1955, be ing rep laced by North A mer ica n F-86 Sa bres; however, o. 9 Sqn would retain its piston fighters unt il 1960 , as they were needed for patro ls along the nor th west front ier. T hey were th en replaced by Lockheed F- 104 A Srarfigh rers - quite a co nt rast! The fin al Fur ies wou ld be reti red du ring 1963 afte r emp loyme nt in th e tar get-to wing role.

Sea Furies for Cuba O n ly one ot he r co un try would order the Sea Fury, thi s be ing C uba , wh ich placed a con trac t for fiftee n FB. I Is and two T.20s, a ll ex -FAA machines acq uired by Hawker's for refurbishm ent from the MoS . T he co nt rac t was placed in 1957, and the ai rcraft were del ivered during 1958 by sea , when th ey were d isman tled and crated for tran sit. As th e Batista gove rn me n t was fac ing int ern al str ife, the Sea Furies were the subjec t of except ional secur ity upon arrival in Havana. O nce un crared , th ey were assemb led and test -flown , though th ey were unable to suppo rt th e Batista

forces as th ey lacked arma me nt. \V'hether th eir suppo rt would have mad e a difference is a moot po in t, as th e Bati sta regime was overt h rown by the forces of Fidel Cas tro on I Jan uary 1959. As the Cas tro regime was Commun ist in nature, th e Brit ish gove rn ment immed iatel y placed an arms embargo on C uba. Th is sto pped th e delivery of te n furt her Se a Furies, can non sh ells, bombs and rocket project iles, much of wh ich would never reach the aribbean . In a man ner sim ilar to most vio len t regim e changes, there was a purge thro ughout the armed forces, wh ich would leave th e air force wit h on ly forty-t hr ee pilots to fly all of th e co un try's a ircraft . So th at some se mblance of an air force co uld be put int o the air, repr esentatives from th e C uban gove rn men t met their Hawker eq uiva lents to open negot iati on s for th e de livery of can no ns and she lls to arm the Se a Furies. By N ov ember 1959 a to ta l of twelve fight er were decl ared serv icea ble, alt ho ugh th is sta tus would not last long as the aircraft batteries were sto len d uring an intern al power struggle withi n the a ir force. To assist th e Fuerza A erea Revolu c io naria in bringing its Sea Furies up to a usable standard , Hawker 's despat ched a c ivilian mainten an ce team under co n trac t

139

to repair th e aircraft. However, some of th e ir efforts would be in vain, as the personne l of th e FAR und erwent yet ano the r purge, whi ch would leave the air force with just six pilots, although some reinforcem en ts wou ld co me from C h ile in the sho rt term . T hese eve n ts took place th rough ou t 1960 , and on ly th e efforts of the rep air team and good spares suppo rt from Langley would keep th e ea Furies flyable. Cas tro 's tak eov er of C uba pro voked a react io n from the A merica ns, co urte sy of th e C IA . T h e ir plan s wo uld co me to fruit ion o n 15 A pril 1961 , when a fo rce of Do uglas 13-2613 In vaders, pa int ed in FA marki ngs and c rowed by C uba n exiles , carried out an attack on the airfield at La Liberr ad , whi ch wou ld result in the destru ct io n of one Sea Fury on the gro und , and ano the r dam aged beyond rep ai r la ter in th e day. The few surv ivor s wou ld re-gath er a t Sa n A nto n io AB to sta rt gro und -a ttack sort ies aga ins t ground for ces at they atte mpted beac h lan d ings. Ano ther Sea Fury, FAR 54 1, wou ld attack th e supp ly and uppor t sh ip Houstou with rock et projectil es, eve n tually sin king it. During th ese exc ha nges yet ano the r ea Fury was hot down, leaving o n ly two fight ers to defend the island. T hese tw o sta lwarts woul d o n ly fly occa siona lly, and were replaced in Ju ne 1961 by a large force of M iG 15s. Th e Bay of Pigs fiasco was th e last t ime th at an y Sea Fury wo uld see co mba t act ion.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Sea Fury Described In co mplete con trast to its Royal A ir Force predeces sors , the Hawker Sea Fury had two sets of parameters to con tend with: the first involved the normal stresses and strains of military flying, wh ile the ot her was that of landing on a pitch ing and tossing carrier deck. In a similar man ner to the Typhoon and the Temp est , th e construc tion of the Sea Fury was und ert aken in sect ions. T he fuselage was man ufactur ed in two primary sections that were bol ted together at adjo in ing frames. Each ind ividu al sec t ion co nsisted of individ ually manufactured frames, to wh ich were attache d n umerous stringe rs, all being co vered by a stressed alloy skin riveted int o position . C ur-ours for access panels, co mplete with reinforced land ings, were placed at strateg ic po ints about the fuselage, whil e the panel s th emsel ves were che mically etche d with rei nforcin g int ernal stringers. A tt ach men t to th e fuselage was eithe r by fasreners, or a moun ting hi nge and quick-release faste ners were used. A thi rd major componen t was the rail un it assembly, wh ich was bo lted onto the

aft fuselage sec tion at the rear fuselage transport jo int . T hi s rear assembly comprised a sho rt sec t ion of fuselage, int egral with whi ch was the fin structure. Mountings were provid ed for the rail plan e , e levato rs and rudd er. A t th e rear of th is sec t ion were the reinforced mountings for the rail hook, forward of whi ch was the bay for the retract ab le tailwheel un it and its covering doors. T he tail wheel assembly ca me co mplete with a locking mechani sm , whi ch wou ld keep it locked fore and aft and gave srahilirv during th e take-off run . At the other end of rhe fuselage was the eng ine firewall, to wh ich was mou nt ed the Bristol Ce n ta urus XVll l powcrplan r: thi s was enc ased by rem ovab le cowling panels that were located be twee n the sing le co wling rin g and th e eng ine bulkhead. To maintain the shape of the co wling pan els and ro prov ide a mou n ti ng point , reinforcing straps were mounted at interm edi at e points aro und the c ircumference . A s th e ex ha ust system for the eng ine was co llected int o two groups, th ere were two

Below Unusually cle an. Sea Fury VX653 sits on the dispersal aw aiting its next pilot. As many of the panels and compon ents were paint ed separately from the main airfram e, it is not unusual to see slight disparities in alignments, as can be observed on the engine cowling ring . Big Bird Aviation Collection

140

cut-o uts, one eac h side of the fuselage, to allow for their egress. To prot ect the area where the gases ejec ted, the surround ing area and imm edi ate struc ture was of a monel -based alloy capable of withstan ding th e tem peratu res gene rated . A ltho ugh the monel alloy plates were effec t ive in co n trolling the heat fro m the exha ust syste m, they were subjec t to heat -stress crac king themselves; thus they would need ro be removed for welding at interva ls.

Th e Wings T he thr ee-sect ion wings for bot h the Mark X and th e FB. I l were sim ilar in co nst ruction , bo th having fore and aft spars with breaks for the wing fold. Betw een the spa rs were shaped ribs co mplete with ligh tni ng holes for weight reduct ion . Mount ed on the front face of th e forw ard spar were sha ped ribs, wh ile on the rear face of the rear spar were a series of rape red ribs with clear ance cur-o uts for th e flaps. Mount ed hard by th e wing break-po in ts on the fixed cent re sec t ion were the main undercarriage uni ts, th e forward of wh ich was attache d to th e front spar, whil e the rear moun tin g was attache d to a fa lse half spar. The moun ring of the undercar riage un its so far apa rt gave the Sea Fury great sta bility duri ng the landin g and ta ke-off pha ses. C overing each un dercar riage bay were th ree doors. The prima ry fairing was attac he d di rectl y ro the un dercarriage leg, whil e a sma ller h inged door - the h inge at the top attached to the lower wing surface - was con nected to th e leg via adj usta ble turn barrels, and tracked the leg in to the closed posit ion . The inboard 'D' door was act iva ted by a series of lin ks and bell cran ks, and fined in to place after the leg was up and locked. Dr ivin g the un dercarriage in both di rection s were h ydrau lically powered jacks. A s well as the undercarr iage un its the wing cen tre sect ion also housed the four H ispano V short -barrelled ZOmm can non plus the ir ammun it ion boxes and guidance

Til E SEA FURY DESCRIBED

DIMENSION DATA TABL E LxW x D SPINNER 2ft lO in s x 2ft 9ins x 2ft 9 ins PROPELLOR 12ft d ia x 1ft 6in s POWER PLANT 7ft lO ins x 4ft 11ins x 5ft Sin s FUSELAG E CEN TRE 10ft Oin s x 3ft llins x 6ft Gins FUSELAGE REAR 9ft 4in s x 3ft Sins x 5ft Oin s FUSELAGE TAIL 6ft 3i ns x 1ft 11ins x 8ft Gins TAILPLANE 14ft 2in s x 3ft 4in s x Oft 7in s RUDDER 2ft 11ins x Oft 6ins x 7ft 8in s ELEVATOR 13ft l Oins x 1ft l Oins x Oft 9in s WING OUT ER 11ft 6in s x 8ft 4in s x 11 4in s WING CENTR E 18ft Oins x 9ft lO ins x 1ft 8ins FLA P INNER 5ft 3in s x 2ft 2in s x Oft 6in s FLAP CENTRE 2ft 4ins x 1ft 9in s x Oft 2.5ins FLAP OUT ER 3ft 8ins x 1ft 9ins x Oft 2.5in s AILERON 8ft 2ins x 2ft 1ins x Oft 6in s CANOPY 4ft 11ins x 2ft 2ins x 1ft Sin s

Abov e This diagram shows all the major components that make up the Sea Fury, and inc lude s all the relevant dimensions for each item . Big Bird Aviation Collection Right Sea Fury X TF946 wa s on the strength of No. 803 Sqn of the Royal Canadian Navy during 1948 when thi s portrait was taken. The cla rity of this view reveals the loc ation of th e fusel age footsteps, and the loc at ion of the retractable st irrup foot step . C. P. Russell Smith Coll ection

141

T il E SEA FURY DESCRIBE D

CAMERA ACCESS PANEL

Above The Sea Fury cannon access was borrowed from the earlier Tempest. thus armourers working on the aircraft were able to reload the cannon ammunition boxes without too much trouble . Big Bird Aviation Collection

A) B) C) D)

GAS DEFLECTORS LOCKING NUT RETAINING PIECE RECOIL SPRING

Above Although the cannons in the Sea Fury were suppressed. they still requir ed strong spri ngs to absorb the recoil of firing . Big Bird Aviation Collection

tracks; th e install ati on was similar in both th e Mark X and the FB.I I . In co ntrast, th e Sea Fury T.20 tra in er h ad on ly two ca n no n fitt ed to maintain cor rect weight and balan ce. The wing struc ture was co ve red by alumin ium alloy st ressed skin of var yin g thi ckness rivet ed to th e spars , stringe rs and ribs. In a simila r manner to th e fuselage , cut-outs were prov ided for servicing access, eac h having a re in forced landing. The acc ess panels th em selves were ch emicall y ma n ufac tured and rein for ced in ternally by stringers h eld in place by screw faste ners. Locat ed o n th e lead ing

edge of th e ce nt re sec tion wer e intakes th at prov ided cooling for th e engi ne radiators and th e o il coolers, th e ducting for whi ch was led along th e front of th e und er ca rriage bays to the eng ine co mpa rt me n t. Driving th e main and und er carri age uni ts, plu s the flaps, was the prima ry purp ose of th e hyd raulic syste m. The flaps th em selv es were manufactured in four sec tions , two located und er th e wing cen tre sec tion, with th e o thers be ing fitted unde r th e outer wing panels. O n th e FB. I I and th e T.2 0 th e h ydraulic system a lso operated th e win g fo ld mechani sms and

142

th e wing locking pin s, and to ex tend the arrestor hook . A s problems h ad occ urred d uring th e devel opm ent of th e Sea Fury, th e ta il hook and th e und erc arri age un its were fitted with air/o il dampers, whi ch were need ed to co ntrol any osc illa t ion. To provide th e power to driv e th ese syste ms, an eng ine- d riven h ydrau lic pump was install ed , whi ch delivered a nominal working pressure of I, OOpsi. Sho uld th er e be a failure of th e primar y pump, th e pil ot was provid ed wit h a hand pump located to th e left-h and side of his seat, wh ich co uld be used to pump dow n th e flaps, un dercar riage and tail hook - alth ough th e use of muscle power would tak e lon ger. A furt her pu mp was also driven by the eng ine via a gearbox , th is being used to supp ly pne umat ic pressure to a dedi cat ed accumulat or at a pressure of 450 to 4 70psi. T he syste ms supplied by th e pne uma t ic syste m incl uded aircraft braking, plus th e und ercar riage and flap eme rgency b lowdo wn syste ms. This parti cular set- up was on ly ava ilable for th e FB.II and th e T. 20 , as th e pn eumati cs fitt ed to th e Mark X co ve red th e brak ing syste m and th e und er ca rriage ex te nsio n assiste rs. Ind icat ions in all three ve rsions were via a trip le pressure gauge locat ed in th e bot tom right-h and co rne r of th e instrument pan el , The eng ine was also used to dr ive a gene ra tor th at cha rged th e Sea Fury's on board batter ies and po wered th e int er n al and ex te rna l ligh t in g un its, th e air-int ake sh utte r filt ers plus th e bom b and roc ke t proj ect ile co n tro ls. Further item s dr iven by the e lec trical syste m incl uded th e eng ine-coo ling sh utte r co n tro ls, eng ine inst rum en tat ion , th e fuel boost er pump, th e fuel co n te n ts gauges and the o il cooler sh utte rs. O the r equipment requi ring electrica l power inclu ded th e gun- firing co ntro l plus th e ca mera gun , the gyro guns igh t , pressure-h ead h eat er, rad io, EC M (whe n fitt ed) and th e primary co mpass .

The Fue l System A ll thr ee versions of the Sea Fury h ad a fuel syste m that co ns isted of five self-sea lin g ta nks, of whi ch two were located in the rear fuselage, whil e the o the r th ree wer e situated in th e win gs. Two were inr erspar tanks, wh ile th e ot he r was kn own as the nose ta n k, and was hou sed in th e lead ing edge of th e starbo ard wing. The fuselage ta n ks were descr ibed as be ing separate ,

TilE SEA FURY DESCRIBED

Above Up on jacks and trestles is Sea Fury FB.ll TF963 of No.802Sqn, photographed at Culdrose. Given the open nature of the accommodation, the aircraft is tied down by the wing shackle points, while there is a counterweight over the tail unit, which compensates for the weight of the engine . Big Bird Aviation Co ll ectio n

143

Below This excellent view of a Sea Fury T 20 reveals that there are two cannon blisters per wing, although only one cannon is fitted per wing. The size of the periscope for the instructor is clearly s hown. FAAMu seumCollection

Til E SEA FURY DESCRIfiED

Above Even thou gh the Sea Fury still used a piston engine as a powe rplant, it had beco me quite a complic ated air craft as far as the cock pit w as conc erned . Big Bird Aviation Collection

FUEL CONNECTORS

FORWARO

M~~~6~G -

- --

-

nr.~ REAR MOUNTING LATCH

Abov e In a simil ar manner to the Tempest, th e external fuel-t ank mount ing for the Sea Fury consiste d of a fore and aft latch, and came with fuel and ai r coup l in gs. Big Bird Aviation Collection

although their close in terconnect ion meant tha t th ey acted as one uni t. Delive ring the fuel to the eng ine was a Hobson /R A E injector pump, whi le the fuel from th e o ther th ree tan ks was fed to th e main fuselage tan k by air pressure th at was supplied from th e exhaust side of the vacuum pum p. The main fuselag e ta n k did no t requi re pressuri zation , its fuel flow being controlled by the main fue l cock. Preventing th e main ta nk from overfilling

was th e job of a float va lve tha t wo uld sh ut off th e flow at th e approp riat e po in t. Should the con te nts of th e int erco n nected mai n fue l fa ll belo w 17ga l (n ltr ), the tan k float va lve woul d allow th e fuel tank cock to open , so as to repleni sh th e cont en ts from th e win g tan ks. The maximum amo unt held in th e main fuselage tan ks was 97 plu s 30ga l ( 122 plus 136ltr), wh ile the two in terspar ta n ks co uld hold a maximu m of 56ga l (254Itr)

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each , the nose ta nk ho lding no more than 17gal. The two ext erna l fuel tanks , wh ich hel ped to ex te nd th e range of th e Sea Fury, ca me in two sizes, be ing rat ed at 45 and 90ga l (205 and 409ltr) respect ivel y. The fon ner was the more co mmo n and was used mainl y for co mba t purp oses, wh ilst th e latter was used mai n ly for tran sit fligh ts. To push the fuel from the externa l ta nk s in to the mai n system, air pressure was provided by the vacuum pump . Sho uld it be necessary to clear the wings for co mba t man oeu vring or an eme rgency, th e underwing tank s co uld be jetti son ed by pulling a lever in the coc kpit, the acti on of whi ch wo uld close off the fuel and a ir supplies as the tanks pulled clear of the wings. In co n trast to the preceding Hawker fighters, th e fuel syste m managem ent was vastly simplified to red uce the coc kpit work load; th us instead of ind ividu al ta nk isolat ion coc ks, the who le syste m was regarded as a group feed ing di rectl y into th e main fuselage ta nks. T h is simplificat ion meant that th ere wou ld on ly be two fuel cocks on the pilot's panel, wh ich were used to co n trol the fuel flow from the extern al win g ta nks. Selec t ion of th e ex te rna l ta n ks using the man ual levers auto ma t ica lly iso lated the wing fuel tank s, wh ose pressurizat ion was then ve n ted overboard. Reversin g th e levers wo uld then iso lat e the underwing ta nks, wh ich would then vent th eir pressure to atmosphe re. This system was no t foolproof, however, as an inadv ert ent select ion of the und er win g ta nks would instantl y iso late th e wing ta n ks, and if not cor rec ted co uld lead to the eng ine sh utt ing down wh en th e main fuselage ta nk s were empty. To sto p thi s hap pen ing, a lever lock was fitt ed to th e ta nk sele ctor coc ks, wh ich was applied wh en th e win gs were clean . T he Bristo l C en taurus XV III engine required so me assista nce fro m an elec trica lly dri ven fuel- boo ster pump for start ing purposes. This pum p was located in th e ma in fuse lage fuel tank group, altho ugh it did not becom e effective during th e auto mati c sta rt sequence un til the engine o il pressure had reached 30ps i. Modificati on s to imp rove th e capability of th is system wo uld be incorp orat ed dur ing the life of th e Sea Fury. The first of the se, modi fication 309, insta lled a manual cont ro l that requi red movin g to the 'On ' posit ion befor e flight, and had to be returned to the 'Off' posit ion as soo n possible after land ing

TilE SEA FURY DESCR IBED

Above This diagram not only illustrates the method of mounting the zero-length rocket launchers . it also shows how the rockets could be duplex mounted.

\j

Big Bird Aviation Collection

Left Sea Fury FB.ll VX642 is seen here surrounded by the full range of bombs. rockets. fuel tanks and assorted paraphernalia that made the type such a flexible attack platform. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

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Til E SEA FURY DESCRIB ED

Left The heart of the Sea Fury. the Bristol Centaurus XVIII engine; to the rear can be seen the auxiliary services gearbox . Big Bird Aviation Collection

Left Just aft of the engine bulkhead is a panel that covers many of the aircraft services . such as the hydraulic and pneumatic systems. Big Bird Aviation Collection

Below This head-on view of a Sea Fury FB.ll shows how pugnacious an aircraft it is; the size of the five -blade propeller is also worthy of note. The location of the leading edge intakes on the wings is clearly shown . as is the location of the cannon ports . Big Bird Aviation Collection

74 6

TIlE SEA FURY DESCRIBED

and engine sh ut down . A further modifica t ion , N.n, added a h igh pressure pump to the elect rical prim ing pump. Part of thi s modi ficat ion also added an exte rn al co n nection in th e port wh eel bay, wh ich allowed for extern al pri ming of th e cylinders with fuel. Should th e elect rical pu mp fail for any reason , th e fuel supply to th e engine co uld be maint ained by the inj ector pump . A lt ho ugh the man agemen t of the fuel syste m had been simplified , the pilo t was still faced by four co nte nts gauges: th ese co vered th e ma in , int er par and nose ran ks, and were cont ro lled by th e ground/fl igh t selec to r switch , wh ich allowed the co n ten ts to be read accurat el y under e ither co nd ition . As it was possible for these gauges to be misread under the pressure of flying the aircraft, th ere was a primary Paci tor-type main gauge fitt ed in the main pilot 's pa nel th at gave a con solida ted co n tents readin g. However, just to make the pilot's life interesti ng, th is gauge had the d iscon cert ing habit of not read ing cor rec tly for at least th irty seconds wh ile its dedicat ed power uni t war med up, afte r which it was normall y reli abl e. In contrast , the un der wing fuel tan ks were not gauged. the ir co n te nts be ing purel y a matt er of guesswork. Con ne cted to th e fuel-t ank gauging syste m was a fuel low-warn ing ligh t that would come on sho uld the to tal syste m conte n ts dro p to I07gai (4 o lrr), whi ch indi cat ed that bo th the wing and underwing tanks were empty. A lon gside the co nte n ts indi cato rs was a gauge th at showed th e system air pressure, wh ich would read betw een 3.5 and 5p si whe n operating properly. Should th e pressure drop below 3.5psi wh ilst flying at alt itude, th e pilot was reco mm en ded to reduce altitude if pos ible, as problems could be experien ced with the wing-t an k fuel feed . Located with in the forward sec t ion of th e fusela ge hard by th e engine was the o il lubr icati on tan k; thi s had a max imum fluid conte nt of l -lgal (62Itr ), with a free air space of 4ga l ( 18 ltr ). To en sure smoo th operat ion of the lubri cati on syste m under all fligh t cond it ions there was a negati ve 'g' va lve incorporated, wh ich wou ld main rain o il pressure eve n if th e aircraft were fully invert ed . In common with all aero engines, the Bristo l Cen raurus gene rated a lot of heat, and part of the ro le of the lubr ica ting system was to help in its dispersion . To th at end, Hawker's install ed a ram aircooling intake in the port win g root. To

Above With its arrestor hook deployed. Sea Fury FB.l1 VR936of No. 738 Sqn, normally based at Culdrose . undertakes a missed approach on an unknown carrier. FAA Museum Collection

reduce the work load placed upon the pi lot , the ope rat ion of th e complete co o ling system and its th ermostati ca lly co n trolled electric jack was made fully automa t ic.

Flyin g Cont ro ls A lthough the Sea Fury was th e subjec t of man y inno vat ions, th e flying cont ro ls were fai rly con vent iona l, be ing operated by rods, cables. be llcranks and pulley wheels, each run be ing tensioned by the use of adjustable turnb arrels. Rigging of the Sea Fury flying con trols requ ired th e use of riggin g pins temporaril y pushed th rough the relevan t co n tro l run neutral po int , and det erm ined locat io ns near the co ntro l surface, after which the cables wou ld be tensioned and checked usin g a ten sio meter. Movem ent of the elevator s and ailerons was co urtesy of a co nt rol co lumn top ped with a spade grip, whi ch incor porat ed the brake lev er and gunfiring co n tro ls. The latter was also used to operate th e c ine came ra, to release selected bombs, and fire the rocket proj ectiles. The operation of th e rudd er was via rudder pedals, whose mount ing bar co uld be adjusted to suit the heigh ts of various pilot , th is bei ng ach ieved by the use of a ce ntra lly mounted , rudder-bar adju ster

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wheel. T he sea t could be alte red vert icall y for the same reason . To prev ent dam age to th e flyin g co nt ro ls by h igh wind s when th e Sea Fury was pa rked on th e ground, th ere was a srowable co nt ro l lock ing kit in the coc kpit. To insta l it, a cl ip was fixed to the co nt rol co lumn , and its attac he d ca bles cl ipped to the sea t and the rudde r bar. O nc e all were int ercon nected , the pilot 's sea t was moved vert ically to increase th e tensio n on th e locking ca bles. T he a ileron locking req uirement s were en tirely d ifferen t, as th e main con tro l surfaces were not co nnec ted to th e co n trol co lumn. To sto p these moving, spec ially shaped plates co uld be slid be twee n the a ileron and th e wing tra iling edge. and locked in posit ion . T he op eration of th e a ilerons was via th e balan ce tabs that were attached to the co lumn , and because they were not dir ectl y con ne ct ed to the co nt rol co lumn , it made things easier for the pilot , a well as redu cing the co mplexity of cont ro l run s at the wing break. Trim and balance tabs were a lso insta lled on the rudder and elevator s, tabs on all th ree ax is being adjustable for be tt er tr im ming in flight. Adju st ment of th e ba lance tabs was done o n the ground , and they were set with in prescribed limits. The trim-tab co n trol wheels were grouped toget her in a con trol

Til E SEA FURY DESCRIBED

box in the coc kpit, with the control wheels and ind icato rs be ing the on ly items ava ilable to th e pilot.

Op eration of the Undercarriage Even th ou gh th e Sea Fury undercarriage was h ydraulically driv en , it was ac tiva ted mec ha n ically by a lever in th e cockpit. Selectio n of ,up' and 'do wn ' was th rough a quadran t selector in the coc kpit that had a loc king safety ca tc h to sto p in adv ert ent selec t ion. In add ition to the warning noti ces conc ern ing inadverten t und ercar riage selec t ion, another was prominen tl y d isplayed that warn ed against the retraction of th e st irrup foot step under the wing root, as both the ste p and undercarr iage were int erco nnected. To indi cat e to the pilot th e position of the unde rca rriage at any given time, an unde rcar riage posit io n ind icator, complete with light s, was locat ed on the pilot's pane l. W hi lst th e und ercarriage was in transit, eithe r up or down , the undercarriage ligh ts would sho w red; in the fully down position the ligh ts changed to green. \Vh en the un dercar riage was up and locked , all the ligh ts were out. Should the re be a failure of the primary green ligh t array, there was a second set th at could be selected by the use of th e switc h on th e indicator pan el. Dur ing ni ght- flying,

rota t ing the indi cator kn ob in the othe r d irect ion wou ld redu ce the brigh tn ess of the ligh ts. Backi ng up the ind ica to r ligh ts were ind icator rods mou n ted on th e top of each main leg; th us when the un dercarriage legs were down and locked , no t on ly were the green lights sho wing, but the ind icat or rods would have moved th rough the holes in the upper skin pane l to sta nd proud above it. Th is was regarded as a useful back -up should there be a malfun ct ion of any of th e und ercarri age m icroswirches.

Ot her Indi cat or Lights Besides th e primary ind icat o r ligh ts associate d with the undercarri age, th ere were o the r warning light s on th e pa ne l to warn of any inc on sisten c ies. O ne of th ese wou ld ligh t up shou ld the th rottle be less tha n one th ird adv anced with th e gea r unl ocked, whil e the other was interco nnected with the port undercarriage leg and ca me on when both th e gea r and arresto r hook were fully down . To ope rate the arresto r hook, th e pilot moved a lever in th e coc kpit which would lower the hook , a ltho ugh it co uld no t be reset in the air. W hen fully deployed, a gree n ligh t wou ld come on in the coc kp it. A lso requiring ca refu l moni toring du ring landi ng and tak e-off were the flaps, a ltho ugh the ir positi on was shown using a gauge. The flap pre-sele ctor lever in the

Below A most revealing view of a Sea Fury FB.ll shows the w ing -fol d mechanism in great detail , plus the lo cation of the rocket rai ls. This part ic ul ar machine.VX652. w as on the strength of No. 738 Sqn at Cul drose w hen it w as photographed. W. A. Harrison Collection

.:

748

coc kpi t had four ind icated positions: 'up', 'rake-off' , 'max lift' and 'down ', alt ho ugh it was possible for furt her in termed iate positions to be selec ted.

Pneumatic Sys te m T he elect rical and h ydraul ic syste ms were no t the on ly viral arte ries aboa rd the Sea Fury, as it had a pne umatic syste m as wel l. T h is was vita l for th e ope rat ion of th e brak es and the eme rgency blow-down syste m for the FB. I I and T.20, and th e undercarriage assiste r circuit fitt ed to th e Mark X. The syste m pressure was main ta ined by a pneumatic accumulato r charged to bet ween 450 and 475psi; th is was reduced to 100psi at eac h brak e uni t. A gro und parking fac ility was ava ilable via a locki ng lever, whi le d ifferential braking for grou nd manoeuvring was possib le using a differentia l braking va lve inserted in to the pn eum ati c syste m, which was operated by movem ent of the rudd er ba r.

Wing-Folding and Lockin g Sys tems For th ose un familiar with th e art and scie nce of win g fold ing and lockin g, it was or igina lly vie wed as insubstantial; howeve r, wor k on the tech no logy and metal lurgy needed to make the idea work correc tl y had bee n co mp leted befor e the end of World \Var 11 , as a result of wh ich Hawker's were more th an co nfident to incorpora te the techno logy and mechanisms in to th e Sea Fury. N ot on ly were wing fold ing and spread ing h ydrau licall y dr iven, the vita l spar locking pins were mov ed in an d out hydraulically, too. O pe ration of th e wing-foldi ng mech an ism was by a lever in th e cockpit in th e FB. I I and T.20 tra iner, which acti vated th e h ydraulic elector valves that in turn d irect ed fluid to the required side of the jacks. Duri ng the design of the wing -fold mechanism , care was taken to ensure that the wings co uld not be dep loyed sho uld th e flap pa ne ls be in the dow n positi on ; thu s a safety locking cat ch was built in to th e lever. In th e event of a h yd raulic syste m malfunction , the pilot could use the hand pump to mov e th e win g panels in either dire ct ion . T h is capability was also ava ilable for groundc rew use dur ing mai n-

Til E SEA FURY DESCRIBED

tenance. Visual ind icat ion of th e locking pins' positi on was provided by a mech an ica l indi cato r rod that stood proud when the pins were withdrawn , but would lie flush when th e win gs were down and the pins fully home.

CFlying Control Cabling D Flexible PylonCabling EWing Fold JackSupport Structure F Drop TankControl Cabling GFeed Neck Door Operating Hinge H Wing Electrical Loom J Feed Neck Door Operating Linkage

Engin e Operation and Control In con trast to the vari ed met hod s of operation and co ntrol employed for the airframe systems, those for the engine were purel y mech anical in na ture, and some of them auto mat ic. Most of the non -auto matic con tro ls were operated by levers; th us the engine mixtu re con trol was gove rn ed by movem en ts of th e th rottle lever. To get the best performa nce from the engine with th e greates t fuel eco no my, pilots were recom mended to main ta in the power rat ing at 2,500rpm, with th e lever in th e aut o posit ion . This lever could also be moved to th e alte rna t ive max imum posit ion , whi ch allowed the engine revs to be increased to 2,70 0rpm for short pe riods of tim e, altho ugh pro longed usage co uld cause da mage to the powcrp lan t. A s th e Sea Fury also had a tendency to suffer from engine vibrat ion th e th rottl e and rpm levers had a friction damper that co uld be applied to stop th em movi ng. Anot her lever th at had a di rect affec t upon the beha viour of the powerplant was the fuel cut-o ff co ntro l: th is had two sett ings, one 'no rma l', the other 'c ut-o ff'. Befor e sta rt ing th e eng ine th is lever had to be se t to th e cur-off position , ot herwise th e push butt ons for the in jecto r and cylinder prim ing would not engage. As well as th e nor mal range of co n tro ls, the Bristo l Ccn ta urus was equipped with a supe rcharger that had its own range of co ntrols: thi s also had two sett ings, (!vi) for low gear and (S ) for hi gh gear. To ensure that th e supercharger was protect ed from overspee d ing , th ere was a warn ing ligh t on the pi lot 's panel that wou ld co me on if the supe rcharger were engage d in hi gh gea r below 7,000 ft (2,000m). O the r anc illary co nt ro ls assoc iate d with eng ine man agemen t includ ed the con tro l that ope rated th e a ir intake filte r: th is sifted out debris that co uld harm the moving parts . \Vith the a ir filter in ope ration the wing-root int akes were auto mat ically closed off. W hen the win groo t int akes were ope n, they requ ired a

K Fold Jack Lower Mounting Point

Above The wing -fold mechanism on the Sea Furywas very reliable. and due to the use of the aileron tab to control the main surface. few connections or reconnections were required. Big Bird Aviation Collecti on

heat ed a ir feed deli vered via th e warm air co nt rol va lve to ens ure th at no freezing would ta ke place at h igh alt itudes or dur ing operat ions in co ld cl imat es. O ne further mech ani cal co n tro l ava ilable to th e pilar was th e cowling sh utte r co n trol. U nder normal c ircumsta nces the cowling panel s were fully ope n dur ing take -off; und er all other c ircumsta nces in theory th ey were closed . T here was a man ual ov er-ride that co uld be opera ted if req uired , and th is ca me in useful if th e pilot wasn 't sure of th e cowling sh utt ers' posit ion ing: to che ck thi s, a quick open selec tion wou ld tr im th e ai rcraft into th e nose-down posit ion . To sta rt the Bristol Cen raurus eng ine was fairly simple. The ign ition switches were locat ed on the left-h and side of the pilot's pan el ; on th e righ t-h and panel was a co mbine d ca rt ridge sta rte r and selecto r, close to wh ich were priming push -buttons.

Other Cockpit Levers O the r mech ani cal levers in th e coc kpit conce rne d the movemen t of th e cano py and one of the footsteps. T he main operating con tro l for cano py movem ent was a cra n k lever to move th e assemb ly bac k and fort h. Attach ed to th is mech an ism was an

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extern al open/close handle th at allowed th e hood to be closed from the out ide, lock ing bei ng achie ved by a spring-loaded bolt. A lso in the cockpit was a lever tha t moved the footstep located on th e port side of the fuselage just aft of the wing. A lthough the footstep was co n trolled from the coc kpit, it was requ ired to chec k that it was fully closed before depart ure, because if the step cover were only sligh tly open, noxious fumes could be drawn into the cockpit. A furt her footstep located in the side of the fuselage would on ly close when the undercarriage ret racted. There was one othe r foots tep in the wing root , but th is was spring- loaded to the closed position once any weigh t was removed.

Light ing To prov ide visua l ident ificat ion to othe r ai rcraft, and to allo w th e pilot to see h is inst ruments at ni gh t , the Sea Fury was eq uipped wit h a ve rita ble batt er y of light ing. In th e coc kpit there were thr ee kin ds of lighti ng: one set of d immable ultravio let ligh ts tha t would on ly illum inat e th e phosphoresce nce o n the gauge ind icator needles and n umbers; a seco nd set co ns isting of d imma ble red lam ps; an d a sing le lamp tha t ca me eq uipped with its own ind epen dent batte ry.

Til E SEA FURY DESCRIBED

The light s mo un ted aro und th e outside of th e airframe were div ided in to d ist inct groups. First th ere were th e iden tificati on ligh ts: red and green light s locat ed und er the starboard wing, and an amber ligh t under the port wing. T here were four navigat ion lamps, one at each wing-tip, and one on eac h side of the ta il un it; th ese ligh ts were also int ercon nect ed with th e arrestor hook , so that when th e hook was exte nded, the ligh ts wou ld come on , and o allow the ca rrier-deck bat sma n to confirm its status prior to clear ing the a ircraft to lan d. T he fina l light ing circuit was also aimed at helping the batsman, and consisted of att itude light s located on th e port main gear leg and the port tailwhe c l door : these came on to co nfirm th e und ercar riage was down and locked.

Ot he r Cockpit Cont ro ls As well as the mecha ni cal and electrical systems in the cockpit , the pilot was also graced with an oxygen system. The cylinders conta in ing th e gas were held in reta in ing crad les under the floor boards, and the syste m was co n tro lled via a regulat or on th e righ t-h and ide of th e pilot's pane l. Cont rols for coc kpit heat ing and vent ilation also added to th e pilot 's co mfor t: these were operated by a handwheel th at had range se t t in gs betw een warm and co ld, although th e latt er selec t ion was on ly available in th e upper part of th e cockpit. To ensure th e safety of th e aircraft , co n tro ls for select io n of the pito t head heat er and wind screen de-icing were a lso located in th e coc kp it. Ext ern al win dscreen de-ici ng was avai lable to th e pilot, and its operat ion woul d enable hi m to fly in th e most adve rse co nd it ions. T his syste m was fluid -based , the ta n k being locat ed in the po rt wheel bay; a pump powered the fluid via a d isperser onto th e scree n . The last item in th e cockpit was th e pilo t's seat and its co mbined head -rest , which could be adjuste d by a lever located on the right -h and side of th e seat. The other lever available for the pilot's comfort was the safety harn ess release lever th at allowed th e pilot freed om of movement without his becoming d isco n nec ted from the scat.

Above Sea Fury FB.ll WG599 has had a bit of an accident! However. standing on its nose reveals the flap detail. the location of the rocket rails. and the bomb mountings between them. Unusuallythis aircraft has only one fuel tank fitted. w. A. Harrison Collection

Weapons and Came ra Contro l Systems O perat ional weapons cont ro ls fitt ed to th e Sea Fury were mainl y und er the guida nce of the Mark 4B gyro guns igh t; th is had a reticule so that eithe r rockets or guns could be selec ted , and came eq uipped with a ca mera reco rder and a back ligh t. T he Hispano can nons were ele ct rica lly operated , by a switch o n th e co nt rol-co lumn spade grip. T h is switch also co n tro lled th e release of bo mbs, rocke ts and the co mbat c ine ca mera. To prot ect aga ins t inadverten t firing or weapons release there was a safety cut-out switch, int egrat ed with th e undercar riage weigh t on ground microswitches. It was possible to override these safety switc hes via a butt test switch located in th e starboa rd cen tre wing sec t ion , wh ich meant th at an aircraft could fire th e guns on th e ground if requ ired. T he cine-reco rd ing came ra was situat ed in th e port wing, and its selec to r co ntrol a llowed th e pi lot to adju st it for eithe r sun n y or cloudy weather. O n ly one other ca mera was provided in the Sea Fury, for ph oto recon naissance . T here was also provision for th e ins ta lla t ion of both verti cal and oblique cameras in the fuselage, wit h mou nt ings ava ilab le for a co n tro l box

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in the coc kpit; however, no known use was made of th is syste m. The Sea Fury was also capab le of ca rrying anc illary equipment such as th e RATO G launch syste m, whose rockets were controlled by two butt ons locat ed in th e coc kpit: one in itiat ed ign ition , th e othe r was used to jett ison the rock ets onc e their force was spen t. As the ea Fury was in service dur ing the ea rly years of the jet age , it was vul nerable to missile attac k, therefor e provision was made for a chaff d ispenser. O perat io n of th is syste m was via a co n troller that had a four-position speed sele ctor. A lso ava ilable to th e Se a Fury was a decept ion flare launcher and a win g came ra con ta iner. A furt her ind icat ion of the Se a Fury's tan gle with th e je t age was its ext ensive avio n ics suite; th is included a radio system based on th e A RI 549 1 VH F airborne relay uni t, plus a standard four-ch annel VH F transcei ver. The preferr ed radar un it for the Hawker figh te r was th e A RI 5307 ZBX system that was capable of int egrati on with th e VHF relay un it. avigati on needs were catered for by the incl usion of a rad io alt imete r and a G 4F co mpass. T hi s. then, was th e Hawker Sea Fury, an aircraft that sat co mfortably between the piston-powered aircraft and th ose with jet eng ines.

TI l E SEA FURY DESCRI BED

Flying th e Sea Fury G iven tha t the Sea Fury was one of the fastes t pisto n -powered nava l fight ers eve r built, it was inevitable that there wou ld acc ide n ts, eve n th ough th e Fleet Air Arm had purc hased a ba tch of T.20 tra ine r- to try to a lleviate thi s pro blem. Tyro pilo ts facing th e co nt ents of th e coc kpit of the Sea Fury wou ld almost certa in ly be ini t ia lly overwhel med by th e plethora of switches, d ials and gauges before them . Even tho ugh t ime had been spe nt in gro un d scho o l, it requ ired some practi cal exe rc ise of the ingrain ed mn em on ics and in-depth instructions before ha nd ling of the big figh ter becam e somewhat easier.

M astering the Fuel System The first area o n wh ich our intrepid aviato r would co nce ntrate would be the fuel syste m: although simplified from its predecesso rs, it needed und erstanding, espec ially the man agem ent of the exte rna l fuel tan ks. Most importan t was the positio n o f th e selec tor valves, wh ich had to be in the 'o ff' position when th e tanks were remo ved , otherwise the ma in fuel syste m would be iso lat ed, and the co n te n ts gauge wou ld read incor rectl y. In co nt rast, the selec tor valves had to be in the 'on' position wh en the tan ks were fitt ed . However, once fully drain ed , the selec tion had to be in the 'off' pos it ion to sto p the main syste m feed ing back .

W hen th e coc kpit checks had bee n co mpleted , it was the turn of the groundcrew: they wo uld tu rn the propel ler by h and through two co mplete revolut ions to redu ce the possibility of h ydrau lic co mpressio n shock at the t ime of ign itio n, as thi s effect co uld ca use serious dam age to the eng ine . W ith bot h the pilot and groundc rew read y, the fuel inject or needed depressin g for th irty seco nds to prime th e fuel syste m. Depend ing on how th e aircraft were modi fied , the but to n migh t need to be pressed for lon ger: some were post Mod whi ch was a hi gh-pressure prim ing syste m. With primin g completed, the ign ition switch was moved to the 'on' position and the starter depressed: if all was correc t, the eng ine would start and run smoo th ly. Occasiona lly th e Cen raurus would misbehave and a cart ridge wou ld not exe rt eno ugh force to turn th e engine over; this requ ired th e pilot to selec t ano the r cart ridge, and depress the starte r again. Should the eng ine fail to start afte r mu ltiple attempts, the aircraft had to be turned over to the enginee rs. A successful sta rt required th at the powerp lant be run at 1,200rp m unt il it was fully warm ed up. O nce se ttle d and run n ing swee tl y, furt her chec ks were required to ensure th at the engine would perfor m th rough out the fligh t. T hese mai n ly co nce rne d the behaviour of th e magnetos and the pe rforma nce

.n ,

of the gene rato r. T he th rottl e needed to be adv anced for th is test, and the co n trol co lumn to be fully back throughout thi s pha se to sto p th e Sea Fury ti ppin g forwards onto its nose. O nce the eng ine had been tested. the propel ler had to be run th rough its co mp lete range of sett ings; it would th en be clea red for depart ure ,

Ta/?e-Off Techniques While design ed for car rier ope rat ions, the Sea Fury was freq ue n tly flow n from land bases, th ough spec ial tec h n iques then had to be fo llowed in orde r for the aircraft to behave cor rectly. During the take -off and just afte r, full th rottle had to be main ta ine d to ensure tha t rudder co nt ro l rem ained positive. To improve the behav iour of th e rudder, th e Sea Fury had to be flown off the ground with th e tail in the do wn posit ion; th is was eve n more cruc ial sho uld th e flaps be deployed to assist ta keoff. O nc e the fighter was a irborne , the wheel brakes need ed to be applied gen tly to sto p them spin n ing before retracti on, as co nt in ued rotation co uld cause dam age in the wheel bays. Just occas iona lly the ea Fury ind icato r ligh ts would show red , and the advice to correc t thi s was to th rottle back in orde r to slow th e aircraft and allow th e legs to co mplet e their cycle. T he ta ke-off fro m an aircraft ca rrier was co mpletel y different, as take-off flap was

Starting the Engin e Having mastered the fuel system, the av iato r would th en tackle th e in tricac ies of engine sta rt ing and h and ling. As you would expec t, th is set of inst ructio ns bega n wit h the eng ine pre-start proced ure. T he se were: I . Ign it ion switc hes O FF 2. Main fuel coc k ON 3. Booster pump OFF 4. Fuel cut-off co nt rol CUT O FF 5. T hro ttle 50 per ce n t O PE 6. RPM co ntrol un it MA XIM lv1 7. A ir-intake heat co n trol O FF 8. Air-in take filter co n trol C LEA or FILTER 9. Engine-coo lin g sh utt ers O PEN 10. Supercharger co ntrol M (low gear) I I . Depress the booster pu mp c ircuit if required.

Above The RATOG system as filted to the Sea Fury was clustered under the centre section. whereas on other FAA aircraft they were located above the wings. Big Bird Aviation Collection

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Til E SEA FURY DESCRIBED

req uired, with the elevator s trim med sligh tly nose up. a that the pilot had a margi n of extra power available, the engine was run at full th rottle against the brakes, wh ile the tail was held back in th e 'do wn ' posit ion . Just pr ior to the lau nch cata pult releasin g th e fighter, the tailwheel had to be checked to ensure tha t the an ti-casto ring lock was en gaged, whi le the rudd er needed to be hel d ce nt ral to sto p th e a ircraft from crabbing during th e short take -off. Both at sea and on land th e Sea Fury was capa ble of mo unt ing th e RAT OG laun ch syste m, wh ich gave improved take- off pe rfor ma nc e in th e eve nt of th e aircra ft havin g e ithe r a greater weapo ns load or a sho rter ta ke-off run . Use of thi s syste m from an airfield requi red th at th e pilot selec t a th eoretical igni tion point some way dow n the runway. Havin g iden t ified th is po int , the pi lot then ens ured th at the flaps were fully retract ed, that th e ta ilwheel was locked , and th at the RAT O G mast er switc h be in the 'on ' posit ion . O nce fully set, the throttl e lever was adva nced to full po wer and the brakes released. A s always, the ta il was held in the 'd own ' position with th e co n tro l

Below This mach ine of No. 738 Sqn shows how the RATOG equipment w as filted to the Sea Fury FB.11 . C. P. Russell Smith Collection

co lumn sligh tl y offset to port . A s speed adva nc ed, the RAT O G was ign ited by depression of th e firi ng butt on ; however, should the re be a misfire or ignition fail ure, th e ta ke-off had to be aborte d. If all pro ceed ed acc ord ing to pla n , th e Se a Fury would bec ome airbo rne, th ou gh ca re had to be ta ken if the rockets were st ill burn ing, as th ere was a tende ncy for the nose to pitch up. Once the RATO G had ceased ope rat ing , th e Se a Fury wou ld try to pitch down . W hat ever method was used to launch , a ll pilot s were warn ed to be careful not to pull the ai rcraft off th e ground, ot herwise a stall woul d result and ca use a star board win g drop. O nce airbo rne , th e flaps needed to be raised qu ick ly, so that a speed of 150mph (240 km/h) lA S could be gained, when the pilot cou ld du mp th e RAT O G ca rriers. A s th e weigh t balan ce changed, th ere was a tend en cy for th e nose to pitch down .

In the A ir U nder norm al c ircumsta nces the Sea Fury was describ ed as n ice to fly in th e a ir at a ll alt itudes and speeds, alt ho ugh the re was a mark ed tenden cy for th e turn to tigh ten at high er alt itudes. T h roughout the perfor mance en velo pe th ere were few trim changes, a ltho ugh de ploying th e flaps, ex te ndi ng the und ercarri age or ope n ing

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th e cowling sh utt ers would ind uce a sligh t nose-down att itude , whi le reversin g th e foregoi ng woul d lift th e nose up. Sta lling speeds also called for careful ob servat ion, becau se with gea r and flaps up and an AUW of l 2,4001b (5,6 25kg) , the veloci ty required to ma inta in safe flight was I05mph (l70k m/h) lA S ; however, th is lim it would increase to ll 5m ph ( 185k m/h ) lA S at an increased weigh t of 14,65 01b (6, 645 kg) . With the gea r and flaps dep loyed at the lower weight, th e sta lling speed dropped to 90mph (l45km/h ) lA S, whil e at hi gh er weigh ts thi s increased to IOOmph (160km/h) lA S. A furth er reduct ion in sta ll ing speeds wou ld occ ur during the norm al power on approach as it dropp ed to 80mph ( 130km/h ) lA S. Stall warning was first indi cat ed by the tai l dropping, afte r whi ch the nose wo uld drop . Correc tion req uired retarding the throttle and cent ra lizing the co ntrols. Possibly one of th e worst fears for all pilot s is entering an un inte nti on al spin, because not on ly would th e occ upa nt of the coc kp it becom e d ist racted, but the ai rfram e could be subjec ted to overstressing. Some aircraft are qui te doc ile in a sp in, wh ile others have a vic ious streak. For th e Sea Fury, the regu lat ion s stated th at intention al spin n ing was ban ned ; however, should one be entered acc iden tally, norm al recovery ac t ions sho uld be

Til E SEA FURY DESCRIBED

taken, although when clearing the resulting di ve, the pilot had to wa it unt il a speed of 175mph (280k m(h) lA S had been reach ed . In a di ve th e Se a Fur y mad e for a stable a ttac k pla t fo rm , a ltho ugh pilo ts wer e ad v ised , theoreti ca lly, not to excee d t he maximum limit in g spe ed of th e a irfr am e , o t he rwise d amage to the st ruc t ure co uld resul t . During a div e the a irc raft co uld ex h ib it a sligh t ten den cy to yaw, th o ugh th is could be cor rec te d by use of th e trim tab .

Landing the Sea Fury T he fina l ph ase of an y flight - and the one co ns idered to be the most d ifficult - is a successful landing. That of the Sea Fury was no more d ifficult than that of an y other pisto n -en gined aircraft, as long as the agreed paramet ers were obeyed. T hu s with everythi ng out and dow n and at a weight of 12,4001b (5,625 kg), an approac h speed of 100m ph (l 60km(h) lA S needed to be strictly observed; however, sho uld th e approach be flow n flapl ess, the requi red speed was inc reased to ll 5mph ( 185km(h ) lA S. The Sea Fury had a maxi mum lan d ing weigh t of 14,0001b (6,3 50kg ), whi ch meant th at all co nfigurati ons had to be flown at least lOmph ( 16km(h ) lA S abo ve th e appro ac h speed. Performance when th e eng ine was off required th e pilot to ad here to a separate set of lim its: th erefor e with gear and flaps down, care ful han d lin g was req uired to maintain a steady 130mp h (2 10km(h) lA S , altho ugh th is wou ld be allowed to d rop off to 115mph ( 185km(h) lA S just before to uch-down . A ll pilot s were warn ed tha t, if they were land ing und er these cir cumsta nces, descending with th e flaps in the fully down posit ion would result in a very stee p glide path , foll owed by a heavy lan d ing and possible dam age to the airframe . In co n tras t , landing on an a ircra ft ca rrier requ ired th at the pilot fly the approac h and land ing at a sligh tly hi gh er spee d, whi ch allowed for the arrestor hook being down. As well as the hook be ing deployed , the ta ilwhec1 needed to be un lock ed to avo id dam age to th e rear fuselage. Fina l approach spee d ove r the ca rrier migh t be redu ced to 90 mp h ( 145km(h) lA S du e to the wind ac ross the deck, altho ugh th e co nt ro l co lumn needed to be held fully back if a th ree-point lan di ng was to be ach ieved.

A bove With its RATOG units firing , this Sea Fury departs HMS Ocean. Note the fl aps set to take off. and the bombs under the wings. FAA Museum Collection

Preparing for Emergenci es Pilot s trained on all a ircraft types h ad to be prepared for all eme rgenc ies, and th ose flying th e Sea Fury were no d ifferen t. ndercarr iage eme rgenc ies were one of th e first areas co ve red in ground scho ol, and the re were numerou s ways to resol ve any problems. Fa ilure of the ligh ts to illum inat e or an y of the legs to lower could first be addressed by putt ing th e und ercarriage back in to th e 'up' position. Befor e any atte mpt was mad e to dep loy the gear again , the flaps had to be lowered first. Sho uld th e eng ine-d riven h ydraulic pump h ave failed, our intrepid aviat or was req uired to pump th em down by hand , a ll the way to th e 'max lift' sett ing. To ach ieve thi s state some e igh ty doubl e pumps were req uired , and thi s was even more difficu lt if the ligh ts were indicating that the und ercarriage was unl ocked . W ith th e flaps fully down , the Sea Fury needed to be slowed to 115mp h ( 185k m(h) lA . Ge tt ing the und erca rriage down required an eve n grea te r amo unt of effort , at least 120 stro kes a lth ough th is inst ruct ion had the proviso , th at if the gea r fa iled to un lock withi n th e first twelv e dou ble stro kes, th en ano the r co urse of ac tion wou ld be required . Th is in vol ved using th e emergency lower ing system, th e first pull of the ope rat ing handle releasing th e undercarriage uplocks and allowing the legs to drop usin g

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the draw of gra vity. A seco nd pull of the same handle would release a pne um at ic cha rge, whi ch would force th e undercarriage int o th e locked posit ion. Should eve n thi s ac tion fail to have an effec t, the fin al opt ion was to main tain a spee d of l l 5m ph ( 185 km(h) lA S , and use the rudd er to indu ce violent yawing; th e resultant d rop in th e nose normal ly forced the undercarriage fin ally to engage th e down locks. Sho uld all th ese efforts fail, the pilot was inst ructed to aba ndo n the a ircraft; though if a ll the ligh ts were green and the pins were showing , a landing co uld be made. Fortunate ly for the pilot he was spared th e troub le of lowering the ta ilwh eel, as a fa ilure of the h ydrau lic syste m would ca use it to lower any way. C ha nges in trodu ced by .30 the applica t ion of Modificati on mean t that the eme rgenc y blow-down sy rem became the primar y mean s of lower ing th e und ercarriage, alt ho ugh this cha nge meant th at the flaps migh t not fully dep loy. The lack of flaps d id not ca use the same sort of problem s as th e undercarriage did, beca use it was possible to land a ea Fury on a normal-len gth runw ay as long as th e wind was ligh t. T he approach had to be flown as flat as possible, and large th rottle movements avo ide d. G iven a typical serv ice load ing of 12,400l b (5, 625kg), the approach speed was set at the 120mph (200k m(h ) lA S mark , wh ile the land ing

TIlE SEA FURY DESCR IBED

Left Although T. 20VZ345 is no longer with us, this view shows how immaculately it was maintained prior to its accident. Big Bird Aviation Collection

speed was l Omph (km /h ) lo wer. Ju st o ve r th e run way th reshold the th rottl e had to be cut, whi ch wo uld allow th e pilot to mak e a three-poi nt landing. With o n ly the o ne powerplant , the pilot of a ea Fury woul d un derstandab ly beco me wo rried sho uld it ceas e funct io n ing. This might be caused by susta ine d negati ve 'g's or in vert ed fligh t, bo th of whi ch co uld ca use th e fuel system to c ut o ut. The o bv io us answe r to th is was to turn the fighter th e right way up and clo se th e fuel cut-off and th rot tle levers; aft er abo ut ten seco nds th e eng ine inj ectors co uld be rep rim ed, and the Cen ra urus resta rted , Sh ould th e cause of fai lure be an yth ing but the forego ing, it was probab le th at e ithe r the airc raft wo uld be lost , o r th e pilot wo uld have to make a dead st ick/po we r off land ing at th e nearest a irfield.

A bando ning the A ircra ft If the c ircumsta nces wer e suc h t ha t it was be yo nd t he power of th e pil ot to recov er th e sit uation , the o n ly recourse would h ave bee n to ab andon th e a ircraft. The first ste p was to je tti so n th e cano py a nd the fuselage coc kpit side pa ne l. The best recommended speed to clear th e ca no py fro m the airc raft was abo ve Zl Omph (340 km/h) lA S; howev er, o n Sea Furies th at wer e minus Modifi cati o n 339, th e pilot was recommended to o pe n the ca no py at least an inch ( 2.5cm ) to assist th e latch es in dise ngaging (th is effo rt was not need ed on post-modificat io n machines). Sho uld th e Sea Fury crashlan d ther e was a jett iso n h andle loca ted under a pcrspc x cover nea r the por t wingroot fillet wh ich , wh en ac t ivated, wo uld allo w resc ue rs to reach th e pi lot.

Specification - Sea Fury Type: Powerplant: Weights: Dimensions:

Performance:

Armament [fixed]: Armament (disposable)/ luel tanks:

Mk 10,Mk 11 single-seat lighter/l ighter-bomber,120 two-seat trainer 2,480hp Centaurus 18 Empty Mk 119,2401b (4,190kg). Mk 208,6971b (3,944kgl; loaded Mk 11 12,500lb (5.700kg). Mk 2011,9301b (5,4lOkg) Span 381t din (l1.7m), 161t lin (4.9m) lolded; length Mk 10341t 3in11 0.44m), Mk 11341t 8in(1 0.57m), 120 341t 7in(1O.54m); height 14ft 7! in (4.46m); wingarea 280sqIt (26.01 sq m] Max. speed Mk 11 460mph (740km!h), Mk20445mph (716km!h); rate 01 climb Mk 11 10.8min to 30,OOOIt (9,OOOm), Mk20 10.1 min to 30,OOOlt; range Mk 11 1,040 miles l1,670km)with 2 x 90gal(4001trl drop tanks, Mk 20940miles (l, 500km); service ceilingMk 11 35,800lt (lO,900m), Mk 2035,600lt (10.850m) Mk 10/ 114 x Hispano 20mm cannon, Mk 20 2 x Hispano 20mm cannon Mk 11/20 2 x 500lb bombs or 2 x l ,OOOlb bombs or 16 x rocket projectiles

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O ve r th e sea th e c ircumsta nces co uld be di ffe rent, and train ing needed to be give n in t he art of ditching th e Se a Fury. First it was necessary to clear th e ca nopy and a n y extern al sto res, so th e airc raft co uld d itc h with less di fficulty. The p ilo t al a n eed ed to send o ut a n e me rgency radi o bro adc ast, before di sconnecting the radi o jack plu g. S ho uld th e eng ine st ill be fun c tioning, h e woul d n ext h av e to lower th e flap s full y, pull th e co n t ro l co lumn fully back to lo we r th e tail , and aim for th e low est possible tou ch -do wn speed. If the engine h ad sh ut down , t he flap dep lo yment was red uced to thirt y degrees, as a ny in crease woul d cause th e sin k rat e to beco me un accepta bly fast. Fin ally the pilot wo uld t ry to land the Sea Fur y along th e lin e of th e swe ll o r in to th e wind , and the n jump o ut ove r the port side of th e aircraft. T he req uire ments over land were sim ilar, althou gh t he first thing to do was to send a rad io distress sign al. Th e cano py a nd underwing sto res th en h ad to be cl ear ed, befor e t he pi lo t t ightened his stra ps and lowered th e flap s to the tak e-off e tt ing a nd, ma intain ing a spee d of 130m ph ( 2 1Okm/h) lA S , prepared to to uch do wn , O ne of th e prime rea so ns fo r a wh eel s-u p landing was a tyre bur st ; th e Se a Fury had a stro ng ten den cy to eit he r t ip up o n its nose or flip o ve r co mplete ly, th us th e wh eels-up o ption was regard ed as the lesser of th e ev ils. A [thou gh a ll of th ese in st ruct io n s we re intend ed to be foll owed under a ll c irc umsta nces, co mbat flyin g meant th at q uite freq ue n tl y p ilots h ad to write t h e ir o wn rules.

CHA PTER TWELVE

Fighting in the Sea Fury When th e idea of the Sea Fury was first mooted, it was thought that its cha nces of engaging in an y form of co mbat were lim ited , to say the least. World War II had ended with th e surre nde r of the G erma n and j apan ese forces, and the on ly clo ud on the horizon was tha t of th e So viet U n ion , wh ich had revealed its int ent io ns to carve out an empire in Euro pe . To co unter the emerging Warsaw Pact , Britain , the U n ite d States and many of the Euro pea n natio ns wou ld form th e N orth A tlanti c Treaty O rgan izat ion V Ia the ea rlier West ern Un ion.

first outle t of an y co nsequence wou ld be Korea, a nation that was a lready d ivid ed afte r the expulsion of the j apanese . T he so uth was almost defenceless, as its back ground was main ly rural in nature, whi le the north was of a militar ist ic tendency. A s if to emphasize th is d ifference , the forces of North Korea would laun ch an all-out offensive ac ross th e 38th Parallel on 25 june 1950 at 04.00h r. T he Korean War had begun . Whi le po lit ics were reshapin g the wor ld int o two disti ncti ve and oppos ing block, the front- line squadro ns of the Fleet A ir Arm were st ill equipping with the Sea Fury. \X1hen sufficient had entered serv ice to allow eno ugh uni ts to become fully ope rat iona l, sepa rate ca rrier air wings were for med to equip three sepa rate carriers. The First Ca rrier G roup assigne d to th e fleet ca rrier HM S Ocean co ns isted of o. 80 2 Sqn equipped wit h th e Hawker Sea Fury FB. I I , and o. 82 5 Sqn flying the Fairey Firefly 5. Equipp ing the 17th

Th e Korean War Wi th th e Russian s sto pped from ex pa nding ac ross Europ e, the Commun ist ethos began to look for othe r areas in whi ch to ex press itself. T he new zone tha t wo uld succ umb to a pecul iarly or ient al form of Commun ism was C h ina, where Gene ral C ha ing Kai C hck had lost co nt rol of the co unt ry afte r th e 'Long March' of Mao Tse Tsung and hi s forces, and had ret ired to the Islan d of Taiwan. W ith C h ina in the grip of its new masters, further chan nels were sough t to spread the message. T he

Ca rrier G roup aboa rd the fleet ca rrier HM S T heseus were o. 80 7 Sqn wit h the Sea Fury FB. I I , an d N o. 8 I0 Sqn with the mult i-role Firefly 5. A similar set- up was assigne d to th e fleet carrier I-IM S Glory whose l-lth C arrier A ir G roup co ns isted of No . 804 Sq n with the Sea Fury, wh ile No. 8 12 Sq n was the Fa irey Firefly ope rato r. In respon se, the Un ited at ion s would assemble a multinat ional force that featured a large A merican and British cont ingent, whose avowed aim was to expel the forces of orth Korea and th eir C h inese allies out of the ter rito ry of South Korea, and hold th em at the 3 th Paralle l. The British sea-go ing co mpone nt was drawn from the Far East Fleet tha t was based at Hong Kong. HMS Triwn/)h, a ligh t fleet carrier, was assigned by the Ad miralty to provide the in itial support forces. HMS Trium/)h would to th e U arrive in Korean waters to provide support to the U forces, its carrier air wing consisting of o. 800 Sqn equipped with Supermarine Seafire FRA 7s, and o. 827

Below This view of HMS Glory photogr aphed in calmer w aters shows th at much of the air win g w as parked above deck . On the forward part of the carrier deck are park ed the resident Sea Furies. wh il e further aft. j ust behind the isl and. is parked the Sea Otter rescue aircraft. To the rear of the carrier deck the ships compl ement of Fairey Fir eflies is on displ ay. Big Bird Aviation Collection

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FIGHTING IN THE SEA FURY

Sqn operating the Fairey Firefly. Complete with its support group consisting of two cruisers, two destroyers and three frigates, th e TiiUIllJl/i air wing began combat operations on 3 j uly. O perating alongside the Fleet A ir A rm aircraft were th e Vough t F-4U Corsair and Douglas Skyraiders from the USS Val/c)' Forgc; as both carriers were sim ilar in design and eq uipment , th ere was a fa ir amount of cross-de ck flying whil e th e TriulllJlh was on station for its thr ee-mon th st in t. Duri ng th is period th e ca rrier's ai r win g flew a tot al of 895 mission s. As co mba t flying was a hazardo us and wear ing affa ir to pi lot s, aircraft, sh ip and crew, it was not surprising that th e H MS Triunl J)/i was up for rep lacem ent afte r thr ee mo nths, The carrier assigned to replace th e TriunlJl/i was HM S Theseus, stat ioned at th at tim e in U K wat ers as part of th e Ho me Fleet . The carrier and its suppo rt fleet wou ld depart from Brit ish wat ers in late A ugust [950 , picking up its assigned 17th C AG from its home base of R A S Lce-on -Solenr on the way.

The transit journ ey of six weeks was put to good use, as bot h th e carrier, its a ir group and the accompa n ying suppo rt fleet unde rwent a stren uous period of work ing up to combat readin ess d urin g th e voyage to th e Far East. A ltho ugh each of the C A G squad rons had its fa ir selec tion of expe rienc ed sen ior pi lots, th e new boys requi red integrati on in to th e wing. A s would be expected , th e pilot s of 0.80 7 Sqn did suffer a few mish aps wh ile making carrier landings and there were a few acc idents amongst the Sea Furies - the occasional nose ove r on to the spin n ing prope ller, or if the braki ng had been excessively heavy the aircraft would flip over co mpletely. O nce all th e fuss and bot her conc ern ing th e acciden t had been dealt with , th e sh ip's enginee ring officer would decide the fate of each a irframe. T hose that were deemed repair able using sh ipboard resources were struck below for atte nt ion in th e han ger, wh ile those assessed as to o bad ly dam aged were stripped of useful part s and the shatte red remai ns dumped over th e side .

Below Aboard HMS Theseus the Sea Furies of Nos 804 and 898Sqns prepare for training sorties prior to entering the fray in Korean waters. Note the aircraft identification striping above the wings . FAA Museum Coll ection

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Active Service for Carrier HMS Theseus H MS T tieseus arrived in Korean wat ers o n 9 O ct obe r, passin g HMS TriulllJlh depar ting for its rest and recuperation pe riod in the oppos ite dir ecti on . O nce on stat ion , the Fleet Aviation O fficer, Comma nder E. S. C arver, was flown ashore to th e Tact ical A ir Con trol C en tre at Kimp o to repor t the ca rrier group's arriva l. Rem ar kably, the ce nt re was complete ly un aware of the changeover of car riers, or of the capa bilit ies of its car rier a ir group, as HQ 5th A ir Force had fa iled to inform them of the new ar rivals. A very imp ortant piece of infor mat ion also came back with th e comma nde r, namely th e presen ce of a helico pte r search- and-rescue flight, and th e mean s of contacting them should the need arise. Th is o mission was qui ckly rectified, and H MS T heseu« was in tegrat ed in to the offens ive operat ions plan s. Dep loyed in th e Yellow Se a, the aircraft of the 17th C AG began to strike at target s at C h in na mpo, Pakchang, C ho ng ju and Hciju in Hwan ghai Prov ince , these missions co ntin uing unt il 22 Octo be r. Man y of th e strikes were aimed at C h in nampo , wh ich had goo d port facilit ies, but was in th e h ands of No rt h Koreans. However, against st iff defence the Sea Furies managed to bad ly dam age a pa ir of min e-la ying jun ks at Ho Do. Such was the determinati on of the co mmande rs in Korea to capture thi s port that the aircraft of th e Fleet A ir A rm put in a period of int ensive flyin g: th us No. 80 7 Sq n Sea Fur ies co mpleted 264 combat m ission s, whi le their mult i-ro le breth ren of No. 8 10 Sqn f1 ying the Firefly ach ieved a cred ita ble 120 sort ies. However, th e effort expended du ring th is period too k its to ll upon the car rier and its crew, and H MS T heseus was with drawn for a period of rest to th e j ap an ese port of lwakun i, Th is port was also hom e to the ca rrier's suppo rt o rgan izat ion, th us any defect ive a ircraft were qu ickly land ed, and replaced by servicea ble mach ines read y to hand , wh ile the en gineering cadre began the ta sk of repairin g th ose damaged o n ope rations . Inspections were also car ried out aboa rd HM S Th eseus, where it was discov ered that the run n ing mech ani sm, part of the ca tap ult launch syste m, was found to be worn beyond acceptable limi ts. A s no spares were ava ilable in j apan to repair th e

FIGIITING IN Til E SEA FURY

ca tapult, it was decided th at a ircraft launch es should be und ertaken using the RATOG syste m. To allow for the increased deck space ne eded for th e ta keoff run, ix of th e Fireflies were left in Jap an . C lea red, co mplete with its not ed lim itations, for furt her operat ions, H MS Theseus arrived back on sta t ion on 27 O ctober to pro vide suppo rt for sh ips engaged in minesweeping ope rat ions be ing und er take n in the C h in nampo estuary. T hese lasted unt il 5 No vember 1950 , when the car rier was despatched to Ho ng Kong to ta ke pa rt in combined service exercises, although the air wing was still und er strength , as its absent Fireflies were now in Korea be ing employed in the art illeryspo tt ing role. T he visit to Hon g Ko ng lasted a month before HMS Theseus ret urn ed to th e Yellow Sea on 7 Decemb er with th e car rier gro up un der the command of Vice Ad mira l Andrews. For th e next eigh t days th e a ir win g und ert ook attacks against roads, br idges, a irfields and rai lway rolling stoc k. Furt he r missio ns were also flown agains t targets of oppo rt un ity, the proviso being that they must be strategic or transport in nat ure , as the intent ion behind th is part of the ca mpa ign was to disrupt th e supply chain in Nort h Korea as much as possibl e. T he car rier a ir wing managed to fly 332 offen sive sort ies without any losses - altho ugh the SA R hel icop ter suffered a frigh t whe n it was attacked by MiG fighters; however, a suppor t ing patrol of Sea Furies q uickly arrived and drove the enemy a ircraft away, allowing the helicopt er to retu rn to the

T heseus. During thi s period of operat ions th e aircraft of the 17th C A G enco un te red very litt le in th e way of a irborne resista nce from th e Nort h Koreans and th eir C h inese a llies. T heir main enemy would be the inte nsive ant i-aircraft fire th rown up by th e ene my, and th e possib ility of techn ical fa ilures with th e aircraft. O ne who had the misfor tun e to experience the dubiou s joys of a tech n ical malfun ction was Lr D. P. W. Kelly of No. 0 7 Sq n, who depart ed from HMS T heseus on 24 December 1950 for a sta nda rd patro l. However, not long after laun ch ing h is Bristo l Cen raurus began to misbehave, then fa iled altogether. U nfor tunatel y for the pilot , he had failed to ga in eno ugh a ltitude to try a dead-stick land ing back o n the carrier, so he was left with two cho ices: to ba il out , or to di tch . But as th e Sea Fury had descen ded below

Above Illustrating well the difficulties faced by carriers in Korean waters , this photo shows the crew struggling to clear the deck for launching, while behind them sit snow-covered Sea Furies and Fireflies. FAA M useum Collection

safe pa rach ut e heigh t , really the on ly option was to d itch - even though most pilot s were very distru st ful of th is method of land ing, as they were sure that th e great we ight of th e Cen raurus wo uld pull them down into the dep th s of th e sea . Lt Kelly therefore fo llowed instru cti on s and jett ison ed all th e aircraft's underwing stores, before successfully d itch ing in the sea some four m iles in fro n t of the car rier. T he US Na vy destro yer U SS Sioux was qu ick ly o n th e scene and rescued the damp pilot from the sea; they return ed h im to HM S T heseus, and after a med ical checkup, he resumed flying dut ies the next day. A lthough th is one ea Fury had been lost , th e to ta l of sort ies flown by th e a ir wing would reach 630 withou t a loss in co mbat. At th e end of 1950 the 17t h C AG was awarded the Boyd Trophy in recogn it ion of it ach ievemen ts and co n tribut ions to naval aviation du ring the precedi ng year. Blowi ng up train s, bridges and ammun ition d umps were not th e on ly duties taken o n by the a ircraft of th e 17th C AG. Bo th the Sea Furies and the Fireflies would find themselv es engag ed in co mba t a ir patrols in defen ce of the fleet, and on ant i-sub marine patro ls against th e subma rines rep ort ed to be opera ted by th e N ort h Korean Nav y. T he primar y hu nt er in th is instan ce was the Firefly, alt ho ugh th e Sea

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Fury wo uld also go on the e so rt ies, though bot h need ed extern al fuel tan ks to increase th eir t ime on stat ion . Whilst engage d on C A P duties, th e Se a Furies managed over 3 ,900 int ercep tion s, a ll of wh ich turned out to be A llied a ircraft of one sort or ano ther. A nd not on ly did the aircraft of th e 17th C A G ta ke part in ground-a tta ck missions, but the Sea Furies would quite often find th emsel ves flying top cove r fo r strike sor ties flown by ot her air forces. T h is mixture of missions co n t inued un til ea rly 195 1, when art illery spo tt ing was added to the reperto ire of th e Se a Fury. T hese fligh ts were conce n trated around the Inchon area, where much of the naval offshore bo mba rd ment fleet was located. She lling in thi s zone was inten se enough to dr ive the enemy out, afte r whi ch th e fleet turn ed its atte n tions to Wonsan and Song in. Not all of th e Sea Furies were engaged in th e spott ing role: th e remain der wou ld co mplete over 3 ,500 sort ies, during whi ch they drop ped ni nety-two 1,0001b bombs and 1,400 of th e ligh ter 500 lb bo mbs. O perat ing at lower levels, the Hawker figh ters wou ld let loose 7,300 rocket pro ject iles, and fire over half a million 20 mm can non shel ls. O pe ratio ns off N ort h Korea in wint er were some of the hardest eve r undertaken aboard an a ircraft

FIGHTING IN THE SEA FURY

Above With a blizzard whipping across the deck. the groundcrew attempt to prepare a Sea Fury for a mission. Given the weather. it is highly unlikely that the sortie took place . w. A. Harrison Collection

ca rrier, with bl izzards frequen tl y swee ping across th e deck and hamper ing operations. However, dedi cat ed work by both air- and groundc rcws ensured that the ort ic rate was main tain ed - alt hough fourte en aircraft and pilots would be lost during thi s period. So me pilots would be rescu ed by plane- guard Siko rsky S-5 I helicopt ers from the sea, whil e others were plucked from dan ger from beh ind ene my lines. W h ile No. 80 7 Sq n of the 17th AG was flying from HM T heseus, the norm al operat ing co mplemen t of Se a Furies averaged out at twent y-t hr ee, a ltho ugh this wou ld be subject to co mba t losses, acc iden ts both o n th e carrier and into th e Yellow Sea , plus th e time del ay ex pe rienced in rece iving replacem ents from Britain. Those aircraft tha t were ava ilable would norm all y be airbo rne fo r an ave rage of two and a half hour ', alt ho ugh thi s required th e use of exte rn al 45gal (20 5lt r) tan ks to ensure that the re were ade qua te fuel reserves for any mission requ irements. During co mba t ope rations from the T heseus th e preferred launch method was the stea m cata pult ; however, some use was made of th e Sea Fury's RAT O G ca pa bil ity, espec ially when it fou nd itself employed in th e bomb ing ro le. T hi s req uirement came more to th e fore as th e Theseus' to ur of dut y co n t in ued, as th e hu ll was becomi ng encrusted with 'var ious small sea an imals; these were effect ivel y

redu cing th e sh ip's to p speed , which meant that the required over-the- dec k speed of twent y-e igh t knot s was not ava ilable to launch a ircra ft at the ir heav iest we igh ts. U nfort una tely, because H~'l S Theseus had been despat ch ed to the Far East in such haste, it had mean t that a much needed peri od of ma inten an ce , incl uding a good scraping of th e h ull bottom , had been delayed until a lat er dat e. So , sinc e Th eseus was not able to stea m faster than twentytwo kn ots, the role of the Sea Fury changed from that of fighter bom ber to rocket-eq uipped ground attacker, as th e a ll-up we ight a llowance was reduced. But even th is opt ion ran in to tro uble; the or iginal int en t ion had been to use th e rocket s mounted in multip les, bu t th ese h ad to be redu ced to sing leto ns as th e generated stress of usin g the weapons in thi s form was causing cracks in th e area of th e wing mountings. A lthough th e Sea Fury was built with the capability of ca rrying out photo recon naissan ce du ties, when tried under co mbat co nd it ions th e results were less th an satisfactor y, as th e lubri cating o il spray th rown by the Ce nta urus eng ine was smea ring and obscur ing th e came ra port . Furtherm ore, it wasn't on ly the a ircraft of the 17t h C A G giving pro blem s: the carrier itself was found to have inadeq uat e space for th e amo un t of ammun it ion being expe nded , a lthough the sh ip's aviat ion fuel tank s

158

were of suffic ient capacity. However, some careful rear ran gem ent of life bel ow deck s soo n reso lved th e ammun it ion problem . H MS Theseus would resume combat ope rat ions dur ing Jan uary 1951 , however flying, eve n at best, wou ld on ly be intermitt ent , as bad weat her, even worse th an nor mal for the region, hampered not on ly a ircraft launches, bu t more importantly reco very. \Vith the first twelve days of th e new yea r lost to the incl em ent cond itions, th e ca rrier's prob lems were co mpo unde d when two days lat er it was discovered th at the reeving of the stea m cata pult was worn beyond safe operating lim its. What made matters worse was th at th is part icular setup had on ly man aged 880 launches befo re failing. U ndaunted, the crew of HM S T heseus worked round the prob lem; th us lim ita tions were placed upon the launch ca pacity of each a ircraft type, so th at the Se a Furies were launch ed m inu s their ex tern al fuel ta n ks and weaponry, whi le th e Fireflies used RAT O G to get a irborn e. These cha nges meant that th e Hawk er fighters were limit ed to co mba t air patrols, whil e the Fairey machines could depart with full mission loads. G iven th ese limi ts, both types would give of the ir usual best wh ile supporting th e figh tin g in th e Suwon-Osan- lnc ho n region , with mini mal casualt ies. A s th e lack of a catapult was seriously hamper ing co mbat ope ration s the carrier was despatched to th e port of Sasc bo for repairs. Th ese were du ly completed, and HMS T heseus would return to its stat io n in the Yellow Sea on 25 Janu ary, where it reli eved its temporarv stand- in , USS Bataan. Mission s began aga in at the end of the mont h , a lthough thi s was not with out loss; the 17th C AG lost fo ur aircraft , and one pilot was kill ed during an attempted d itch ing. These losses notw ith st anding, th e air wing man aged a cred ita ble 66 sort ies during the first thr ee days of Februa ry. Flying in suppo rt of ground forces ove r Korea co nt in ued , unti l th e carrier was withdrawn for a per iod of mu ch needed rest and recu peration in lat e March. It was dur ing th is parti cular to ur of duty that th e self-sea ling ta n ks fitt ed to the Sea Fury were found to be less effective th an at first suppose d : one of the aircra ft was h it by a half-inch armour-piercing round that ca used ex tensive dam age. A lt hough badl y dam aged and leaking fuel qu ite heav ily, th e pilo t managed to nu rse hi s aircraft to Suwon , where he made a succ essful eme rgency landing.

FIGIITING IN Til E SEA FURY

The fo llo wing month th e a ircraft of th e 17th C A G wen t o ut o n even more so rt ies th an normal, as a ir and gro und reco nn a issance , plu s in te llige nce ga th ering , h ad revealed th at massed Comm un ist for ces wer e gath ering o n the far side of th e Yula River. Mi ssions began on 9 A pril and wo uld co nt in ue o ve r the fo llo wing six days, t h e Sea Furi es carrying o ut exte ns ive strikes aga in st roa d and ra il bridges, ve h icles a nd ra ilway ro lling stoc k, ma rsh alling yards, supply du mps and wareh o uses. A s wel l as carrying o ut a tt ac ks aga inst targets the mselv es, th e Se a Fury pilots were a lso e mployed o n a rt ille ry-spotting duties fo r the h eavy-h itting ba t tlesh ips and c ruisers po un d in g target s in th e W onsan a nd So ngjin regions. Bot h these so rt ie types we re bac ked up by ex te nsive ar med rec o n n aissa nce missio ns. T hro ugho ut th is sh o rt perio d th e 17t h C A G a ircraft ma naged 276 sor t ies, with no dec k-landing ac c iden ts; th o ugh five Se a Fur ies wo uld be lost in co m bat , o n e be ing sh ot down by U S Ma rin e C o rps figh te rs operat ing o ut of Kimp o ; ano the r a irc raft was a lso damaged by th e same figh te rs during th e same e ngagemen t . Ha ving co mple te d its to ur of d uty o n th e easte rn side of th e co unt ry, the ca rrier was th en tra nsferred to th e western side of Korea to resum e co mbat flying. These missions wo uld resta rt ov e r th e pe riod 17- 18 A pril, and n in ety-four wou ld be co mple ted - a ltho ugh a furt h er fo ur a ircraft woul d be lost d uring th is period , th ereby redu c ing t he 17th C A G 's ava ilable in ve nt or y. A fte r th is surge period , HM S T heseus was wit hd rawn from th e fron t lin e for a furt h er period of rest an d rec uperat ion at Sasebo. T h is was th e en d of HM S T heseus' in vo lvement in t he Ko rean Wa r, and t h e stat ist ics sh ow th at t hey ac h iev ed e igh ty-six flying days o ut of th e seve n mo nt hs o n sta t ion, wh ile a rota l of 3 ,446 m issio ns were flo wn . O n 25 A pril 195 2 H MS Theseus was reli ev ed on stat io n by the flee t car rie r I-IMS G lory.

Ab ove Not the best way to make yourself popular. or the normal way to arri ve aboard an aircraft carrier, Sea Fury FB.11113fT park s in a most unusual w ay aboard HMS Theseus and disrupts the resident Firefly squadron . FAA MuseumCollection

intriguin gly n amed O pe ra t io n Strangle, its implied in ten tion be in g to fina lly st rang le th e va rious N or t h Kor ean supply lines. T h is maximu m a ir offens ive began o n 28 A pril, and in itia lly in vo lved fift ee n a irc raft fro m H MS G lory - a lth o ugh o ne Sea Fury wo uld be lost in a crash soo n after launch . T h e co n tin uing rate of so rt ies

wo uld resul t in th e loss of a furt he r Se a Fur y in a c rash -lan d ing o n 2 May. T h e pi lo t, Lt Ba rlow, was success fully rescu ed by t h e ca rrie r's plan e-guard he lico pte r, th e down ed fighter lat e r be in g strafed by its compat rio ts un til it was dest ro yed . A respite fro m co mba t wo uld fo llow, as th e carrie r gro up was assa iled by ve ry

Below With a brakeman in the cock pit and its w heels chocked, th is Sea Fury is in the process of being struck down below the main deck of HMS Glory fo r servicin g. FAA Museum Collection

Active Service fo r HMS Glory T he a ir wing a bo ard H MS G lory wh en it ar rived in th e Yel lo w Sea was t he l -lt h C A G , wh ich co ns isted of N o . 804 Sq n with an in ven to ry of t wenty-o ne Sea Fur ies, a nd N o . 8 12 Sq n flying th e Fa irey Firefly V. W it hi n days of arriva l, t h e a ircra ft of H M S G lory were e ngaged in th e

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inhospitable weat h er, whi ch can celled all operat ions until 13 May. H owever, once flyin g was resum ed , in th e fo llowing thr ee days th e aircraft of the 14 th C AG went out on 155 sort ies, with o n ly one loss, a Se a Fury th at was brought down by an t iaircraft (ire, alth ough th e pilot was rescued . After such in tense exe rt ions, HM S G lo1")' departed th e Yellow Se a for a period of rest and recup era t ion , be ing rep laced by its American co unt erpa rt, U S Bawan. T he ca rrier retu rn ed to th e combat theat re on 3 june, altho ugh on thi s occasio n its sojourn was sho rt, as eigh t days lat er a quick retu rn to port was needed as water h ad been foun d in th e aviat ion fue l tankage. It was flush ed out and inspected , and repai rs were ca rr ied out to th e fleet car rier RFA \\/at'e Premier's forward tr ansfer rig, wh ich had lain unu sed for co ns ide rable pe riods of time; H MS G lor)' was th en cleared to retu rn to co mbat du ti es. T h is incident was d uly report ed in the ta bloid press, altho ugh th ei r sp in on the wh o le sto ry was th at sabotag e had been the culprit ! Having sor ted out the fuel prob lem, H MS G lory ret urn ed to act ive dut y and resumed co mbat flying; however, at least two Sea Fur ies wer e lost on thi s to ur. Having co mpleted thi s period of operat io ns, the carrier ret urn ed to port in Kure for a furt her rest period, th en returned to

ac t ive duties later in j une. just for a ch ange, th e region was b lessed with good weather, wh ich a llowed the sort ie rate to in crease - an ave rage of fifty sor t ies per day were be ing launch ed by th e 14th C AG . In the last two da ys of th is surge period th e ca rrier's aircr aft wer e aga in h av ing to be launch ed using th e RAT O G system, as th e cata pult syste m h ad yet again becom e inop erab le. Inevitably th is would slow down th e sort ie rat e sligh tly, th ough on ly to forty-eight per day, and the a ir wing st ill managed to dro p twenty-two 1,0001b bom bs and two h undred 5001b bombs, and to fire some 1,500 rocke t proj ectiles and in n um erabl e can no n shel ls. During th is period virt ually any moving or fixed target within th e design at ed strike zone was conside red an accepta ble ta rget, and struck accord ing ly. The design at ion of th is co mbine d fleet was Task Force 95, with th e Briti sh grou p bei ng re ponsiblc for strikes against target on th e western co ast of Korea. The n umb er of sor ties sen t out each day was int ense - on one day e igh ty-four were logged - but amazingly on ly one Sea Fury was lost, and th is was du e to a cat apult co ld shot, and not enemy ac t ion. T her e was on e close enco un ter, however, wh en a flight of Se a Fur ies was bounced by some USA F Lockh eed P- jet figh ters, whose pilots wer e not ver y goo d at a ircraft recognition . Fortun atel y for th e Fleet Air Arm

a

Below Complete wit h Korea stripes (note how the y pass over the wing's leading edges) this Sea Fury, with underwing bomb load. prepares for departure from HMS Oc ean. FAA Museum Collection

pilot s, the ir pi ston-powered mach ines to out-manoeuvre the wer e able A me rica ns, and th ey esca ped (rom such un welco me atte n t ions with out loss. H MS G lory an d its a ir wing resumed co mbat ope ra t io ns in late ju ly 1951 , and at thi s point in t ime the figh ting in Kore a rose to its h igh est level ever. Two Sea Fur ies were lost to intense anti-aircraft fire, and furt h er losses occurred due to tech nica l pro ble ms wit h the eng ines. In it ially thi s was put down to general wear and tear, but as pi lots were debriefed afte r missions, it tr an spired th at the cause of failure was in fact beca use they were pushing the ir machi n es past their limi ts in order to survive in the co mbat arena . As a resu lt, an d to ensure th at th e pilots had the best cha nce of survival, the enginee ring team s put ex tra effort int o engine mainten ance, and thi s h el ped reduce the losses from technica l faults. A respite - if it co uld be called such ca me from th e fight ing when typhoon 'M adge' arrived in th e area in mid -A ugust. The severity of th e weath er was such that an y th ough t of flying was out of the quest ion , at least un til th e sto rm blew itself out. By I Septembe r co nd it io ns had imp roved and flyin g co uld resum e - though now th e stea m cata pult was malfunctioning again . However, th is d id no t sto p th e l-lr h C AG fro m ave raging fifty sort ies per day. T h e focus of th e ir mi ssions was around Han, C h in nampo and C ho ngchon, with all th e usual target typ es being att acked with so me degree of success. A trip to S in gapore fo llowed during Octo be r for a m uch needed period of rest and recu pera tio n , then HMS G lory de parted to A ustra lian wa ters for a work up period in calme r, war mer cl imes, before her return to th e Korean cauldron.

Active Service for HMS Sydney \Vh ile th e cre w of I-I MS G lory wer e relaxing, first in S ingapor e and th en off A ustra lia, th e carrier was replaced on sta tion by the Roya l A ustralian N avy ca rrier H MA S Sydney, wh ose two operat ing un its, as 80 5 and 808 Sqns, bo th flew the Sea Fury FB.l l . Initia lly th e A ustra lian carr ier plied its trade off th e west coast of Korea, beginning on 5 O ctober; h owever, its sojo urn there would be short , as six clays later th e ca rrier was

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transferred to th e more target -rich eas t coas t to fly m issions. O n th e day of its arrival, I I Octo ber, HMAS S)'dney laun ch ed sixteen Sea Furies to h it targets on th e coast and the hill s further inla nd . W h ile rov ing over the target zone, the figh te rs were d irect ed tow ards a force of 2,000 troops in th e pro cess of d iggin g in , C leared to att ack, the Sea Furies began strafing the troops and th e ammun ition dump alongside; th e latte r explode d with a specta cular displa y of pyrot echnics, whil e the N ort h Korean troop s suffered serious casualt ies. A short with drawa l three da ys later gave the carr ier's crew a four-day rest period; the n H MA S Sydney return ed to the fray off the Korean coas t. Sh ipping and troop concent rations were the primary targets of th e Se a Fury squadrons, although an y ta rgets of opport un ity were decl ared fair game. A s befor e, the inten se ant i-aircraft fire damaged th ree figh ters, all of whi ch crash -landed upo n return. Fortunately th e revis ed fuel ta n k fire-prot ection syste m ensured that the pilots d id not have th at problem to co n tend with .

A Daring Rescue It was during th is period of ope rat ions that one of the most daring rescues of the Kore an \Var too k place. O n 25 O ctober, the Se a Fury piloted by Sub Lt. MacWilliams was h it by inten se ant iaircraft fire. Badl y dam aged, the pilot made an eme rgency lan ding in land, and set off a chain of eve nts that wou ld be rem in iscent of subsequen t act ions in anothe r war in Vietna m. Recovery act ion by the carrier in volved the use of an SA R hel icopter escorted by five Se a Fury FB.I Is, who in turn were given top cover agains t a irborne in tr usion by a G loster Met eor E8 despatch ed by No , 77 Sqn RA A E Up on ar riva l, the Sea Furies set about th eir task with en th usiasm, attacking app roach ing troops, and whi le the N orth Koreans were occ upied dodgin g the ca n non shells and rockets, the helicopter flew in , landed, and ret rieved the pilot. O nce it had flown clear, th e Sea Furies and th e Meteor withdrew, all making a successful land ing at Kimpo airfield just as the ligh t was fad ing. A fte r th e exc ite ment of retri eving Sub Lt MacWilliams, th e combat squadrons aboa rd HM A S Sydney resumed operations. T hese, however, would be

·0

A bove With its hook deployed. Sea Fury FB.11 WN474 of No. 898 Sqn, based aboar d HMS

Ocean. poses for

the c amera , Under the wings it c arr ie s a pair of 45gal (20511rl fuel tanks and a pair of aerodynamic bomb c arr iers, FAA Museum Collection

temporarily suspended d uring December 1951 , as th e weather was too inclement for flying. The following da y the aircraft from the S)'dne)' were in ac tion again , laun ch ing a tot al of fifty-eigh t sor t ies inv ol vin g the ca rrier's Sea Furies and the Firefl ies. T he first a ircraft to depart were fou r Sea Furies from N o. 805 Sqn, armed with ca n no n she lls and 1,0001b bo mbs instead of the usual rocket s. T he intended ta rget was a rail br idge no rth of Haeju, wh ich was att acked as plan ned , although no d irect hi ts were co nfirmed; th en they began strafing rail veh icles, destroy ing at least two in the process, While the figh te rs of N o. 805 Sq n were hasslin g th e Korean rail link s, their co un terparts in o. 808 Sq n were conce ntrating th eir efforts aro und the Han River area . It was dur ing these attacks that th e Se a Fury of Sub Lt No el Knapsrein was bad ly dam aged by enemy flak . Fortunat ely the pilot made a successful land ing on a mudfl at in th e estuary; he was qu ick ly retrieved by a re cue boat from H MS A methyst, and returned to hi s ca rrier. Whi le the Sea Furies had been trou bl ing th e Koreans, th e Fireflies of o. 8 17 Sq n were also engaged in attacking th e Korean ra il links, after whi ch they would turn their atte nt ions to each end of the railway tun nel near C ha cryong. Ir was dur ing thi s attack that the Firefly pilot ed by Sub-Lr N eil MacMil lan was h it by int en sive flak. O rigina lly there appeared to be no damage to th e Firefly, un til fuel was seen to be streaming out of th e port win g; th en ver y qu ickl y after th e engine sh ut down . Left with no other opt ion , the Firefly crew set about sea rch ing for a place to force land , even tua lly cho osing a padd y field for

161

to uch-do wn after jettisoning the canopy. A s soo n as possible aft er land ing the crew aba ndo ne d the ir aircraft, and settled in a dit ch to await eithe r rescue or ca ptu re. Fortunately for th em , aboard I-IMA S Sydney the car rier's co mmande r Capta in Harries de c ided that yet aga in a rescu e effo rt would be mount ed , eve n thou gh there weren 't man y hour s of dayligh t remain ing. T he sh ip's S ikorsky rescue hel icopte r was qu ickly prepared for depart ure, meeting up with '99 ' Fligh t: fou r Sea Furies from o. 80 5 Sqn . A lso inv olved in th e act ion was a flight of Met eor E8s, despat ched , as before , from Kim po A B by co urtesy of 0, 77 Sqn RA AE Bot h se ts of figh ters were qui ckl y on th e sce ne, with the Sea Furies act in g in the gro und-a tta ck ro le to drive the enemy clear of the resc ue zone, wh ile th e jet figh ters flew top cove r. T h e N o rth Korean for ces did no t give up th e ir poten t ial pri ze easily, h owev er, and at least one Sea Fury had to pull out afte r be ing da maged by gro und fire; a safe landi ng was made at Kimp o despite th e a ilerons beco ming increasingly un re sponsiv e. T he remain ing a ircraft stayed on stat ion , a ltho ugh th ey were warned that th e ligh t was fad ing and that the rescue attempt was about to be ca lled off. But th e rescue fligh t fro m HM A S Sydney was c lose to arriving , so they vo lun teered to rema in wh ere ' they were, to co ve r th e rescue , A nd so the Firefly crew was picked up in the dusk by . the sh ip's hel icopt er. The esco rt ing Sea Furi es rem ained for as long as possible befo re h aving to return to the carr ier, but two Met eors fro m K i rnpo stayed with th e helicopter until it landed safely in th e dark at Kimpo.

FIGHTING IN TIl E SEA FURY

o

..- . Above On patrol from HMS Ocean. this Sea Fury FB.11 WJ237 flies over Ko rea looking for targets of opportunity. FAAMu seum Collection

This was virtua lly the end of H MA S

Sydney's time in the at re, as on 7 Jan uary 1952 the ca rrier was relieved by th e returning HM S G lor)·. Sydney had co mplete d sixty-four da ys engaged in ope rat ions, during whi ch some 645 sort ies were made, of whi ch 4 74 were offensive in nat ure, whi le th e rem ain der were defen sive. Dur ing th is period two Sea Furies and a sing le Firefly were lost , and twenty-three aircraft were dam aged by flak and sma ll arms fire.

Reconnaissance and Bom ber Duties for th e Sea Fury O nce HM S G lory had returned to active duty, as an experimen t the sh ip's eng ine ers insta lled two F.24 cameras in a Sea Fury's und erwin g d rop tan k in an effort to give th e aircra ft some form of reconnaissan ce capability, as th e one built in by Hawker 's had not deli vered as pro mised . A came ra was mounted in th e front and .rear of th e tan k in an effort . to give some form of panoramic cov erage . After initial flight trials the .reconnaissan ce package was cleared for use by Sea Furies from HM S Ocean. A lth ough thi s idea was never adop ted across th e Fleet A ir A rm, it was used -successfully by th e' 14th .. C A G throughout its to ur of-duty for both preand post-st rike reco nn aissan ce.

T he enginee rs aboard the carrier also develop ed bo mb ca rriers ca pable of carrying 500lb bom bs to rep lace the rocket mou nt s, as th e 60 lb rocke t project ile warh ead was found to be ineffecti ve aga inst some target s. To gain the maximum benefit from thi s installati on , th e Sea Fury pilots had to use th eir a ircraft as di ve bombers, and clear the area qui ckly as th e fuse on eac h bomb was set at thirty seco nds. As sho wn by the previous Typh oon and Tempest, th e Sea Fury was found to be a ver y sta ble bo mbing platform . HM S G lory would begin its last to ur of duty on 18 A pr il; it was replaced by HM S Ocean in May.

Je t Fighter Encoun ter When th e fleet carrier HM S Ocean arrived off the coa st of Korea, the resident air win g was the 1st C AG , with flying uni ts N o. 802 Sqn flying Sea Furies, and No. 805 Sq n operat ing th e Fa irey Firefly. Soon afte r the arr ival of HM S Ocean, the first sigh tings of enemy jet figh ters were reported , and the se quickly began to make th ei r presence felt. The fighters were MiG ISs spo rt ing the insigni a of the N orth Korean A ir Force, although the ir pilot s were reported to be from Russia and C h ina. The first encounter bet ween th e jet figh ters from North Korea and th e

162

H awker figh ters of the Fleet A ir A rm too k pla ce on 9 A ugust, when a flight of M iG ISs slipped th rough th e defensive cordo n of th e U nited States A ir Force N ort h A mer ican F-86 Sabres. U na ware of th is add ition to their norm al co mba t dut ies, a flight of N o. 802 Sqn Sea Furies, on pat ro l as W izard Fligh t, was bounced by the Korean jet figh ters. A lerte d to th e fact tha t th ey were under attac k as th e tracers passed their a ircraft, the pilots turn ed thei r fighters toward s their atta ckers. T he leader of the Fleet A ir Arm fligh t was Lt Peter 'Hoagy' C an n iche al, a vete ran of World War II, and he and hi s colleagues - Sub- Lt C arl Haines, Sub-Lr Brian 'Smoo' Ellis, and Lr Peter Dav ies - immedi atel y opene d fire as th e first aircra ft passed their guns igh ts. H its from the ca n non of Sub-Lt Hain es were see n to strike the Nort h Korean fight er, whi ch bro ke away stream ing smoke and deb ris. In the ensuing melee, Lt C armichae l found ano the r MiG filling h is sigh ts and raked it with gunf ire: spewing smoke and flames, it crashe d into the sea. Because th e Sea Fury was very manoeu vrab le th e othe r pilot s were ab le to ta ke limited shots at th e MiG s, altho ugh th ey wo uld eve n tua lly break away; however, th e Sea Furies d id not esca pe lightl y, as one of th e figh ter s was hit by can no n fire in th e wing, wh ich igni ted the fuel in the ta n k. To return to base, the pilot used a ll hi s skill at side slipping to put out the co nflagration, ena bling th e wounded Sea Fury to limp back to HM S G lor)·. There were several furth er enco un te rs between th e Sea Furies of the 1st C A G and N ort h Korean jets during th e fo llowing week , altho ugh of th e e igh t MiG ISs engage d , on ly one would be co nfirmed as damaged. However, lead ers such as Lt Pet er C arm ichael by now believed th at altho ugh the MiG IS had a 200 mph (300km/h) ad vantage, th e Sea Fury was more than a match for it, espec ially if flown aggressive ly. After such exe rt ions the Glory was pulled out of th e area for a period of rest , recupera tion and repl eni shm en t. This respite on ly lasted a few clays before the car rier returned to its duties off the Korean coas t ; its co n t in ued presen ce in th e area would make it th e lon gest -ser vin g aircraft carrier assigned to th e war effort. There was a change to th e Sea Fury uni t aboard HM S Glory, as N o. 80 4 Sqn was withdrawn , and replaced by No. 8 10 Sqn, once of HM S Theseus; thi s carr ier's inven-

FIGHT ING I N THE SEA FURY

tor y o f a ircraft was incr eased because it took o ver so me of t hose left be h in d by it predecesso r . A s well as th e t h ree ca rr ie rass igne d units, t he two o th e r fro n t- line sq uad ro ns eq uippe d with th e Se a Fur y wou ld also expe rience co mbat o ve r Korea. H o we ve r, N os. 80 5 an d 808 qns wo uld se rve a boa rd th e Australi an fleet carr ier (-IMA S Sydney , wh er e th ey wou ld o pera te a lo ngs ide t he ir RA N co un te rparts. To co m ple te th e full pic tu re of HM S GloT/s Kor ea n to ur, th e a ir wi ng wou ld fly near ly 30,000 so rt ies; h ow ev er, th e pri ce for this nu m be r was the loss o f rwcnt y-two pilots k illed in ac t io n. G iven th e d efe nsive st re ngt h of so me o f t hese ta rgets, it was re ma rkab le th at losses were kep t so lo w; thi s was a trib ut e to th e t raining and cxpericn ce le vel s wi thin th e a ir win g. Besides th e three car rier gro ups, men t ion mu st be madc o f t he t wo fleet suppo rt ca rriers HM S U nicorn and \\?a rr ioT, wit ho ut wh ose ass ista nce man y of th e a ir win gs' exp lo its wou ld no t h av e been successful.

The Sea Fury Makes Way for the Jet Fighter \'(Iith rh e sign ing o f the Kor ean ccasefirc o n 27 July 19 53 , a nd t he co ncl usio n o f host ilities, th e ten ure of th e Sea Fury as a fro nt-lin e figh te r wo uld co me to a n e nd . Jet a irc raft were th e co m ing th in g, and on e of th e first to reli nqui sh its H awke r figh ters was N o . 803 Sqn , whi ch wo uld ch an ge ov e r to th e S upc n n arinc A ttacker E I d ur ing N ov em ber 195 1 whi le bascd a t RN A S Ford. No. 80 6 Sq n h ad di spensed with its Sea Furies in Se p te m be r 1948 , a ftcr just five mo n ths of se rvice; th ey woul d tr y va rious ca rly jet a irc raft in turn, befor e se tt ling upo n th e H awker Se a H awk . as 09 a nd 898 Sq ns t rad ed in their H awk er figh te rs fo r th e Sea Va mp ire a nd Sc a H a wk respcc tive lv in Jan uar y 19 53 . Dur ing th e fo llo wing year, j a s 802, 04 , 07 , 808, I I and 8 50 q ns would a lso ch a ng c t he ir Sea Furi es for je t a irc raft, t he favo ur ite be in g anot he r H a wke r prod uct , t he Sea H aw k. In t h e ea rly months o f 19 55 th e last t wo fro n r-l inc uni ts, os 80 I and 8 10 q ns, trad ed in th e Sea Fur y for t he S ea H awk FG AA . Iro ni call y th e sec o nd -line suppo rt uni ts mostl y d ispen sed wit h th e ir Se a Fu ries be twee n 194 8 a nd 19 52. O f t he or igina l fourt ee n uni ts to usc th e Haw ke r fighter, o n ly six wo uld ret ain t h e type unt il t h e mid dl e of

Above Opposing the United Nations forc es were the North Koreans, many of who se pilots were Chin ese and Russian. all of who m fl ew the MiG 15. This is the tw o-seat versio n. the MiG 15UTI. Nick Challoner

th e decad e , th ese be in g N os 70 0, 703, 73 , 744 , 75 1 and 781 Sq ns . \'(Ih ile the co mb at pil o ts were ga in ing a ll th e kud os for t he ir explo its o ve r Kor ea, th e re was anot her o rga n izat io n th at was esse n t ia l in pro viding tra in in g a nd suppo rt and d efence wh ile t h e eve nts in Korea wer e unfo ld ing. T h cse wer e th e secon dlin e sq uad ro ns o f the Royal ava l Reserve , wh ich be ga n to eq uip wit h th e H awker fighte r duri n g 1951 , wh er e it wo uld rep lace th e S upc rma rinc Seafire E1 7. T h e first uni t to receive th e Sea Fur y was No . 183 2 Sq n ba sed at ulhnm, wh ose n ew a ircraft in ve n to ry began a m v mg in A ugust 19 51. It was qui c kl y fo llow ed by Nos 1835 and 1836 Sqns RNR , based at Bcnso n . A ll three sq uad ro ns we re part o f th e So uthe rn A ir D iv isio n , and wou ld mo ve to Benso n in Jul y 19 53 wh er e th e t ra ine r a ircraft plus th e sing le-sc at figh ters were a ll o pe ra ted un d er th e co m mo n po o l p rinc iple. In Scotla nd , No. 1830 Sq n plus its offsh oo t o . 1843 Sq n wo uld ga in th ei r sha re of the Se a Fur y T. 20 flce t in O c to ber 19 5 2 a nd Ma rch 1953 respect ivel y, to form the Scot t ish Ai r Div isio n. H awke r a ircraft h ad ma n ufactured sixt y Sea Fury T. 20s, wit h de live ries beginn in g to th e Fleet A ir A rm d uring m id -19 50 , wi t h the first ex a mples bei ng de livered to th e N ava l A ir Fighting Devel op ment U n it for ex te ns ive eva luat io n flyin g. A ltho ugh t he Sea Fury T. 20s wer e not fitted with a n arrestor hook, wh ich precl uded th e ir use o n a ircraft ca rriers, in most o the r respect s they were sim ilar in a ll respects to th e sing le-s cat fightc rs; t h us th ev spo rt ed

163

pow er ed fo ld ing win gs, and co uld ca rry the sa me ex te nsive range o f weapo n ry, a lt hough th e ca n non in stall at ion was kept to one per sid e so as to ma inta in th e a irc raft's cen tre o f gra v ity. orthe rn A ir D ivisio n Else wh er e t he stat ion at Srretto n, a nd its reserve uni t o. I 3 1 Sq n , ga ine d it two -seat e rs in Octo be r 19 50 , th ese be ing jo in ed by Sea Fur y FB. I Is in A ugust 195 1. Further so uth at Bramco te , th e Mi d land A ir D iv ision reser ve un it o . 1833 Sq n recei ved its Sea Fur y T. 20s in October 19 50; th ese wer e jo in ed by its sha rc o f sin gle-se a r figh tc rs in Februar y 19 54. o . 1830 Sqn wo uld di spose o f its Sea Fur ies in O c to ber 1954 , wh ile No. 1831 Sq n rel in qu ish ed both version s of Sea Fur y in J un c 19 55. N os 183 2, 1835 a nd 1836 Sq ns di sposed of t he ir FB. I Is in A ugust 19 55, wh ile the T. 20s left in Ju n e 19 56 . A t Bramcor e , N o. 1833 Sq n d isposed o f both versio n s of th e Sea Fury d ur in g m id 19 55, wh ile in April 19 55 o. 1834 Sq n sa id far ew e ll to it Hawker fighte rs. o . 1843 Sq n wou ld lose its Sea Furies in o vem bc r 19 55 , these bei ng replaced by G rum ma n Ave nge rs. T h e e ve nt ua l repl ace men ts for t he Sea Fur ies in cl uded t he S upc n n arine A ttac ke r FB2, th e H awker Sea H aw k EI , and th e G ru m ma n Ave nge r A .6. The U n ite d Kin gdo m rese rve forces, a va l Reserve in clud ing t he Ro ya l sq uadron s, wou ld be d isbanded o n 10 Mar c h 19 5 7, so me o f th ei r a irc raft bei ng d isper sed a mo ngs t th e few re ma in in g Se a Fur y o pe ra tors , wh ilst th e re mai nd e r wer e scnt to th e maintenance un its for di sposal.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Hawkers in Civilian Clothing O nce th e Sea Fury had completed its service with th e Fleet A ir A rm, qu ite a num ber were purch ased from th e Mini stry of Supply by Hawker A ircraft for possible resale to othe r air forces and int erested parties. Milit ary sales were achieved with Burma, the Ne therlands and Egypt, among others, whi le a semi-military sale was made to a Ge rman organizat ion , the Deutsche Luftfahrt Berarungsdicn sr. T h is organ izat ion had one purpose only: to provide target-tug facilities for the Ge rman armed forces.

DLB Sea Furi es T he DLB order was placed with Hawker's in 1958, for th e supply of ten ex -FAA Sea Fury T.20s, refurbish ed close to new sta ndard. To tr ial the preferr ed tow ing eq uipme nt, one of the Sea Furies was fitted with a set of Sw iss-manufac tured tow ing eq uipme nt to en sure th at the system worke d cor rec tl y. This system ut ilized an air-d riven winc h who se gene rator was

placed on the starboard side of th e fuselage. The cables to wh ich th e banners were att ached were fed out und er th e fuselage, th ere being a cab le cutte r inco rpo rated to re lease the ban ner and cable in an emergenc y. Pro tecting th e rear of the aircraft from cable wh iplash were rai lplan e protect ion wires; these wou ld also ensure tha t th ere were no enta ng lements in the vicin ity of the fligh t control surfaces. or lon g aft er the first batch had finishe d being rework ed by Hawk er's, an ord er for a furt her batch of six aircraft was pla ced via the Ministr y of upp lv, th is too ut ilizing ex-FA A Sea Fur ies. T hese sixteen aircraft, bedecked in a bright red overall co lour sche me, were deli vered d uring 195 to 1960. U pon arrival in G erman y th e remaini ng Swiss-made target-tow equipment was install ed. T he mai n bases for the DLB Se a Furies were Lubeck , Cologne or Bonn as required by th e main contractor , the em ergen t \Vest Ge rman Luftwaffe, as well as provid ing some serv ices for both

West German T.20s

C/no.

FAA Serial

DLBRegn

Disposal

ES.8501 ES.8502 ES.8503 ES.8504 ES.8505 ES.8506 ES.8507 ES.8508 ES.8509 ES.8510 ES.351 1 ES.351 2 ES.3513 ES.351 4 ES.3515 ES.3516 ES.3617

VX309 VX300 VZ345 WE820 VZ350 VZ351 VZ353 VX291 WG652

D-CIBO D-CAMI D-CATA D-COTE D-COCO D-CEDO D-CASU D-CADA D-CAFO D-CAME D-CASY D-CACA D-CACE D-CACI D-CACO D-CACU D-CACY

FAAM N924G A&AEE N85SF N20SF

VZ372 WE824 VZ365 VX302 VX280 VX281 WG655 r WG599

n/k Cr 21.5.62 Cr 18.3.64 N62134 Cr 30.1.63 Cr 3.3.70

n/k N51 SF Cr 10.8.65 G-SCOW FAAM Duxford

164

naval and army an ti-aircraft gun ne rs. Joini ng th e sixteen two-sea t target -towing mach ines was an ex -Roya l Ne the rlands N avy sing le-scat Sea Fury FB.1I, also repain ted bright ove rall red and fitt ed wit h tar get-towing eq uip men t sim ilar to its twin -scat siblings. O f the tota l of seven tee n a ircraft so ld to DLB, some five mach ines were lost in acc idents; it was suspected th at a percen tage of th ese were as a result of ca rbon mon oxide po isoning, a defe ct th at con t in ued to plague the ty pe even after extensive correc t ive measures had been taken . The German Se a Fury fleet remain ed in serv ice un til th ey were retired during 1970. T he surv iving two-seat mach ines were sold off for furt he r usage, whil e th e solo sing leseater was retain ed for d isplay in the Lufrwaffcnmuseum based in Ue rersen . To replace the Sea Fury, a fleet of Rockwell OV-lO BZ was pu rch ased for op erat ion by th e Luftwaffe - altho ugh th ese, too, have been ret ired, to be rep laced by, yet again, a c ivilian- based cont ractor. While in usc with th e DLB, the two-seat Sea Fur ies were registered th us: D-CA BY, C A C A , CACE, A I, C A C O , C ACU, C IBO , C A M I, CATA , COT E, CCCO , CE BO , C A BU, CA DA and C A FO ; the sing lesea te r was registered D-CACY. O f th e rema in ing T.20s, thr ee were ret urn ed to Brita in where th ey wou ld again wear mil itar y mar kings, two un der th e care of th e Fleet Air Arm H istor ic Flight , whi lst th e other woul d resum e flyin g duties as VZ345 with th e A&AEE based at Ba sco mbe Down, altho ugh it would be bad ly da maged in a landing acc ident at it' hom e base on 17 A pril 19 5. The determined cause as laid out in th e official acc ident rep ort was exc essive bra king on landing, whi ch caused the air craft to tip ont o its nose and then completel y flip ov er. In it ially categorized as 'Cat. 3 repa irable', the dec ision was taken not to rep air VZ345, as funds were not ava ilable for its reb uildin g; instead it would be red uced to spares, th e majori ty of wh ich would be transported to the Brit ish

IIAWKERS IN CIVILIAN CLOTIIING

Right Sea Fury FB.11 D-CACY was the only singleseat aircraft procured by the DLB for target -towing duties ; it was repainted bright red, and flew with 45gal (205Itr) external fuel tanks fitted as standard.

w. A. Harrison Collection

Right The great majority of aircraft used by the DLB were two-seat T.20s. Here, D-CDTE undergoes

--- ,. -

<;:

~

..........

~ -

. ....;;.

maintenance out in the sunlight. Although the cannon were removed from these aircraft. their access panels were found to be useful for entry into the w ing. Thomas Genth

Below Target tug D-CAMI is being moved onto the flight line for the day's flying . Movement w as courtesy of a tractor, while steering required an arm attached to the tailwheel. Also visible in this view is the w ind -powered towing w inch . Thomas Ge nth

165

HAWKERS I'" CIVILIAN CLOTHING

Above Caught in the act of deploying its drogue is this Sea Fury T.20 of the DLB. Under normal circumsta nces the airc raft were flown by a single crew man. Thomas Genth Leh With all access panels open around the engine . and the propeller assembly hanging off the hand crane, the groundcrew prepare the drive shah to acc ept the propeller and front plat e. Thomas Genth

Below One of the navy systems retained by DLB w as the vrinq -tc ld

Below This three -quarte r rear view of a DLB T.20 D-CATA reveal s the layout of

mechanism; this was found useful when putting the airc raft awa y at night .

the wires installed to protect the tailplane and fin assemblies from a fl ailing

thus reduc ing the room requi rement. Thomas Genth

drogue cable. Also clearly visible in thi s portrait are the air-dri ven winch and its mountings . Thomas Genth

166

Aerospace factor y at Brou gh on Hum berside , for use in th e repair and rebu ild ing of Sea Fury FB. I I , VR930 , whi ch was be ing resto red . O f the ot he r red und ant machines, four were pur chased by a Briti sh buyer and flown to Blackb ushe, where th ey would remain in sto rage before being sold on to othe r buyers in the U ni ted rates. Two ot he r a ircra ft wo uld also end up in A merica via a dea ler in Belgiu m, alt ho ugh the ir co nd it ion on del ivery was descri bed as poor. The last two aircraft were sold off by direct sales.

The Fate of the Remaining Typ hoons A lt hough th e Sea Fury had att racted th e atte n t ion of man y pur ch asers afte r milit ar y service , one of its predecessors, the Typhoon , was not so lucky, as ve ry little rema ine d in practi cal form of thi s o nce might y fleet. In May 1945 the various mini stries and th e Royal A ir Force und ertoo k a massive census in an at tempt to fin d out where th e th ou sands of aircraft alleged ly still available for ac t ive service actua lly were. The fin al ta lly of surviving Typhoons showed th at 1,149 Typhoon s were st ill on th e books, with ano ther e igh ty on order or und ergoing delivery from the G loste r Aircraft C ompa ny. However, faster and possibly safer machi nes were bei ng delivered to the figh te r-bo mbe r squadrons of th e RAF, and as th e squadrons re-equipped, their red un dant mach ines were sh ipped to various maintenan ce uni ts for disposal. Those aircraft that requi red major servic ing or ex tens ive repair work were imm edi atel y scrapped, whil e those wit h a possib le seco nd use were placed in sto rage at N o.5 MU at Kem ble, and N o. 20 MU at A sto n Down . Such was th e rap id rate of wit h dr awal of the Typh oon that on ly 748 machines survived lon g enough to en te r storage , and of thi s to tal, on ly sevent y-fo ur were in flying service. A s more and mor e Tempests and late marqu e pitfir es were de livered to the Royal Air Force, th e reason for retaini ng the Typh oon in store disappear ed . Thus a mass scrapping of these a irframes began , alt ho ugh not all woul d end up as sauce pa ns, because fuselages and win g sec t ions were sh ipped to the variou s train ing schools for use in instru cting various

gro und tradesmen . The biggest user of these struc tu ral sec t ions was the airframe repair training orga n izat ions, who would use up eac h co mpo nent and discard it as its usefuln ess expired. By 19 55 there was o nly one co mplete Typhoon in Britain , and th is was an ama lgam of parts from D 502, ~vl N 2 2 and M 60 1. Event ua lly even th is rare mach ine was withdrawn and sent for pro cessing at 60 MU at Ruffort h. Fo rtunat ely for posterity, one co mplete Typh oon had been spare d from the mass cull of the type . T his aircr aft was ~v1 N 2 3 5 , which had been delivered to th e USAAF for evaluat ion in March 1944 . O perat ing out of W right Field , O h io, the Typhoon was tested in its figh ter-bo mber ro le and to trial its ran ge and endurance . Howev er, these tr ia l fligh ts put on ly nine flying ho urs on the airframe, bet ter kn own in America as FE-40 1 (Foreign Exper imental ), before it was placed in sto rage . Event ually th is loan spec imen was ceded to th e Smithson ian Institution , altho ugh th ere appeared to be no intent ion to display it in th e museum. Wh en th e RAF Museum at Hen don was in th e plan n ing stage , the Sm ithson ian made contac t and suggested th at th e Typh oon would be far better off in the U K - bu t th ey would like a Hawker Hurrican e in exc hange. T he deal was finall y agreed, and M 235 was returned to Brit ain co urtesy of th e Royal Air Force , who refurbi shed it and placed it on display wit h in th e walls of the RAF Museum . Th ere are othe r Typh oon sec t ions still exta nt ; for insta nce, th e Imperi al W ar

Mu seum has a coc kpit sec tion on displa y, wh ich is reported to have been a training a id at No. 1 of IT Hal ton , and th ere is ano the r stored for th e Jet Age M useu m in G loucesrersh ire. T here are also reported to be at least three restoration pro jec ts in privat e han d , at Hawkinge, S lea p A erodro me, horeham A irpo rt , Coven try Ai rport and Sa lisbury. In the ma in these are coc kpit sec t ions.

Th e Fate of th e Tempest U n like th e few Typh oon relics th at are preserved, the Tem pest was far mor e prevalen t, as man y examples were sold for ov erseas service. In Britain th e cull of Tempests took place more slowly than that of the Typhoon, so greate r n um bers were held in sto rage as a pot en tial war reserve, whi le others would serve with th e front line squadrons . O the rwise qui te a few Mark V fighter bomber were co n ve rted for ta rget-to wing use as the IT.5. Eventuall y, however, th e figh ter-squ ad ron Tempests were withdrawn to sto rage , to 5 MU at Kemble and 20 M U at A to n Down, and during N ovem ber 1950 man y of th e sto red aircraft were sold off to Hawk er Aircraft for spares recover y, whil st any rem aining were redu ced to scrap metal. Next it was th e turn of th e Tempest V I, and by 1950 the whole pro d ucti on run was in sto rage, at N o.6 MU at Brize No rton and N o. 20 MU . T hese ai rcraft were disposed of in two batch es, to Hawk er

Below Caught in the daylight instead of the confines of a museum, thi s is the sole surviv ing complete Typhoon 18 MN235; it owes its surviv al to the Smithsonian Institute in Amer ica . Big Bird Aviation Collection

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A ircraft in May 1951 for spares recovery, and to the M in istry of Supply in Jun e 1953, for unknown purp oses. There was a more buoyant market for Tem pest lis overseas when th ey were with drawn from RA F service, the refore few remained to be recov ered fo r spa res. T he last Tempest to leave RA F service were the TT.5s, whi ch were placed in storage dur ing 1955. Yet aga in the y were not left th ere long, as Hawker's and the M in istry of Supply would pur chase th e redundant airframes for var ious progra mmes before disposing of rh em to vari ous scrapyards

aro und the country. This virtu al clean swee p left on ly two exa mples exta nt with in th e bounds of the U K; one of these was the second prot o type Mark 11 , LA 60 7, wh ich had been used as an instructional ai rframe at C ran field and th en sent to the Skvfame Museum at Sraverto n 111 G louces tc rsh irc in 1966. T he othe r airframe was a Mark V that was given the serial S N2 19, alt ho ugh it was in fact a co mpos ite of qu ite a few aircraft, h avin g bee n recovered in parts from th e Proof and Experimental Estab lishm ent at Shocburyness, where th e

Above After restoration by No. 33 Sqn, SN219 spent some time on display at Odiham marked as T , before it moved to Middleton St George for use as a gate guard . C. P. Russell Smith Collection Below Wearing the 'SR' code s of No. 33 Sqn, SN219/NV778 is seen here undergoing restoration at the RAFM workshop at Cardington, before being displayed in the museum . C. P. Ru ssell Smith Collection

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remainder had been used as targets for var ious weapon s. The un it respon sible fo r its recovery and restorati on was o. 33 Sq n , who reb uilt it in time for it to be the cent repiece of the cele brat ions wh en the sq uadro n received its sta nda rd in 1958 . Afte r its sho rt mom en t of glory at Leem ing, th e Tem pest was tran sfer red to RA F Mid d leton S t George for use as a gate gua rd ian . Eventually co mmo n sense preva iled, and thi s rare spec imen was rem oved from the ravages of th e weather a few years later. Its new hom e was to be the RA F Museum , but before that the airframe und er wen t major resto rat ion at the museum restoration facility at C ard ingto n , where remov al of th e outer pa int layer revealed that the fuselage bor e the serial N V778 . A s th is was far mor e appro priat e th an SN2 19 , th is is th e ident ity d ispla yed on the a ircraft at th e mom ent. In N ovember 200 I Tem pest V N V778 was tra nsferred to th e Cosford A erospace Mu seum , where it is on display in the Mich ael Beetham Conse rva t ion Centre , having been in storage at W yto n . The RA F Mu seum also owned th e fuselage of Tempest V EJ693 , whi ch still displays its origina l o. 486 Sqn codes of SA- I. T hi s pa rt icular machi ne had been acq uired from the Technical Training Sc hool at Delft, who in tum had reco vered th e rem ains of the airframe afte r it had force- landed in Ho lland dur ing Octo be r 1944. In storage alongside thi s fuselag e are a set of wings from an ex- Royal Ind ian A ir Force Tempest 11 , plus othe r spares, from wh ich it is hoped a complete represen tative aircraft can be assembled. A s resources were not ava ilable to complete th is machine at the time, it was so ld to the A merican a ircraft co llec to r Kerm it Weeks. N ow registered as N7072 E it is curre n tl y stored awaiting restorat ion at Wycom be A ir Par k, Booker, in Buckingh am shire. W hen the Skyfame mu seum closed in 19 78 , most of their exh ibits moved to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. O ne a irfra me, however, d id not make th e tra nsition, thi s be ing the proto type Mar k 11 , LA 60 7, wh ich was sold to the A merican co llec tor Kermit W eeks for d isplay in h is Plan es of Fame Museum at C h ino . Th is left th e RA F Museum example as the on ly co mplete surviving airframe, and the chanc es of th is one being flown aga in are practically nil. O f those Tempests th at had been so ld overseas, on ly Ind ia had extant examples,

HAWKERS IN CIVILIAN CLOTHING

as th ose sold to Pakistan arc reported to have been scrapped. In Ind ia th ere is one fairl y co mp lete example, HA 623 , in the Indi an A ir Force Mu seum at Palam , Ne w Delhi. O therwise, quite a few o ld a irframes had bee n used as targets in va rious Indian a irfields; o nce d iscovered , negot iations were put in motion to release a quant ity for pri vat e sale. These efforts were ult imately successful, as eleven were put up for tende r during 1977 , of whi ch six were so ld to th e restorat ion company, th e Tan gmere Fligh t; th ese eve n tua lly surfaced in Brita in during 1985 . As th ese Tem pests had been outside

for man y years without an y main ten an ce it is hard ly surprising that man y co mpo nent s were missin g, thus sourc ing or rem anufactur e of pro pe llers, spin ne rs, cano pies and rudd ers was required. Al so missing were the cont ents of the coc kpits and most of the tnilpla nes. Investigat ion s into th e hi story of these a irframes revealed th at th ey were all a conglomera t ion of parts, and so th e fuselage serial is accepted as th e identity of each airframe . The reported serials are HA457 , 557 , 564, 586, 59 1 and I-1A604 . T he first machine to he restored was

Right The only surviving Tempest II in Britain. at one time it was one of the prototypes LA607 pictured here at Cranfield ; it would eventually move on to the Skyfame museum at Staverton, Gloucester. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Below After conversion to the Tempest II. prototype LA607 was disp layed at various public events. This w as an early -build Series 1 airframe . so the Hispano cannon barrels protrude from the leading edge of the wing by a few inches . In Series 2 machines the barrels were fully suppressed. Real Wings Collection

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HA5 91, whi ch was th en exporte d during 1987 to the Un ited Sta tes for use a a ta ti d isplay exa mple. O f th e rem ainder, two machines have bee n selec ted for th e init ial rebuild ing program me, the c I -in' HA 586 and HA 604 , th e latt er bei ng th lead machine. Tempest II HA 5 6 .vcru ually resum ed its RAF identity of 1'\ 7 3 and was give n th e civilian registr at io n ,. T EMT. By thi s tim e both rna h ine \ -r at Ga insborough, and it wa from h .re t h. t MW7 63/HA5 86 was prepared for it rc t flight in mid -20OZ . The othe r ai r fa t i current ly stored await ing a fin al d· ision

IIAWKERS IN CIVILIAN CLOTII ING

Above Weari ng the T/1 23' cod in g of HMS Theseus Sea Fury FB.11 TF956is in trouble. The port le g i s damaged and stuck down. so the pilot is left w ith no other opt ion but to abandon the aircraft over the sea. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

co ncern ing its restora tion. O f the remain ing Indian Tempests, H A4 57 is curren tl y on d isplay in the RAF Mu seum at Hen don ; it came via hi ch ester, C ard ingto n and Duxford , during wh ich t ime it was restored as PR536 of No . 5 Sq n, whose 'OQ-H' code s it d isplays.

Further Fortu nes of the Extant Sea Furies In co nt rast to the fortunes of the Typhoon and Tempest, th e survival rat e of th e Sea Fury and its land -based count erpart the Fury was far h igher, in fact sixty-five spec imen s were ex tan t at one time or anot he r, although tha t tot al has sinc e decl ined due to th e inevitab le accide nts. The ai rframes in th e U ni ted Kingdom are main ly held by, or on beh alf of, the Fleet Air Arm Museu m at Yeovil ron, St ill exta nt arc Sea Fury FB. I I VR930 , wh ich was restored to flying co nd ition at Brit ish Aerospace at Brough, where it arrived du ring June 1994 . By Nov ember 199 7 the fully rebu ilt a ircraft had become pa rt of th e in ven to ry of th e Royal Navy H istor ic Fligh t at Yeovilron , although it is curren tly gro unded due to problems with one of the eng ine sl eve valves. Prior to its new life as a display aircraft thi s ea Fury had see n service with Nos IO and 02 Sq ns, amongst othe r uni ts. Hopefully th is aircraft will do bett er than its predecessor, TF956: th is aircraft

had served with th e Histor ic Flight from 1970 to 1989 , before being abandon ed over the sea near Prestw ick in Scotla nd, having suffered major da mage to the undercarri age afte r a hard lan di ng. A furt her co mplete exa mple, WJ 23 I , curren tl y sits on display in th e FAA Museum, resplen den t in Korean \Var markings, a lthough it does occasiona lly find itself being rob bed for the od d spare part. Befor e becoming a museum exh ibit, WJ23 I had served with th e Fleet

Requiremen ts U n it and th e Ycovi lron Sta tion Flight. O ne mem ber of th e Sea Fury po pulat ion in priv at e hands wit hi n Britain is FB. I I VX65 3/G -BUC M; it is part of th e Fight er C o llect ion fleet at Duxford , and its service record includ es time with Nos 736, 738 and 8 I I Sq ns, as wel l as the Fleet Requ irem ents U nit. A lso based at Duxford is Se a Fury FB. I I D-CAC Y, whi ch began life as W G 599 of the Fleet A ir A rm . ow registered G-BWOL, thi s a ircraft onc e graced the display halls at the Uetersen Museum; it arrived at Duxford d uring May 1995 . It is repor ted that th e Sea Fury was moved to W ycombe A ir Park after purch ase by the A merica n co llec to r Ker m it Weeks. O ne o the r Sea Fury is curre n tly based at C o lchester; it is a co mposite of parts from G -AG H B, G-FU RY and T.20 D-CIBO . A t one time th ere was anot he r single-seat aircraft be ing flown in Brita in, th e all-ove r blue Sea Fury FB. 10 , which used to spo rt th e mark ings of th e Dutch N avy as 36 I . Unfortun atel y th is a ircraft suffered a bad land ing and was exte ns ively da maged; tragica lly the pilot was k illed . Wi thin the bounds of Europe there is just one Sea Fury, FB.5 I 6-4 3,63 10; at one t ime it was at Sc h ipho l, then it was mov ed to Soes te rbe rg where it is on display in th e Militair e Luch vaar t Museum . O n th e op pos ite side of th e world in A ustra lia th ere are six Sea Furies in pr eserv at ion, a ll ex -Roya l Au st rali an

Below Appearances can be deceptive. as thi s is in fact the F.2/43 Fury prototype NX798 on it s w ay to Egypt; hence the civ i lian registration G-AKRV. appli ed in August 1949. Big Bird Aviation Collection

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Right OriginallySea FuryFB.ll WJ244 with the Fleet Air Arm. this redundant aircraft became G-FURY although it would be written off on 2 August 1981 . Eventuallythe remains ended up at Colchester with Charleston Aircraft Services , who have combined it with the ex-OLB example D-CIBO and G-AGHB; it had been deregistered in May 1974 upon sale to Canada as CF-CHB. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Below This excellent view of an RNN Sea Fury FB.50 shows how well these machines were maintained by No. 860Sqn. W. A. Harrison Collection

Above VH-BOU had originally been WH588 before ending up in Australia. It eventually gravitated to the UK as G-EEMV, being owned by Paul Morgan who nicknamed it 'Baby Gorilla'. On12 May 2001 the aircraft was written off and the pilot killed. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

Left Out in the fresh air for a rare visit is Sea Fury FB.ll WE726'. In reality the aircraft is WJ231 . W. A. Harrison Collection

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avv machines. Three FB. l l s are in th e custo dy of th e N av al Av iat ion Mu seum at Now ra in N ew So uth Wales: VW2 3 2 is on d ispla y in the mu seum as 'VX7 30/l 08K'; VW623 is ma rked as ' 10 2-K' and is reported as be ing under resto ra tio n to fly, as is the th ird a ircra ft, W G 630/ I IO-K. A not her mu seum residen t is FB.I I V\V6 47 ; origina lly it was in the Ca mde n Museu m of Avi at ion, but was then moved to N are llan, ew South Wales, wh ere it wears th e cod ing 127 -K. T h is a ircraft was resto red and ach ieved its first eng ine ground run s in Octo be r 19 76. T here are also two private ly regist ered ex amples: an FB.I I regist ered V J-I -HFG owned by G uido Zucco !i and based at Darwin in the No rt hern Terr itori es; and an ex -Iraq i A ir Force sing le-se at Fury FB.I O, cur ren tl y registered as V I-I-ISS to Robert H . Poyn ton , hav ing bee n IA F 249 , and based in Perth , West ern A ustra lia. A cross the A tla nt ic in C ana da th ere are curren tly th ree ex ta nt Sea Furies. T he FB.I I T G 114 is d isplayed as RC N T G 119/1 10 at th e N ati onal Av iat ion Museum at Ra ck liffe, O nt ario. A lso a museum resident is Sea Fury FB. 1I W G 565, curren tly sto red at th e C algary

Aerospace M useum. The th ird is N 60S F, whi ch began life as FB. I I WN480. O rigina lly owne d by Don C rowe of Delt a BC , it was lat er sold to C rew Conc epts Inc. of Bo ise, Idah o, in 1995. T he Sea Fury would be da maged in a land ing acc ide nt at Reno evada during the races. It was recovered, and moved by truck to Victo ria in Brit ish Colombia, where it was repa ired and the Cen raurus eng ine rep laced . At the t ime of writing th is machi ne flies wit h Royal C anad ian markings as 181/Sim/J!y

Magnificent. Down in C astro's C uba there are reports of two Sea Furies on display, although th e ex istence of one is in doub t. Bot h are sing le-seat FB. ll s, th ou gh their co rrect ident ities arc not know n . O ne is reported to reside in the Bay of Pigs Museum at Playa G iro n , and the other in th e Mu sco del la Rcvol ucion in Havan a. N ot surprising ly, the U nited rates of A merica has th e largest populat ion of Furies and Se a Furies, man y of wh ich h ave been used as h igh-speed racers at that hom e of air racing, Ren o. Before tha t, man y were gainfully employed in G erman y as target tugs, othe rs had been recovered fro m the Midd le East , and yet othe rs were retired from the Royal

Below Currentlyowned by Stolzer Aircraft in Texas, this Sea Fury contains many parts of WH589, whose registration it wears, although it is a composite of VX715 and WJ290, all being registered N4434P. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

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Au str alian and Canad ian avies. Much to th e chagrin of the various Hawker figh ter owners, their a ircraft have on ly won the U n limited C lass at Reno twice since 1964 , and th is was ach ieved by just one aircraft , th e migh ty Dreadnought. In 1983 the pilot was the Genera l Dynami cs ch ief test pi lot , N eil A nderson - qu ite a contrast to his day-to -day occ upa tion of flying the sidest ick-co nt rolled F- 16 figh te r. O n thi s oc casion th e figh te r ach ieve d a top speed of 425.2mph (684.2km/h) . Three years lat er the pilot was Rick Brick ert, who bro ught the two -seat er home at a max imum speed of 434 .5mph (699.2km/h) . Four years lat er, in 2000 , th ere were th irteen of Sydney C aru m's ret ired fight ers on th e Ren o fligh t line . C urren tly th ere are thi rt y-six Hawk er fighters on the U n ited Sta tes register, bo th sing le- and two-seaters, th ough not all are flyable. A nd although man y of these machi nes may look fairly close to stoc k on the outside , the re have in fact been cha nges to man y of th em , espec ially in th e type of powerp lant fitt ed. Usually th e engine installed in the Fury and Sea Fury was the very reli able, very to lerant Bristo l Cen raurus, bu t the problem with thi s eigh teen -cylinder, slee ve-va lve power plan t was the lack of spa res and man ufacturers' suppo rt. In co n trast , there are plenti ful supplies of th e W right R-3350s, and also spares, man y of wh ich once graced the fron t ends of combat- proven Douglas A - I Skyraiders.

IIAWKERS IN CIVILIAN CLOTIIING

Ren o is a co lourful affair, so it is hard ly surprising th at all the part ic ipating aircraft have unu sual nam es. A lready menti oned is Dreadnollght, owned and ope rated by Brian Sanders and hi s co mpany Sa nde rs Ai rcraft of Eldorado H ills, C aliforn ia. The T.20 was recovered from Burm a in 1979 , and rem ain ed untouched un til O ctober 1982; co n ve rsion work th en began to co n ve rt it int o a racing a ircraft fit to grace the pylons of Ren o. Prior to its c ivilian caree r, in 1951 the Se a Fury had originally been deli vered to the Fleet A ir A rm as VZ36 8; it was lat er repurc ha sed by Hawker's, refurbish ed , and th en sold to the U n ion of Burma A ir Force as U B45 1. For its con version , the main task was to take out the o rigina l Bristo l Cen ta urus and rep lace it with a Pratt & W hitney R-436063A Wasp Major reco vered from a Douglas C - 124 G lob emaster II transport . A s th is new eng ine generated even more power and th erefo re torque than th e or iginal, the emergen t Sea Fury acquired a ta ller fin and rudd er to co unterac t the powerplant 's output. Registered N X20S F, Dreadnollght was rolled o ut for its first flight in A ugust 1983 , beginn ing its racing caree r th e following mon th . S ince th at da te it has been a sta lwart at the Ren o races. Co inc ide n ta lly this is the seco nd Sea Fury to wear th is registr at ion : the first to wear it was an ex- G erma n T.20 , DCOCO once VZ350 of the FA A , but th is aircraft had crashe d on 16 Dece mb er 19 78 , killin g the pilot. Furies fitt ed with the Wasp Major rejo ice in the sobriq uet of 'C orncob Fur ies'. T h is is an A mer ican ter m to desc ribe the layout of an eng ine where eac h row of cylinde rs is offset from th e ot he r, in a man ner similar to a co rn co b. A nother of th is breed is kn own as Fllrias due to its co mpos ite nat ure: it incl udes co mpo ne n ts from th e FB. l l tha t was once in the Tech n ical Sc hoo l at Delft in the Ne the rlands. A lso included in the makeup of N 4434 P arc some of the parts th at were once in the a irframe of the ex -Roya l A ustr alian N avy FB. I I W H 589. O wne d origina lly by O rmo nd Haydon-Baill ie, th is Sea Fury had already see n service in its ea rly days at Reno when operating from Vancouve r, Canada, as C F-C H B. T he Sea Fury ret urn ed to the U K in N ove mber 1973 , where it became G-AG HB , complete with quasi-milita ry ca mouflage scheme. But six years lat er, in Ju ne 19 79, it was badly damaged in a crash in West G ermany. It was cons ide red a writ e-off,

Above In between its time in Australia and its final destination in Britain. WH588 would spend time in America. where it would take part in the Reno races owned by Lloyd Hamilton in California. Ni cholas A. Veroni ca

but the streng th of the ce n tre sec t ion and th e rear fusela ge was such th at th ese were purchased for use in Fllrias by Lloyd Hamil to n . O nce assembled , Futias was ro lled out un pain ted in 1983 to ta ke pa rt in the Reno races. A lthough not success ful on thi s occasion du e to an eng ine prob lem, the Fury return ed to ta ke part in later races, acquiring an en larged fin and rudd er along the way. Lloyd Hamilto n co nt in ued to race the re-cn gin ed Se a Fury unt il hi s ret irement in 1997. T hi s co uld h ave been the end of thi s might y mach ine, but Bill Rogers and Dale Ste lzer of Se basto po l, Ca liforn ia pur chased Funes, refurbished it, and en te red it in the 2000 Ren o races; the pilot was A rt Vance , and it clocked a respectab le 39 7.4mph (639.5km/h ). O ne of the most rad ically rebu ilt Sea Fur ies is Critical Mass owne d by Tom and Peggy Dwe lle . O rigina lly a T.20, WE 820, with the Fleet Ai r Arm, it was retired in December 1956 and was purchased from the MoS some seven tee n mon th s later. Conve rte d as a ta rget tug, it und ertook its test flying in ' B' co nd it ion markings as G 9-49 , before be ing delivered to DLB as D-C OTE. A fter man y years ope rat ing from Lubeck, it was sold off and arrived in A merica du ring 1980 , having been purchased by Eric Lorentzen of Scotts da le, A rizona . O nce in th e U n ited States , the job of crea ting th e race r tha t woul d emerge as Critical Mass began . T he ta il feat hers were co mpletely refash ioned , emerging taller and squarer in th e case of the fin and rudder, wh ile the ra ilplane had its span

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redu ced by just und er 2ft (0.6m) , th e remaining assembly be ing sq uared off. Furt her rad ica l cha nges affec ted the pilot's posit ion . Instead of using the original forward coc kpit , th is was plated ove r and the observer's coc kpit was used instead . Covering th is coc kpit is the sma llest ca no py possible, with a fairing that blend s it in to the base of the fin . Further red uctions affec ted the wings, wh ich have been red uced from the or iginal 38 ft Sin (l1.7m) to a sq uared-off 32 ft (9. 7m ). T he ca n non bays were also put to goo d use, as they now hou se coo lan t radi at ors: th ese are need ed for the Wr ight R-3350 Duplex Cyclo ne, wh ich has been re-rat cd up to 4,000hp (2,984kw ). T h is powerplant was or iginally in a Douglas B-26 In vader, and the four-b laded A ero Prod ucts H 20G -162pro pelle r co mes from ano ther Do uglas pro duct , th e A - I Skvraider, T he d rastic rebu ild of Critical Mass has see n its basic weight drop from 12,5001b (5,6 70kg ) to 11,0001b (5,000kg). Add th e extra power of th e eng ine and its performan ce at Ren o 2000 , and it is hardl y surprising th at the aircraft ac h ieved 429.8mph (804km/h ) du ring th e qu alifying races. Its owne rs are sure that under the right c ircumsta nces Critical Mass will ev en tua lly pass the 500 mph (800km/h) mark in the near future . In a more con ven t iona l manner Fury N666 H P, carrying the nam e 'Fllry', has visit ed Reno bed ecked in an RAF ca mouflage sche me with the race nu mb er '66' . However, th e a ircraft is a bit of an imposto r, as its full-depth rudd er and lack of

o

HAWKERS IN CIVILIAN CLOTHING

Above Origin ally delivered to Iraq as an ISS fighter, thi s aircraft w as one of the

Below Once Sea Fury FB.11 WG567, this machine, now registered

cache bought by an American dealer for use in the Reno rac es. Currently regi stered

N878M, w as once known as 'Super Chiel' on the Reno racing c ircuit;

as NX666HP, the rac er is owned by How ard Pardu e, both qualifying in 1996and

how ever, since it s last ch ange of ownership it is now named 'M iss

achieving a seco nd plac e in th e Unlimited Silver race. Nicholas A. Veronico

Merced'. C. P. Russell Smith Collection

174

HAWKERS IN CIVILl A:" CLOTHING

Above The power and the glory. The only place in the world where you can see such a powerful line up is at Reno. Here the 1999contestants for the Unlimited Gold line up prior to take -off. Nicholas A. Veronica

arrestor h ook mar k it as a Hawker-built Baghdad or ISS Fury. O riginally del iver ed to the Iraq i A ir Force as N o. 255 in Dece mbe r 194 9, it found its way to th e U n ited States in the lat e 19 70s wh er e it was registered as N3 4SF. In 1986 this aircraft was so ld to H oward Par due , based at Breckenridge, Tex as, wh er e th e or igin al Cen ta urus eng ine was rep laced with a Wri ght R-3350 powerplan r. Duri ng Reno 2000, 'Fury' wou ld achi ev e a maxim um spee d of 406.2mph (653 .6kmh). A nother con verted Hawker fighter that spo rts a W righ t R-3350 from th e front of a Skyraidc r was FB. I I N 878 M 'M iss Merced'. This Se a Fury had o nce been W G567 of the Roya l Ca nad ian avy, and served with th em from 195 1 to 1957 pur ch ased by Bob befor e being Vand erverk en in 196 1, wh o would register it as C F-VA . Painted all red , thi s Se a Fury was purch ased by a ir race r Mik e Carro ll in 1965 . This gen tleman wou ld mod ify th e Se a Fury by reducing the wingspan to 32ft (9 .7m) , thi s be ing fo llow ed by an ex tensive progra mme of filling and smoo th ing to redu ce a ir flow dist urbanc es to th e minim um. The fina l a lterat ion was to fit th e sma llest perspcx ca nopy possible. Bedecked in a stu n n ing flam e pa int fin ish, N878M mad e its Reno debu t during 1967, with well kn own race pilot Lyle Shelton at th e co nt ro ls. When M ike Carro ll di ed in an aircrash in 1968, N8 78M was so ld to Dr Sh erma n Coope r of Merced , Californ ia wh ere th e Se a Fury

wou ld get its nam e. Dr C oo per would fly th e a irc raft freq uently, a ltho ugh in No vember 197 I the a ircraft was badly damaged in a crash land ing at Mojav e afte r the eng ine seized. The wreck was acq uired by rebuil der Frank Sa nde rs, wh o passed it on to Jim Mott in Ca liforn ia, wh o would reb uild it close to sta n dard. For th is to h appen , n ew outer full-span wing pa nel s wer e fitted , whil e th e red uced cano py was re placed by one of a more co n ven tiona l size and sh ape. T he or igina l eng ine was remov ed and rep laced by one from a Blackbu rn Beverley, whi ch h ad th e advantage of being more po werful th an th e origina l. Ren am ed 'Su/Jer Chief, th e rebui lt a irc raft mad e its first fligh t during 19 8 . Eventuall y the Se a Fury became ava ilable for purch ase , and was bo ught by Steve Boulanger and Jim Mi ch aels, wh ose first act ion was to repla ce the Bristol C ent aur us with a Wright R-3350 powe rpla n t. Duri ng Mar ch 200 0 th is air cr aft was passed to Sa nde rs Aircraft , who un dert ook a rebuild , re-cn gine and co mp lete refit. The rebuild must h ave been a reall y goo d one , as ?vliss Merced' ga ined a bronz e with a to p speed of 3 8.4mph (625.0kmh) . T he nam e 'Sa nde rs' appears frequ entl y in th e field of restoring Ren o racers. Based at lone, Ca liforn ia, this firm of expe rt restorers h as ma ny fin e examples to its cred it, incl uding the Se a Fury T G I 14 whi ch is an asse mblage buil t aro und the cockpit sect ion of th e ori gin a l a ircraft. urrently n amed 'Argonllw ' and registered I 19SF, th is is th e second mach ine to ca rry th is registr ati on , th e first bei ng the exFleet Air Arm FB. ll W 482, whic h had also see n serv ice with th e Iraq i A ir Force as N o.31 O. Bedecked in th e co lours of th e Roya l Canad ian Nav y co lours, it wou ld

175

co n t in ue flying un til it crash ed at Harl ingen , Texas, during Airsh o 8 1 on 9 Oc to be r 1981 , k illin g th e p ilot Joh n n y Williams. 'A rgonc ur' also flies in RC co lours, and ac h ieve d a maximum spee d of 383 .8mp h (61 7.6kmh) during Ren o 2000, pil ot ed by Dennis Sa nde rs. The problem surro und ing th e Furies co n verted for th e Ren o racers is th at some of the m are a comp lete mish -m ash of part s from two or more airc raft . O ne of the se machines is 'Sentember Fury', whi ch also in cor porates parts of Se a Fury TG I 14. T h is part icular aircr aft was delivered as an FB. 1I in 1948, and served un til 1956 wh en it and a qua n t ity of ot he rs ended up on a farm in O n ta rio. There th ey sat until found by Cana d ian Brian Baird, wh o subsequen tly bought TG I 14. Restor at ion was carried out to flying co nd it ion at U p lands, Tor on to , afte r wh ich th e regist rati on C F-OYF was app lied. S ubsequen tly so ld to J. Fornoff based in Hou ma, Loui sian a, the Se a Fury was registered 54M, and it was weari ng thi s n umber wh en it was dam aged wh en landing in ea rly 1967 : afte r severe braking, the figh ter tip ped up o n its nose. The or igina l own er, Brian Baird , lat er recover ed T G 114 and began restorat ion using some co mponen ts from Sea Fury FB.11s VR 9 18 and VR 9 I9 at Phoenix, A rizon a. Howev er, Baird never fin ishe d h is rebu ild, being killed in an a ircraft crash in 1969 . The restor at ion proj ect was purchased by Fran k Sande rs based at Long Beach , Californ ia. The story of th e Sea Fury and its landbased co un te rpa rt is a complica ted one from th e Ameri can point of view ; however, th ese rebuilt and recycled airc raft st ill allo w th e sigh t and so me times th e sound of Hawker's final piston fighter to be enj oyed on ce more.

APPENDIX [

Tornado, Typhoon, Tempest, Fury and Sea Fury Production Tornado Serial Numbers

Contract

Quantity

Builder

Remarks

P521 9, P5224

815124/38

2 Prototype

Hawker

Vu lture V

Tornado I

R7936

B12 148/39

1Prototype

Hawker

Vulture V

Tornado I

R7937,R7938

B1 2148/39

2 Part Built

AV Roe

None fitted

Tornado I

R7939 et seq

812148/39

197 Cancelled

AV Roe

Vulture V

Tornado

HG641

Constructed from R7937 & R7938

1Prototype

Hawker

Centaurus CE45

Serial Numbers

Contract

Quantity

Builder

Remarks

F.18/37 Typhoon

P521 2, P5216

81 5124/38

2 Prototypes

Hawker

Sabre1/11

F.18/37 Typhoon

LA594

21392/41

1Prototype

Hawker

Centaurus IV

Type

F.1 8/37 Tornado

Typhoon Type

Typhoon 1A/1 8

R81 98- R8200,R8220-R8231

8121 48/39

15Pilot Production 8atch

Hawker

SabreIIA

Typhoon 1A/1 8 1st productionbatch

R7576-R7599, R7613-R7655, R7672- R7721, R7738-R7775, R7792-R7829,R7845-R7890, R7913- R7923

8121 48/ 39

250 Production Aircraft

Gloster Aircraft Company Brockworth Factory

SabreIIA

Typhoon 1A/1 8 2nd production batch

R8630-R8663, R8680-R8722, R8737-R8781, R8799- R8845, R8861 -R8900, R8923-R8947, R8966-R8981

B12148/39

250 Prod uction Aircraft

Gloster Aircraft Company Brockworth Factory

Sabre IIA/ IIB

Typhoon 18 3rdproductionbatch part 1

DN241- DN278, DN293- DN341, DN356-DN389, DN404-DN453, DN467- DN513, DN529--DN562, DN576-DN623

Acft/943/(CI23(a)

300ProductionAircraft

Gloster Aircraft Company 8rockworth Factory

Sabre IIA/1I8

Typhoon 1B 3rd productionbatch part 2

EJ900-EJ934, EJ946- EJ995, EK112-EK152, EK167- EK 197, EK208-EK252, EK266-EK301 , EK321- EK348, EK364- EK413, EK425-EK456, EK472- EK512, EK535-EK543

Acft/943/IC)23(al

400ProductionAircraft

Gloster Aircraft Company Brockworth Factory

Sabre IIA/IIB

continuedopposite

176

TORNADO , TY PHOON,

T E~ lP E S T.

FURY AN D SEA FURY PRODUCT ION

Typhoon continued

n

Serial Numbers

Contract

Ou antity

Builder

Typhoon 1B 4th productionbatch

JP361 -JP408. JP425-JP447. JP48G-JP516, JP532- JP552. JP576-JP614, JP648-JP689, JP723- JP756, JP784-J P802. JP836-JP861 . JP897-J P941 , JP96 1- JP976. JR125-JR152, JR183- JR223, JR237-J R266, JR289-JR338. JR36G-JR392, JR426- JR449,JR492-JR535

Acft/943/(C).23{a

600 Production Aircraft

Gloster Aircraft Company BrockworthFactory

Typhoon1B 5th production batch

MM951-MM 995, MN1 13-MN156. MN1 69-MN 213, MN229-MN 269. MN282-MN 325, MN339-MN 381. MN396-MN436, MN449-MN496. MN51 3-M N556, MN569-MN608. MN623-MN 667. MN68G-MN720. MN735- MN779, MN791 -MN823. MN851 -MN 896. MN92G-MN956. MN968-MN999. MPl1 3-M P1 58, MP1 75-MP203

Acft/943/(CI 23!a

800 Production Aircraft

Gloster Aircraft Company Brockworth Factory

Sabre liB

Typhoon 1B 6th production batch

PD446- PD480, PD492- PD536. PD 548- PD577, PD589-PD623. RB1 92- R8235, RB248-RB289. RB303- R8347, RB361 -RB408. RB423- RB459.RB474- RB512

Acft/943/(CI 23(a

400 Production Aircra ft

Gloster Aircraft Company Brockworth Factory

Sabre liB

Typhoon 1B 7th production batch

SW386-SW428, SW443-SW478. SW493-SW537, SW551-SW596. SW620-SW668, SW682-SW716, SW728-SW772

Acft/943/{Cj 23(a

299 Production Aircraft

Gloster Aircraft Company Brockworth Factory

Sabre liB

Serial Numbers

Contract

Ouantity

Builder

Remarks

F.l 0/41Tempest

HM595

Acft/ 1986/(cI 23!a)

1Prototype

Hawker Langley

Sabre II Sabre V

Tempest I Prototype

HM599

Acft/ 1640/(c)23(al

1 Prototype

Langley

Sabre IV

Tempest II Prototype F1 8/37

LA602. LA607

Acft/1986/(cI23Ia)

LA602 LA607

Langley Langley

Centaurus IV Centaurus IV

Tempest V 1st production batch

JN729-JN773 JN792-JN882 JN854-JN 877

100 Production Aircraft

Langley

Sabre II/A/B/ C As available Series1/2

Tempest V 2nd production batch

EJ504. EJ518-EJ560. EJ577-EJ611 . EJ61 6- EJ672. EJ685-EJ723. EJ739- EJ788. EJ800- EJ846. EJ859- EJ869

300 ProductionAircraft

Langley

Sabre IIN B Series 2

Tempest V 3rdproductionbatch

NV639-NV682. NV695- NV735, NV749-N V793. NV917- NV948. NV96G-NV996

199 Prod uctionAircraft

Langley

Sabre liB Series2

Type

11\

I~

Tempest Type

continued overleaf

177

TORNADO. TYP HOON . TEMPES T. FURY AND SEA FURY PRODUCT IO N

Tempest continued Type

Serial Numbers

Contract

Quantity

Builder

Remarks

Tempest V 4th production batch

SN102- SN146. SN1 59-SN1 90. SN205-SN238, SN253-SN296, SN30 1-SN355

201 Production Aircraft

Langley

Sabre liB Series 2

Tempest VI

NV997- NV999, NX113-NX156, NX169-NX209, NX223-N X268, NX281 -NX288

142 Production Aircraft

Langley

Sabre V

Tempest II

MW374-MW423

50Production Aircraft

Langley

CentaurusV

Tempest II 1st production batch

MW735-MW778, MW790- MW835 MW847-MW856

100 Production Aircraft

Langley

Centaurus V

Tempest II 2nd productionbatch

PR525-PR567,PR581 -PR523, PR645-PR689,PR713-PR758, PR771- PR815, PR83D-PR876, PR889-PR921

302 Production Aircraft

Langley

Centaurus V

Fury/Sea Fury Serial Numbers

Contract

Quantity

Builder

Remarks

F.2/43 Fury

NX798, NX802

Acft/264430/43

2 Prototypes

Kingston/Langley

Centaurus XII & CentaurusXVIII

F.2/43Fury

LA610

Acft/ 1986/(C)23(a)

1Prototype

Langley

Griffon85 Centaurus XV CentaurusXVIII

F.2/43 Fury

VP207

Built fromspares

1Prototype

Langley

SabreVII

N.7/43 Naval Fury

SR661 SR666 VP857

AcfV27022/44

1Prototype 1Prototype 1Prototype

Langley Langley Boulton Paul Hawkers-Langley

Centau rus 12/18 Centaurus 15/18 Centauru s 15/ 18

SeaFury FMk.X

TF895-TF928, TF94D-TF955

No.3682/44

50ProductionAircraft

Langley

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury FB.11 1st production batch

TF956-TF973, TF985-TF999, TG113- TG129

No.3682/44

50Production Aircraft

Langley

Centau rus IX

Sea FuryFB.11 2nd production batch

VR91 8-VR952

No.657/46

35Production Aircraft

Langley

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury FB. 11 3rdproduction batch

VW224-VW243, VW541- 590, VW621- VW670, VW691-VW718

No.1 584/47

147Production Aircraft

Langley & Kingston

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury FB.11 4th productionbatch

VX608-VX643, VX65D-VX696, VX707-VX711, VX724-VX730, VX748-VX764, WF59D-WF595, WF61D-WF627

No.2576/48

136 ProductionAircraft

Kingston & Langley

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury FB.l 1 5th production batch

WE673-W E694, WE708-WE736, WE785-WE806, WM472- WM482, WM487-WM495

No.3794/49

93Production Aircraft

Langley & Kingston

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury FB. l1 6th production batch

WG564-WG575, WG590-W G604, WG621 -WG630

No.5042/50 (21

37 Production Aircraft

Kingston & Langley

Centaurus 18

SeaFury FB.l 1 7th production batch

WH581-WH594, WH612-WH623, WJ221 -WJ248, WJ276-WJ292, WJ294-WJ297, WJ299-WJ301

No5042/5013)

78Production Aircraft

Langley & Kingston

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury FB.11 Bth production batch

WN474-WN479. WN4B4-WN487

No.6298/51

10Production Aircraft

Kingston & Dunsfold

Centaurus 1B

Type

continued opposite

178

TORNADO , TYP HOON, TEMPEST, FURY AN D SEA FURY PRODUCT ION

Fury/Sea Fury continued Type

Serial Numbers

Contract

Quantity

Builder

Remarks

Sea Fury FB.11

WX627-W Z656

No.7408/ 51

30Production Aircraft

Kingston & Dunsfold

Centaurus 18

VX818

No.1 998/47

1Prototype

Kingston

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury120 1st production batch

VX280-VX290, VX297- VX3 10

No.1998/47

27 ProductionAircraft

Kingston & Langley

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury120 2nd producti on batch

VZ345-VZ355,VZ363- VZ372

No.2577/48

21ProductionAircraft

Langley & King ston

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury 120 3rd production batch

WE820-WE826

NO.3794/49

7 Production Aircraft

Langley & Kingston

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury 120 4th productionbatch

WG652-W G656

No.5042/ 50

5 Production Aircraft

Kingston & Langley

Centaurus 18

10- 1to 10- 10

N/SF/2001

10Production Aircraft forRNeth Navy

Langley

Centaurus 18

Sea FuryISS For Iraq

231

No.1998/47

30ProductionFighters

Langley

Centaurus 18

SeaFuryISS/ITS For Iraq

263

No.53/1/012

25ProductionFighters, 3 Trainers All forIraq

L900-L949 K857

No.2795/49 3279/ PR.2259 A 1439/PR8533 A1782/PR921 0

50Production Fighters 1 refurbishedFury Prototype 24Production Fighters 13 Production Fighters

Langley Langley Langley Langley

Centaurus 18 Centaurus 18 Centaurus18 Centaurus 18

A.3904/PRE.1434

5 Refurbished Sea Fury

Langley

Centaurus 18

K850-K854

No.2795/49

4 ProductionTrainers

Langley

Centaurus 18

703

No.17/49/U.S.S.

12 ProductionFighters

Langley &Kingston

Centaurus 18

Refurbished for Egypt

SeaFury Trainer

Sea FuryF/FB.50 For Netherlands

SeaFury F.60 For Pakistan

Sea FuryConversion ForPakistan Sea Fury161 For Pakistan Sea Fury For Egypt F.2/43 Fury

Kingston

Centaurus 18

Sea FuryFB/TT.11 For Burma

UB454-UB471

HAL/57/B/030

18 Refurbished Fighters

Kingston &Langley

Centaurus 18

Sea Fury120 For Burma

UB451- UB453

HAL/ 57/ B/030

3 Refurbished trainers

Langley &Kingston

Centaurus 18

Sea FuryFB.11 /T.20

None specified

HAL/ 58/ C/039

15refurbished Fighters & 2 trainers

Langley & Kingston

Centaurus 18

179

APPENDIX II

The Survivors Typhoon Type

Civilian reg

Serial no.

Location

Typhoon 1B

unknown

Cockpit section

IWMDuxford

Static

Typhoon 1B

unknown

Cockpit section

Jet Age Museum

Static

Typhoon l B

unknown

Cockpit section

Kent BoBMuseum

Static

Typhoon 1B

EJ922

Cockpit section plus rearsection of Sea Fury forrestoration

Kent BoBMuseum

Static

Typhoon 1B

MN235

Complete example

RAFMuseumHendon

Static

Typhoon 1B

unknown

Cockpit section

Wartime Aircraft RecoveryGroup Aviation Museum. Sleap.

Static

Typhoon 1B

unknown

Cockpit section

Museum of D-Day Aviation, Shoreham

Static

Typhoon 1B

'JR505'

Cockpit section plus forward fuselage frame

Midland Air Museum. Coventry

Static

Typhoon 1B

unknown

Cockpit section

Air Defence Collection, Salisbury

Static

Typhoon 1B

RB396

Remains only

Museum Zuid Kamp, Netherlands

Tempest Type

Location

Civilian reg

Serial no.

Tempest V

N7027E

EJ693

Remains- crashed 1.10.44

Wycombe Air Park

Tempest II

N607LA

LA607

Undergoing restoration

Kerm it Weeks Museum Florida

Static

Tempest II

G-PEST

HA604

Ex-IAF ex-RAFMW401

Gainsborough

Static

Triors, France

Sta tic

Static

Tempest II

MW376

Tempest II

MW404

Last reported at Chichester

Tempest II

MW741

Ex-IAF HA?

Tempest II

MW758

Last reportedat Tangmere

MW763

'HF-L' exIAFHA586

Gainsborough

Static

Tempest II

MW810

Last reported New England Air Mus

Connecticut

Static

Tempest II

MW848

IAF Museum PalamAB

NewDelhi

Static

Tempest II

'PR536'

Ex-IAF HA457 'OO-H' complete

RAF MuseumHendon

Static

Tempest V

unknown

Cockpit section

Norwich

Static

Tempest V

unknown

Cockpit section

Norwich

Static

NV778

Complete exa mple

Cosford Aerospace Museum

Static

Tempest II

Tempest TT.5

G-TEMT

Static Openstorage at Poona ABIndia

Static Static

continuedopposite

180

TilE SURVIVORS

Sea Fury Civilian reg

Serial no,

Sea FuryFB. l 1

N65SF

TF982

Olympic Flight Museum WA

As 737/JR

Airworthy

Sea FuryFB.l 1

N232J

TGl1 4

Maruna Airplane Co. Akron.Ohio

As 'BC-t:

Airworthy

TGl1 9

National Aviation MuseumCanada

As TG11 9/110

Static

Type

Sea FuryFB. 11

Location

Sea Fury FB.l1

VR930

RN Historic Aircraft Flight

Yeovi lton

Airworthy

Sea Fury FB.l1

VW232

Naval Aviation Museum Nowra

AsVX730/ lOBK

Static

Sea Fury FB. l 1

VW623

Naval Aviation Museum Nowra

As VW623/102K

Static

Sea Fury FB.11

VW647

Narellan NSW

AsVW647/ 127K

Airworthy

Sea Fury T.20

N281l

VX281

Zager Aircraft Corp CA

Ex-Ol B

Airworthy

Sea FuryT.20

N924G

VX300

SandersAircraft ChicoCA

Ex-OLB

Airworthy

Sea Fury T.20

N51SF

VX302

PI BesterveldVan Nuys CA

Ex-OlB

Airworthy

Sea FuryT.20

spares

Yeovi lton VX653

The FighterCollectionOuxford

Restoration to fly Iraq colours

Sea Fury FB. 11

VX715

l A HamiltonSanta Rosa CA

Became WH589 after rebuild

Sea Fury T.20

VZ345

RNHAF Yeovi ltonex-A&AEE

To Brough forspares

Sea FuryT.20

VZ350

SandersAircraft CA forspares

Cr 16.12.78

Sea FuryT.20

VZ351

George H. Baker FL

Sea FuryFB.11

G-BUCM

Static

stored stored Airworthy

Sea Fury T.20

N7 1GB

VZ365

George H. Baker Fl spares for

N30SFex-IAF325'Skyfury

Airworthy

Sea FuryT. 20

N20SF

VZ368

SandersAircraft Co

'Dreadnought'

Airworthy

Sea FuryT. 20

N85SF

WE820

T. A. Dwelle Inc

'Critical Mass'

Airworthy

WG565

Calgary Aerospace Museum

Store as 'A-/J:.

Static

Sea Fury FB.1 1 Sea Fury FB.1 1

N878M

WG567

J. A. MottCA

'Super Chief'

Airworthy

Sea FuryFB.1 1

G-BWOL

WG599

Hull Aero Norwich

Ex-OlB O-CACY

under restoration

WG630

NAM Nowra NAS, NSW, AU

AsWG630/11 OK

Static

Sea FuryFB.11 Sea Fury T.20

N62143

WG652

Aileron Inc. Damaged in fire 7.88

Rebuilt as 'Riff Raff '

Airworthy

Sea FuryT. 20

N20MO

WG655

Amphip Inc. Il

Cr 1991

under rebuild Airworthy

Sea Fury FB.1 1

N20X

WH587

Getchell Aircraft Inc CA

AsRAN WH587/105

Sea FuryFB.1 1

G-EEMV

WH588

PA Morgan RAN NW/ 11 4

'Baby Gorilla' cr12.5.01

Sea FuryFB.11

N4434P

WH589

Stolzer Aircraft TX

composi te with VX7 15/WJ290 'Furias'

WJ231

FAA Museum Yeovilton

Sea Fury FB.l1 Sea FuryFB.ll

G-FURY

WJ244

Charleston Aviation Services

Sea FuryFB.ll

N15S

WJ288

O. W. Peeler Columbus OH

WJ290

l . A, Hamilton CA

Sea FuryFB.l 1

Airwo rthy Static

Composite G-AGHB/O-CI BO Airworthy spares for VX715/N4434P

Sea FuryFB.l 1

N39SF

WJ293

J. S. Shackleford Roanoake TX

Airworthy

Sea Fury FB.1 1

N26SF

WJ298

J. J. Oowd ,Syracuse NY

Airworthy

Sea FuryFB. 11

N42SF

WM483

Unlimited Air VanNuys CA

Sea FuryFB. 11

N59SF

WM484

T. Reilly Fl

Sea FuryFB.1!

WM857

unknown

As RCN 74-B'Bad Attitude'

Airworthy Airworthy

As RAN '105'

Static continued overleaf

181

Til E SURVIVORS

Sea Fury continued Type

Civilian reg

Serial no,

Sea Fury FB .1 1

N60SF

WN480

Lightfoot Aviation IncWA

Sea FuryFB .ll

N19SF

WN482

Spares forsecond aircraft with this registration

Sea FuryFB 11

N1 9SF

unknown

Sanders Aircraft CA

'Parts Fury'

Airworthy

Sea Fury FB10

N21 SF

ISS20

Sanders Aircraft AL

As DM/369

Airworthy

Sea Fury FB 11

N24SF

unknown

Status unconfirmed

'105/ Spirit of Texas'

Sea Fury FB11

N26S

FWJ298

J S. Dowd NY

Sea FuryFB.1 1

N7 1GB

unknown

George HBaker

'Sky Fury'

Airworthy

Sea FuryFB10

G-BTIA

ISS13

South Africa

AsWV238/1070

Airworthy

Sea FuryFB .10

N13HP

ISS25

Was N666HPBreckenbridge TX

'Fury'

Airworthy

Sea Fury FB.1 0

N35SF

ISS24

V. C. McAllister CO

Underrestoration

Static

Sea Fury FB 10

N36SF

unknown

J Bradshaw Wroug hton/ Benson

RN N 361

Static

Sea Fury FB10

N38SF

unknown

Vintage Aircraft Int NY

Sea Fury FB.lO

N57JB

ISS23

Wa r Eagles Museum TX

253/ K'Magnificent Obsession '

Airworthy

Sea Fury FB.1 1

VK-SFR

Flightwatch Services Auckland NZ

Parts of WG655

Airworthy

Sea FuryFB.1 0

N45SF

Sonoma Valley Inc

Airworthy

Location 'Simply Magnificent'

Airworthy Static

Airworthy Airworthy

Static

Sea FuryFB.lO

N46SF

Ed Jurist/Vintage Aircraft Int

Airworthy

Sea Fury FB 10

N48SF

Ed Jurist/Vintage AircraftInt

Airworthy

Sea FuryFB.11

VH-HFG

unknown

L. D. Zuccoli O'Iands Aus

As RAN 308/ K

Airworthy

Sea Fury FB.10

VH·ISS

ISS19

R. H. Poynton Perth WA

As Iraqi AF 249

Static

Sea Fury FB.lO

N1 324

N. J McCl ain UT

Airworthy

Fury

N62SF

Ed Jurist/Vintage Aircraftl nt

Static

Fury

N63SF

Ed Jurist/Vintage Aircraft lnt

Static

Sea Fury FB.10

N64SF

Ed Jurist/Vintage Aircraft Int

Static

Sea Fury FB.1 0

Rabat Morocco

stored

Sea Fury FB 11

Bayof Pigs Museum, Cuba

Static

Sea Fury FB.11

Musea del la Revolucion, Cuba

Static

Sea Fury FB51

6·43

Aviodome Amsterdam, Netherlands

Static

Sea FuryFB50

06-43

Luchtmacht Museum, Netherlands

Static

Sea Fury

ValiantAir Command, FL

Static

Sea Fury

Bristol Aero Collection,Kemble

Sea FuryT20

Kenosha, Wisconsin

182

Unregistered

Airworthy Airworthy

APPENDIX III

Typhoon, Tempest and Sea Fury Unit Typhoon Squadrons No.1 IFighter) SquadronCo de 'JX' 8.7.42 Ack lingtonTyphoon 18 9.2.43 8iggin Hill 15.3.43 Lympne 15.2.44 Martlesham Heath 3.4.44 North Wea ld 4.44 SpitfireIX8 No.3 SquadronCode 'QO' to 'JF' 5.6.44, to 'J5' postwar 2.43 HunsdonTyphoon 18 14.5.43 West Mailing 28.12.43 Swanton Morley 14.2.44 Manston 2.44 Tempest V No.4 Squadronuncoded 10.44 870/ Dueme TyphoonFR.1B 16.10.44 870/ Deume 23.11.44 877/ Gilze-Rijen 8.3.45889/ Mill 17.4.45 8106/Twenthe 30.5.45 8118/Celle 31.8.45 renumbered 2 Sqn No. 56'Punjab' Squadron Code 'US' 9.41 Duxford Typhoon 1A 30.3.42 Snailwell 3.42Typhoon18 29.5.42 Manston 1.6.42 Snailwell 24.8.42 Matlask 22.7.43 Manston 6.8.43Martlesham Heath 15.8.43 Manston 23.8.43 8radwell 8ay 4.10.43 Martlesham Heath 15.2.44 Scorton 7.3.44 Scorton 30.3.44 Ayr 7.4.44 Scorton Spitfire IX No. 137 Squadron Code 'SF' 1.44 Coleme Typhoon 18 4.2.44 Lympne 1.4.44 Manston 14.8.44 86/ Coulombs 28.8.44 830/Creton 3.9.44 848/Amiens/ Gl isy 6.9.44 858/ Melsbroek 23.9.44 878/Eindhoven 13.1.45 886/Helmond 7.3.45 Warmwell

19.3.45 886/Helmond 11 .4.45 8106/Twente 14.4.45 8112/Hopsten 17.4.45 81 20/Langenhagen 1.5.45 8156/Luneberg 7.5.45 8118/Celle 9.5.45 8160/Kastrup 21.6.458172/ Husem 11.7.45 81 58/Lubeck 20.8.45 Warmwell 26.8.45 renumbered 174 Sqn No. 164 'Argentine- British' Squadron Code 'FJ' 1.44 Fairlop Typhoon18 11 .2.44Twinwood Farm 16.3.44Thomey Island 18.6.44 Funtington 22.6.44 Hum 17.7.4488/ Sommervieu 20.7.44 87/ Martragny 3.9.44 823/ Morainville 6.9.44 835/ Godelmesnil 13.9.44 853/Merville 30.10.44 867/Ursel 26.11.44 877/Gilze-Rijen 1.1.45 A84/ Chievres 19.1.45 877/ Gilze-Rijen 21.3.45 891 / Kluis 17.4.45 8103/Ploantlunne 27 .5.45 8116/Wunstorf 17.6.45 Milfield 6.45 SpitfireIX No. 168 Squadron Code 'QC' 9.44 866/8lankenberg Typhoon18 4.10.44 878/ Eindhoven 26.2.45 disbanded No, 174 'Mauriti us' Squadron Code 'XP' No. 137 Sqn, renumbered 26.8.45 8158/Lubeck Typhoon 18 7.9.45 disbanded No. 175 Squadron Code 'HH' 4.43 Coleme Typh oon 18 12.6.43 Merston 1.7.43 Lydd 10.10.43 Westhampnett 1.4.44 Holmsley South 17.6.44 85/Camilly 19.6.44 82/8azenville 24.6.44 85/ Camilly 28.8.44 824/ STAndre-de-I'Eure 2.9.44 840/ 8eauvais

183

1.10.44 880N olkel 10.11 .44 Warmwell 21.1 1.44880Nolkel 21.3.45 8100/ Goch 10.4.45 disbanded No, 181 Squadron Code 'EL: 9.42 Duxford Typhoon 1A 9.42Typhoon 18 10.12.42Snailwell 24.3.43 Gravesend 5.4.43 La sharn 2.6.43 Appl edram 3.7.43 New Romney 8.10.43 Merston 31.1 2.43 Ddiham 13. 1.44 Merston 6.2.44 Eastchurch 21.2.44 Merston 1.4.44 Hum 20.6.44 86/Coulombs 31.8.44 830/Creton 3.9.44 848/Amiens/Glisy 6.9.44 858/ Melsbroek 22.9.44 878/ Eindhoven 12.1.45 Warmwell 3.2.45 886/ Helmond 11.4.458106/Twente 13.4.45 8112/Hopsten 18.4.45 8120/Langenhagen 1.5.45 81 56/ Lueberg 7.5.45 8158/ Lubeck 7.7.45 8160/Kastrup 21.7.45 Warmwell 4.8.458 160Ka strup 6.9.45 8166/ Flensburg 9.9.458164/Sch leswig 30.9.45 disbanded No, 182Squadron Code 'XM' 9.42 MartleshamHeath Typhoon 1A 9.42Typhoon 18 7.12.42 Sawbridgeworth 30.1.43Martlesham Heath 1.3.43 Midd le Wallop 5.4.43 Fairlop 29.4.43 Lasham 2.6.43 Appl edram 2.7.43 New Romney 12.10.43 Merston 31.12.43 Odiharn 5.1.44 Ea stchu rch 23. 1.44 Merston 1.4.44 Hum

TYPIIOON, TEMPEST AND SEA FURY UNITS

20,6.44 86/Coloumbs 22,6.44 Holmsley South 3.7.44 86/Coloumbs 28.8.44 830/Creton 3.9.44 848/Am iens/ Glisy 6,9.44 858/Melsbroek 22,9.44 878/Eindhoven 13,1.45 886/ Helmond 3.2.45 Warmwell 21,2,45 886/Helmond 11.4,45 8106/Twente 13.4.45 8112/Hopsten 17.4,45 8120/Langenhagen 1,5.45 8156/ Luneburg 7,5.45 8158/ Lubeck 11.7,45 8160/ Kastrup 5,8.45 Warmwell 19,8.45 8160/Kastrup 5,9,458166/Flensburg 8,9.45 81 64/Schleswig 30.9.45 disbanded No. 183'Gold Coast' Squadron Code 'HF 11.42 Church Fenton Typhoon 1A 11 .42 Typhoon 18 1.3.43Cranfield 24.3.43 Colerne 8.4.43 Gatwick 3.5.43 Lasham 30.5.43 Col erne 5.6.43 Harrowbeer 4 8.43 Ta ngmere 18.9.43 Perranporth 14.10.43 Predannack 1.2.44 Ta ngmere 15.3.44 Manston 1.4.44 ThorneyIsland 18.6.44 Funtington 1.7.44 Hurn 14.7.44 Eastchurch 25.7.44 87/ Martrangy 3.9.44 823/Morainville 6.9.44835/Godelmensil 11 .9.44 853/Merville 29.10.44 867/Ursel 26.11.44 877/ Gilze·Rijen 1.1.45 A84 Chievres 19.1 .45 877/ Gilze-Hijen 21.3.45891/Kluis 17.4.458103/Plantlunne 27.5.45811 6/Wunstorf 16.6.45 Milfield 17.6.45 Chilbolton Spitfire IX No. 184Squadron Code 'BR' 3.44Odiham Typhoon18 11.3.44 Eastchurch 3.4.44 Odiham 23.4.44 Westhampnett 14.5.44 Holmsley South 20.5.44 Westhampnett 17.6.44 Holmsley South 27. 6.44 810/Plumetot 16.7.44 83/Camilly 28.8.44 8.24 Andre-de-I'Eure 2.9.44 842/Tille

4.9.44 850N itry-en-Artois 17.9.44 870/Deurne 30.9.44 880N olkel 4.12.44 Warmwell 18.12.44 880Nolkel 21.3.45 8100/Goch 11.4.45 8110/Achmer 18.4.45 8l 50/Hustedt 7.5.45 Warmwell 28.5.45 8164/ Schleswig 2.8.458160/ Kastrup 29.8.45 disbanded No. 193'Fellowship ofthe Bellows'Squadron Code 'DP' 1.43 Harrowbeer Typhoon 18 17.8.43 Gravesend 18.9.43 Harrowbeer 20.2.44 Fairlop 16.3.44 Thorney Island 11.4.44 Needs Oar Point 3.7.44 Hurn 11.7.44 815IRyes 16.7.44 83/ Ste-Croix-sur-Mer 6.9.44 823 Morainville 8.9.44 Manston 12.9.44 851 LilieN endevilie 18.9.44 Fairwood Common 6.10.44 870/Deurne 9.2.45889/ Mill 17.4.45 8105/ Drope 30.4.4581 11/Ahlhorn 8.1.45Hildeshelm 31.8.45 disbanded No. 195Squadron Code 'JE' 11.42 Hutton CranswickTyphoon 18 12.2.43 Woodvale 13.5.43 Ludham 31.7.43 Matlask 21.8.43 Col tishall 24.9.43 Fairlop 15.2.45 disbanded No. 197 Squadron Code 'OV' 11.42Drem Typhoon 1A 11.42 Typhoon 18 28.3.43 Tangmere 15.3.44 Manston 1.4.44 Ta ngmere 10.4.44 Needs Oar Point 3.7.44 Hurn 11 .9.44 83/Ste-Croix-sur-Mer 2.1 0.44 870/ Deurne 25.11.44 Fairwood Common 12.1 2.44 870/Deurne 8.2.45 889/Mill 16.4.45 8105/Drope 30.4.458111/Ahlhorn 9.6.45 Hildeshelm 31 .8.45 disbanded No,198Squadron Code 'TP' 12.42 Digby Typhoon1A 12.42 Typhoon 18 23. 1.43 Ouston

184

24.3.43 Manston 15.5.43 Woodvale 5.6.43 Martlesham Heath 19.8.43 8radwell 8ay 22.8.43 Manston 16.3.44 Tangmere 6.4.44 Thorney Island 22.6.44 Hurn 1.7.44 810/Plumetot 8.7.44 85/ Camilly 11.7.44 810/Plumetot 19.7.44 87/ Martragny 3.9.44 823/Morainville 6.9.44 Fairwood Com mon 11.9.44 853/Merville 30.1 0.44 867/ Ursel 6.11.44 FairwoodCommon 21.1 1.44 867/ Ursel 26.11.44 877/Gilze-Rijen 31.12.44 A84/Chi evres 191.45877/Gilze-Rijen 21.3.45 891/ Kluis 17.4.45 8103/Plantlunne 27.5.45 811 6/Wunstorf 15.9.45 disbanded No, 245'Northern Rhodesia' Squadron Code 'MR' 12.42 Charmy Down Typhoon 18 29.1.43 Peterhead 30.3.43 Gravesend 28.5.43 Fairlop 2.6.43 Selsey 1.7.43 Lydd 10.1 0.43 Westhampnett 1.4.44 Holmsley South 25.4.44 Eastchurch 30.4.44 Holmsley South 27.6.44 85/ Camilly 28.8.44 8/24 St-Andre-de-I'Eure 2.9.44 842(Ti1le 4.9.44 850N itry-en-Artois 17.9.44 870/ Duerne 30.9.44 880N olkel 19.12.44 Warmwell 6.1.45 880Nolkel 20.3.458100/Goch 11 .4.45 81 10/Achmer 16.4.45 8150/ Hustedt 28.5.45 8164/Schleswig 16.6.45 Warmwell 4.7.458164/Schleswig 10.8.45 disbanded No, 247'China- British' Squadron Code 'ZV' 1.43 High Ercall Typhoon 18 28.2.43Middle Wallop 5.4.43 Fairlop 29.5.43 Gravesend 4.6.43 8radwell 8ay 10.7.43 New Romney 11. 10.43 Merston 31.10.43Snailwell 5.1 1.43 Merston 31.1 2.430diham 13.1.44 Merston 1.4.44 Eastchurch

TYPHOON. TEMPEST AND SEA FURY UNITS

24.4.44 Hurn 20.6.44 86/Coulombs 28.8.44 830/Creton 3.9.44 848/Amiens/Glisy 6.9.44 858/Melsbroek 22.9.44 878/ Eindhoven 13.1 .45886/ Helmond 21.2.45 Warmwell 7.3.45886/ Helmond 12.4.45 8106/Twente 13.4.45 81 12/Hopsten 17.4.45 8120/Langenhagen 1.5.45 8156/Luneburg 6.5.45 8158/Lubeck 20.8.45 Chilbolton 9.45 cony Tempest F.2 No.257 'Burma' Squadron Code 'f M' 7.42 High Ercall Typhoon l A 7.42Typhoon18 21.9.42 Exeter 8.1.43 Warmwell 12.8.43 Gravesend 17.9.43 Warmwell 20.1 .44 8eaulieu 3.2.44 Tangmere 10.4.44 Needs Oar Point 2.7.44 Hurn 8.7.44 815/ Ryes 15.7.44 83/ Ste-Croix-sur-Mer 11.8.44 Fairwood Common 30.8.44 83/ Ste-Croix-sur-Mer 4.9.44 Manston 119.44 851/LilieNendevilie 2.10.44 870/ Duerne 8.2.45 889/Mill 5.3.45disbanded No. 263 'f ellowship ofthe Bellows'Squadron Code 'HE' 12.43 Warmwell Typhoon 18 5.12.43 Ibsley 5.1.44 Fa irwood Common 23.1.44 8eaulieu 6.3.44 Warmwell 19.3.44 Harrowbeer 19.6.44 80lt Head 10.7.44 Hurn 23.7.44 Eastchurch 6.8.44 83/ Ste-Croix-sur-Mer 6.9.44 Manston 11 .9.44 851/LilieNendevilie 2.1 0.44 870/Deurne 13.1.45 FairwoodCommon 10.2.45 889/Mill 16.4.458105!Drope 30.4.45 8111/Ahlhorn 8.6.45 86/Hildesheim 30.8.45 disbanded No. 266'Rhodesia' Squadron Code 'UO'to 'ZH' 4.42 1.42 Duxford Typhoon 1A 3.42 Typhoon 18 2.8.42Matlask 11.8.42 Duxford 21.9.42 Warrnwell

8.1.43 Exeter 21.9.43Harrowbeer 7.3.44 80lt Head 12.3.44 Harrowbeer 15.3.44 80ltHead 23.3.44 Tangmere 10.4.44 Needs Oar Point 27.4.44 Snaith 6.5.44 Needs Oar Point 29.6.44 Eastchurch 13.7.44 Hurn 20.7.44 83/ Ste-Croix-sur-Mer 25.7.4488/Sommervieu 6.9.44 823/Morainville 8.9.44 Manston 11 .9.44 851/ LilieN endevilie 2.10.44 870/Duerne 14.2.45 889/M ill 16.4.458105/Drope 25.4.45 Fairwood Common 4.6.458111 /Ahlhorn 8.6.45 Hildesheim 6.8.45 disbanded No. 268 Squadron uncoded 7.44 OdihamTyphoon FR.18 10.8.4481O/Plumetot 13.8.44 84/8eny-sur-Mer 1.9.44 827/80isny 6.9.44 831 /Fresnoy-Folny 11.9.44 843/ Fort Rouge 27.9.44 861 / St DennisWestrem 10.10.44 870/Deurne 11.44 Mustang II No. 438 'Wildcats' Squadron RCAfCode 'f3' 1.44 Ayr Typhoon 18 18.3.44 Hurn 3.4.44 Funtington 19.4.44 Hurn 27.6.4489/ Lantheuil 31.8.44 824/St-Andre-de-I'Eure 3.9.44 848/Amiens/ Glisy 6.9.44 858/ Melsbroek 26.9.44 8878/ Eindhoven 19.3.45 Warmwell 3.4.45 8100/ Goch 12.4.4581 10/Achmer 21.4.45 8150/Hustedt 29.5.45 81 66/Flensburg 26.8.45 disbanded No. 439 'Westmount' Squadron RCAfCode 'SV' 1.44 Ayr Typhoon 18 18.3.44 Hurn 2.4.44 Funtington 19.4.44 Hurn 11.5.44 Hutton Cranswick 20.5.44 Hurn 27.6.44 89/Lantheuil 31.8.44 824/St-Andre-de-I'Eure 3.9.44 848/Amiens/Glisy 7.9.44 858/Melsbroek 25.9.44 878/ Eindhoven 30.3.45 8100/Goch 3.4.45 Warmwell

785

2.4.45 8150/Hustedt 29.5.45 81 66/ Flensburg 26.8.45 disbanded No. 440 'City of Ottawa' Squadron RCAfCode '18' 3.44 Ayr Typhoon 18 18.3.44 Hurn 3.4.44 Funtington 20.4.44 Hurn 28.6.44 89/Lantheuil 31.8.44 824/St-Andre-de-I'Eure 3.9.44 848/Amiens/ Glisy 6.9.44 858/ Melsbroek 26.9.44 878/Eindhoven 30.3.458100/Goch 11.4.45 Bll0/Achmer 20.4.45 Bl 50/ Hustedt 23.4.45 Warmwell 8.5.45 Bl 50/Hustedt 29.5.45 Bl6 6/Flensburg 26.8.45 disbanded No. 486 Squadron RNZAfCode 'SA' 7.42 Wittering Typhoon 1B 27.9.42 North Weald 10.10.42 West Mailing 29.10.42Tangmere 1.44 Tempest V No. 609 'West Riding' Squadron Code 'PR' 3.42 Duxford Typhoonl A 3.42 Typhoon 1B 26.8.42 Bourn 30.8.42 Duxford 18.9.42 Biggin Hill 2.1 1.42 Manston 22.7.43 Matlask 18.8.43 Lympne 14.1 2.43 Manston 6.2.44 Fairwood Common 20.2.44 Manston 16.3.44 Tangmere 21.3.44 Acklington 1.7.44 810/ Plumetot 9.7.4485/Camilly 19.7.44 87/ Martragny 3.9.44 823/ Morainville 6.9.44 835/ Godelmensil 11.9.44 853/ Merville 30.10.44 867/Ursel 26.11 .44 877/ Gilze-Rijen 31.12.44 A84/Chievres 19.1.45 877/ Gilze-Rijen 21.3.45 891/Kluis 17.4.45 8103/ Plantlunne 27.5.45 81 16/Wunstorf 2.6.45 Lasham 23.6.458116/Wunstorf 15.9.45 disbanded No. 778 Squadron fAA 2.43 Arbroath Typhoon 18 Secondary Units NO. 1Combat Training Wing. later NO. 1Tactical Exercise Unit

TYPHOON. TEM PEST AND SEA FURY UNITS

NO. 3 Tactica l Exercise Unit codes ·UW'. 'ZX', lH'. 'PA' NO. 4 Tactical ExerciseUnit No. 55OperationalTraining Unit No. 56Operational Training Unit codes·GF·. 'FE', 'HO', 'OD' No. 59Operational Training Unit codes'MF', '40', ' 11', 7L' No. 83Group SupportUnit code 7S' No. 84 Group Support Unit Fighter Leaders' School codes'HK'. 'MF', 'RL' A&AEE, RAE, AFDU, FlU

5.9.46 Manston 16.9.46 Fassberg 4.2.47 Gatow 21.3.47 Fassberg 1.12.47 Gutersloh 12.48 Vampire FB.5

Tempest Squadrons

No, 26Squadron Cod e 'XC' 4.46 Wunstorf Tempest F. 5 13.4.46 Fassberg 6.46 Tempest F. 2 24.9.46 Chivenor 23. 10.46 Fassberg 19.11.47 Gutersloh 4.49 Vampire FB.5

No,3 Squadron Co de '00' to 'JF 5.6.44 to 'J5' postwar 2.44 Manston Tempest V 6.3.44 Bradwell Bay 28.4.44 Newch urch 21.9.44 Matlask 28.9,44 B60/Grimbergen 1.1 0.44 B80/Volkel 1.4.45 Warmwell 17.4.45 B11 2/Hopsten 26.4.45 B152/Fassberg 21.6.45 B160/Kastrup 18.7.45 B156/Luneburg B.8.45 B158/Lubeck 5.9.45 B155/Dedelsdorf 14.9.45 B1 06/Twente 6.10.45 B1 70/ Sylt 23.10.45 B152/Fassberg 24,1.46 Wunstorf 27J .46 Gatow 19.9.46 Wunstorf 4,1.47 Gatow 3.2.47 Wunstorf 1.10.47 Gatow 5.1.48Lubeck 2.48 WunstorfVampire F. 1 No, 5 Squadron Code '00' 3.46 Bhopal Tempest F.2 1.6.46 Poona 10.11 .46 Poona 22,1.47 Peshwar 3.6.47 Mauripur 1.8.47 disbanded No, 6 Squadron Code 'JV' 12.46 Nicosia Tempest F. 6 5.9.47 Shallufa 26.11.47 Khartoum 5.5.48 Fayid 1.9.49 Deversior 10.49 Vampire FB. 5 No.8 Squadron Code 'Hl" 3.47 KhormaksarTempest F.6 6.49 Brigand B.1 No, 16Squadron Code 'EG' 4.46 Fassberg Tempest F. 5 1.6.46 Mauston 14.7.46 Fassberg 8.46 Tempest F.2

No, 20 Squadron Code 'HN' 5.46 Agra Tempest F.2 25.7.47 Mauripur 1.8.47 disbanded

No, 30Squadron Code 'RS' 3.46 Bhopal Tempest F. 2 27.5.46 Agra 1.1 2.46 disbanded No, 33Squadron Code 'SR' 12.44 Predannack Tempest V 21.2.44 B77/ Gilze-Rijen 7.4.45 B91 / Kluis 29.4.45 B109/0uackensbruck 19.8.45 B155/ Dedelsdorf 23.10.45 B1 52/Fassberg 2.1.46 Gatow 17.2.45 Fassberg 10.46 Tempest F.2 13.7.47 Zeltweg 31.11.47 Gutersloh 2.7.49 Renfrew 9.8.48 Changi 18.3.50Tengah 30.5.50 Butterworth 5.51Hornet F.3 No, 39Squadron uncoded 4.48 KhartoumTempest F.6 28.2.49 disbanded No,41 Squadron Code 'EB' 9.45 B158/ Lubeck Tempest V 31.1.46B116/Wunstorf 28.2.46 B170/Sylt 29.3.46 B116/Wunstorf 1.4.46 disbanded No, 54Squadron Code 'HF 11.45 Chilbolton Tempest F.2 28.6.46 Odiham 5.9.46 Molesworth 1,10.46 Odiham 10.46 Va mpire F.1 No. 56'Punjab' Squadron Code 'US' 6.44 Newchurch Tempest V 23.9.44 Matlask 28.9.44 B60/ Grimbergen

186

1.1 0.44 B80/Volkel 11.4.45 Bl12/Hopsten 26.4.45 B152/Fassberg 22.6.45 B1 60/Kastrup 22.8.45 B1 64/Schleswig 5.9.45B155/ Dedelsdorf 23.10.45 B1 52/Fassberg 1.4.46 disbanded No. 80Squadron Code W2' 7.44 West Mailing Tempest V 29.8.44 Manston 20.9.44 Coltishall 29.9.44 B70/Duerne 1.1 0.44 B82/Grave 7.10.44 B80/Volkel 12.4.45 B1 12/Hopsten 7.5.45 B152/ Fassberg 24.6.45 B160/ Kastrup 6.9.45 B158/ Lubeck 31.1 .46 Wunstorf 17.4.46 Dedelsdorf 19.9.46 Wunstorf 1.48 Spitfire F.24 No. 152 'Hyderabad' Squadron Co de 'UM' 7.46 Risalpur Tempest F. 2 15.1 .47 disbanded No. 174 'Mauritius' SquadronCode 'JJ' 9.45 Warmwell Tempest V 19.9.45 B155/Dedelsdorf 19.10.45 Gatow 26,11.45 B152/ Fassberg 20.4.46 disbanded No. 183 'Gold Coast' Squadron Code 'HF 10.45 FairwoodCommon Tempest II 15.11.45Chilbolton 15.11.45 disbanded No. 213 'Ceylon' Squadron Code 'AK' 1.47 Nicosia Tempest F. 6 3.9.47 Shallufa 22.10.47 Khartoum 17.8.48 Mogadishu 21.10.53 Deversoir 30.9.54 disbanded No. 222 'Natal' Squadron Code 'ZO' 1.45 Predannack Tempest V 21.2.45 B77/Gilze-Rijen 7.4.45 B9 1/ Kluis 20.4.45 B109/ 0uackenbruck 25.6.45 81 55/ Dedelsdorf 3.9.45 Manston 10.9.45 Chilbolton 23. 10.45 Molesworth 10.45 Meteor F.3 No. 247 'China- British' Squadron Code 'ZV' 9.45 Chilbolton Tempest F.2 7.1.46 Fairwood Common 16.2.46 Chi lbolton 3.46 Vampire F. 1

T YPHOON.

No. 249 'GoldCoast' Squadron Code 'GN' 12.46 Habbiniyah Tempest F6 13.4.48 Ra mat David 17.5.48 Habbiniyah 29.3.49Deversoir 28.6.49Nicosia 8.8.49 Deversoir 1.50 Vampire FB. 5 No.486 Squadron RNZAF Code 'SA' 4.44 Castle Camps Tempest V 29.4.44 Newchurch 19.9.44 Matlask 28.9.44 B60/Grimbergen 1.10.44 B80IVoikei 10.4.45 B112/Hopsten 26.4.45 B150/ Hustedt 6.5.45 Bl 18/Celle 8.5.45 B106/ Kastrup 6.7.45 B1 58/ Lubeck 7.9.45 disbanded No. 501 'County of Gloucester' Squadron Code 'SO' 7.44 Westhampn ett Tempest V 2.8.44 Mauston 22.9.44 Bradwell Bay 3.3.45 Hunsden 20.4.45disbanded Secondary Units No. 13 Operational TrainingUnit codesW ', 'SL' No. 83GroupSupport Unit code 7S' No. 84Group Support Unit No. 226 Operational ConversionUnit code 'XL' No. 229 Operational ConversionUnit code 'RS' 233 Operational Conversion Unit AcklingtonArmament Practice Camp code W H' Sylt Armame nt PracticeCamp Central GunnerySchool code 'FJU' Central Fighter Establishment codes'MF', 'GO', 'RE' A&AEE, RAE, AFDU, FlU

Sea Fury Squadrons

No, 700 Squadron FAA 6.48- 9.49 YeoviltonSea FuryFl O 12.55-1.56 Ford Sea Fury FB.l 1 No. 703 Squadron FAA 6.48-1 .52 Lee-on-Solent Sea FuryFlO 7.48- 3.55 Lee-on -Solent Sea FuryFB.l 1 6.51-10.51 Ford Sea FuryT.20 No. 723 Squadron RAN 4.52- 10.56 Nowra Sea FuryFB.ll No. 724 Squadron RAN 5.61-10.62 NowraSea Fury FB.11 No. 725 Squadron RAN 1.58-5 .59 Nowra Sea Fury FB.1 1 No. 736 Squadron FAA 8.50- 9.51 Culdrose Sea FuryFlO 5.49 - 8.52 Culdrose Sea FuryFB.l 1 3.50- 8.52 Culdrose Sea Fury T.20

TE ~ I P ES T

AND SEA FURY UNITS

No.738 Squadron FAA 5.50- 8.51 CuldroseSea Fury Fl O 5.50- 3.55 CuldroseSea Fury FB. ll 5.50- 3.55 CuldroseSea Fury T.20 No.744 Squadron FAA 5.54-10.56 Culdrose/St Mawgan Sea Fury FB.11 No. 751 Squadron FAA 8.52-3 .56 Watton SeaFury FB. l 1 No. 759 Squadron FAA 5.52- 6.52 Culdrose Sea Fury FB.ll 2.52-1 .54 CuldroseSea Fury T. 20 No. 766 Squadron FAA 9.51 -7.52 Lossiemouth Sea FuryT. 20 No. 767 Squadron FAA 11.49-6.52 Yeovilton Sea Fury FB.l 1 No.771 Squadron FAA 7.50-12.50 ArbroathSea FuryT. 20 No.773 Squadron FAA 1.49-3.49 Lee-on-SolentSea FuryFB.11 No. 778 Squadron FAA 2.47-7.47 FordSea Fury Fl O 2.48- 7.48 Tangmere Sea Fury FB. 11

Dartmouth, Rivers, Eglinton, L HMCS Magnificent Sea Fury FB 11 1.551 re-designated No. 870 Sqn No. 804 Squadron FAA 7.49-1.54 Hal Fardetachments/d Lee-on- Selent. Brawdy, Lossiemouth, HMS Theseus, HMS Indomitable, H Sea Fury FB.11 No.805 Squadron RAN 8.48-2.49 Eglinton SeaFuryFl O 8.48-3.58 Eglinton, Nowra detachment / HMAS SydneySeaFury FB.1 1 No_ 806 Squadron FAA 8.48-9.48 Eglinton, HMCS Magnificent, Dartmouth. Toronto Sea Fury FB.11 No. 807 Squadron FAA 9.47-12.48 EglintonSea FuryFlO 2.48- 5.54 Eglinton, Culdrosedetachments/d pI to HMS Implacable, HMS Theseus, HMSOcean Sea FuryFB.l 1 No.808 Squadron FAA 450-10.54 St Merryn Nowra detachments/deploymont 10 HMAS Sydney Sea FuryFB. 11 No. 809 SquadronFAA 11.51-1.52 Culdrose Sea Fury T.20

No. 781 Squadron FAA 10.48-1.50 Ford Sea Fury FlO 12.53-2.55 Ford Sea Fury FB.l 1 5.50-9.54 Ford Sea Fury l20

No. 810 Squadron FAA 3.54-3.55 Forddetachments/deployments to Hal F r HMSCentaur Sea FuryFB. 11

No. 782 Squadron FAA 6.48-6.50 EglintonSea FuryFB.l1 5.51 -1 051 Donibristle Sea FuryT.20

No. 811 SquadronFAA 8.53-12.54 Arbroath, Leuchars, Lee-on-Solent deployments/detachments Hal Far, HMS Warrior Sea Fury FB.l 1

No. 787 Squadron FAA 5.47-7.48 West RaynhamSea FuryFlO 2.49-1954 West Raynham Sea Fury FB.l 1 1949-1949 West Raynha mSea Fury T. 20

No. 850 Squadron FAA 1.53-8.54 Nowra detachments/deployments to HMAS SydneySeaFury FB.1 1

No. 799 Squadron FAA 9.48-1 0.49 Yeovilton Sea Fury Fl O 5.49-11 .51 Yeovilton Sea Fury FB.1 1 4.51 -5.51 Yeovil tonSea FuryT.20 No. 801 Squadron FAA 3.51-1.55 Lossiemouth detachments/deployments to Hal Far, HMSGlory. HMS Ocean, HMS Illustrious, Sea Fury FB.ll 12.51 -1.55 Lossiemouth Sea Fury 1.20

No. 860 Squadron RNN 7.50-6.56Valkenburg detachments/deployments to StMerryn. HMS Illustrious, HMS Indomitable Sea FuryFB. 50 No. 870 Squadron RCN 5.51 -6.54 Dartmouth detachments/deployments HMCS Magnificent, Scoudouc.Summerside, HMCS Magnificent, Summerside. Sea Fury FB.ll No. 871 Squadron RCN 5.51-8.56 Dartmouth detachments/deployments to HMCS Magnificent, Key West, Dartmouth. Sea Fury FB. 11

No.li-J2 Squadron FAA 4.48-6.48 Lee-on-Sol ent SeaFury FlO 5.48-12.51Lee-on-Solent, Eglinton Sea Fury FB.l1 2.53-3.54 Arbroath detachments/deployments 10 Hal Far, HMS Theseus, HMS EagleSea Fury FB. 11 6.50-2.54 Lee-on -Solent Sea Fury l20

No. 883 Squadron RCN 9.48-5.51 Dartmouth detachments/deployments to HMCSMagnificent, Eglinton, HMCS Magnificent, Dartmouth Sea FuryFB.l 1

No. 803 Squadron RCN 8.47-2.50Eglinton Sea FuryFlO 2.48- 5.51 Eglinton detachments/deployments to

No. 898 Squadron FAA 7.51-1.53 Arbroathdetach ments/deployme nts to Hal Far, HMS Theseus, HMS Ocean, HMS Glory Sea FuryFB.1 1

78 7

TYPHOON.

No. 1830 Squadron RNR 10.52-10.54 Abbotsinch Sea Fury120 No. 1831 Squadron RNR 10.50-6.55 St Merryn Sea Fury120 8.51-6.55 St Merryn Sea Fury FB.1 1 No. 1832 Squadron RNR 10.50·6.56 St Merryn/Brawdy Sea Fury1.20 851-8.55 St Merryn/Brawdy Sea Fury FB. l 1

No. 1833 Squadron RNR 10.50-10.55 Bramcote Sea Fury120 2.54-7.55 Bramcote Sea FuryFB.11

No. 1834 Squadron RNR 10.53-4.55Benson. Yeovilton SeaFuryFB. 11 10.53-4.55 Benson. Yeovilton Sea Fury 1.20

T E~IP E ST

AND SEA FURY UNITS

Secondary Units 11 .52-9.53 Brawdy SFSea Fury 120 10.51 -10.52 Culdrose SF Sea Fury120 3.52-4.52 Ford SF Sea Fury FB.11 7.50-2.55 Ford SFSea Fury 120 3.54-9.56 Eglinton SFSea Fury 120 10.52-3.53Hal Far SFSea Fury FB.1 1 5.51 -4.54 Hal Far SF Sea Fury 1.20 3.50-6.59 Lee-on-Solent Sea Fury FB.11 5.52-8.52 Lossiemouth Sea Fury1.20 8.51-10.51 St Merryn SFSea Fury120 9.50-7.56 YeoviltonSFSea Fury1.20 6.55-7.55Arbroath Ferry Pool Sea Fury FB.1 1 4.48-2.50 Joint Warfare EstablishmentSea FuryF.1O 2.50-2.52 JWE Sea Fury FB.l 1 10.55-4.61AirworkFleet Requirements Unit Sea FuryFB. 11

Bibliography Air-Britain Pub licati on s: Royal Air Force A ircraft P I 000- R9999 Royal Air Force A ircraft DA 100- DZ999 Royal Air Force Aircraft £A 100- £ Z999 Royal Air Force Aircraft JA IOO-J2999 Royal Air Force Aircraft KA 100-KZ999 Royal Air Force A ircraft MA 100- MZ999 Royal Air Force A ircraft NA 100- N Z999 Royal Air Force Aircraft PA 100-RZ999 Royal Air Force A ircraft SA 100- V 2999

Aircraft Ar chive Vol 2 Fighters (A rgus Books) . Ellis, Ken \\lrecks and Relic.~ l Sth ed it ion (Midland Coun t ies) . Jackson , Robert Hawker Tcnuicst and Sea Fury (Blandford Press) .

Jane's Fighting Aim'aft of \\f\'(ll/ (Jan e's Publi sh ing). [ efford , W g C d r

. G ., MBE RA F Squadrons (A irlife),

Mason, Fran cis K., Hawker Aircraft since 1920 (P utnam) . Mason , Fran cis K., The Hawker T)'/Jhoon and Tempest (A ston Publicati ons) . Peel, Dave British Civil Registers since 19 19 (A irlife) . Rim ell , Ken T he T)'/J/lOon at \\far (Hi storic Military Press). Robertson , Bruce British Military A ircraft Serials 1878-1 987 (Mid land Count ies ). Shores , C h risto phe r 2nd Tactical Air Force (O sprey). St urtivant. Ray The Squadrons of the Fleet Air An n (Air Britain) . Ma gazines co nsulted incl ud e Fly/Jast, Air Pictorial, A viation News, Air Digest, pl us sn ippe ts from numerous othe r publicat ions.

788

Index A&AEE 10, 72, 123, 164 'Abdullah' 28 Acklington A PC 78, 112 Advanced Landing G rounds 13.2 Bazcnville 54 13.3 Sre-Croix-Sur-Mer 54 13.5 Carn illv 54 13.6 Coulombs 54 13.52 Fassburg 102 R 60 Grimburgcn 97 13.70 Deunne 59 13.77 Gilzc- Rijcn 100 13.78 Eindhoven 57 13.80 Volkcl 98 13.82 Grave 98 13.9 1 Kluis 102 13.109 Quackcnbruck RI 12 Hopsten 102 13.1 18 Hopstcn 102 Air Fightin g Development Unit 21, 70,92 AI Mk.VI radar 24 Aircraft Types Arado Ar 23413 101 Avro Manchester 15 Bristol Brigand 111 C hance Vought F-4U Corsair 156 Dassault O uragan 116 de Havilland Mosquito NF36 109 de Havilland Sea Vampire 163 de Havilland Sea Venom 134 Dornier Do 217 44 Douglas Boston (Turbinlire) 24 Douglas 13-26 Invader 97 Douglas A-I Skyraidcr 156 Fairey IrIF 12 Fairey Firefly V 127, 130 Fairey Scafox 12 Fairey Swordfish 26 Fieslcr F-103 V I 53,73 Focke Wulf Fw 190 21, 70 Gloster IV, VI 12 Gloster Meteor 73, 105, 161 Handley Page Hereford 12 Hawker Cygnct 8 Hawker Danecock 8 Hawker Fury 9 Hawker Fury (LWF) 69, 78, 11 8 Hawker Fury II 10 Hawker Fury FB.60 I 17

Hawker Hart 9 Hawker Hector 10, 12 Hawker Hcdgchog 8 Hawker Henley 15 Hawker Heron 8 Hawker I-I ind 10 Hawker HornbiII 8 Hawker Horsley 8 Hawker Hurricane 10, I I, 26 Hawker N imrod II 10 Hawker Sea Fury 78, 11 8, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135, 137, 138, 139, 140, 142,144,1 48,1 50,1 5 1,1 52, 153, 154,1 55,1 56,1 57,1 58,1 59, 160, 161,1 62,1 63,1 70,1 72, 173,1 75 Hawker Sea Fury Mk.X 125, 126, 127, 129, 140, 142, 148 Hawker Sea Fury Mk.11 126, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135, 138, 139, 140, 142, 148, 155, 167, 170, 172, 173, 175 Hawker Sea FuryTT.20 127, 129, 139, 140,1 42,148,1 5 1,1 64,1 70,1 73 Hawker Sea Fury ISS 135 Hawker Sca Fury 1ST 135 Hawker Sea Hawk 163 Hawker Sea Hurricane 28 Hawker Sea Typhoon 28 Hawker Tempest 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 76,78, 79, 80, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89,9 1, 92, 93,94, 95, 96, 97,98,99, 100, ior, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107,1 09, 11 0, 11 5, 11 6, 117, 11 8, 121 , 167, 170 Hawker Tempest I 66, 68, 69 Hawker Tempest II 66,69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 84, 86, 87, 88, 104, 106, 107, 11 0,11 5,1 17,1 68 Hawker Tempest III 66,69 Hawker Tempest IV 66,69 Hawker Tempest V 66, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 76,77 , 78, 85, 87, 92, 107, 112, 167, 168 Hawker Tempest VI 74,84,85,87,88, 107, 11 5 Hawker Tempest TT.5 78, 112, 167, 168 Hawker Tornado 13, 15,1 7,1 8, 19 Hawker Typhoon 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,

789

BAFO I

INDEX

Bay of Pigs Museum 172 Bristol Aircraft Co 73 Boulton, Paul 122 Boyd Trophy IS7 Bristol Centaurus 18, 66, 69, 70, 71 , 73, 77, 85, 106,1 07, 124, 125, 147, 15 1, 154,1 72 Bristol Cen rnu rus IV 66, 71 Bristol Centaurus V 7 I Bristol Centaurus XII 11 8, 122, 123 Bristol Cen ra u rus XVII1/18 121 , 123, 135, 140, 144 Bristol Centaurus XX II 11 8 British Aerospace, Brough 170 Ca lgary Aerospace Museum 172 Camden Museum of Aviation 172 Central Gunnery School 78 Combat Air Patrol (CA P) 157 Combined Operations 107 Cont roller Aircraft C(A) 126 Corncob Furies 173 Cosford Aerospace Museum 168 Critical Mass 173 Cuba 139 de Havilland 7, 18 de Havilland H yd ro rn a ric 34,66 DLB Deutsche Luftfahrt Beratungsdienst 164 Dreadnought 172 Dunlop Ecta 3 1 Duplex No.2 26 Duplex No.3 26 Exercise Castinets 132 Exercise Mariner 133 Fairey Monarch 18 Fighter Collection, The 170 Fighter Command HQ 44 Fighter Interception Unit 24 Fleet Requirements Unit (FRU) 170 Fuc rza A crca Rev o luc io n ar ia 139 G evec htsv liegop le id ing 129

Gloster Aircraft 20, 73 Gold Beach 54 Hawker Aircraft Co. 7 H G Hawker Engineering 7 HMS Courageous 10 HrMS Karel Doorman 129 HMS Furious 10 1-1 MS Glorious 10 HMS Glory 127, 155 HMS Jamaica 132 HMCS Magnificent 130 HMS Ocean 107, Il l , 124, 127 HMAS Sydney 133, 160

HMS T heseus 127,133,155 HMSTrillln/>h 155 HMS Venerable 129 HMS Vengeance 133 HMS V ictorious 123 HMS Warrior 130 Hobson/RAE injector pump 144 HQ 5th Air Force 156 IAF Museum, Palan, New Deh1i 169 Intensive Flying Trials Unit 26 Imperial War Museum 167 Iraqi A ir Force 135 Israeli A ir Force 109 Jet Age Museum 167 Juno Beach 54 Korean War - start of 155 Locat ions Acklington APC 42, 11 2 Aden 109 Antwerp 57 Araxos 132 Arnhem 26, 97 Aston Down 78, 167 Baghdad 136 Banwell 73 Bay of Pigs 139 Bentley Priory 44 Blackbushe 135 Bonn 164 Boscombe Down 26,72,123,164 Bradwell Bay 92 Brize Norton 167 Butt erw orth I 11 C a rb ury Park Road 14 Cardington 168 Castle Camps 92 Chaeryong 16 1 Changi III C h army Down 44 Chateau Ie Caine 54 Chczzc rcook 132 Church Fenton 44 C h in na mpo 156 Chino 168 Chongju 156 Collywcsro n 26 Cologne 164 Covent ry Airport 167 Cranfield 168 C ranswick 44 Dartmouth (RCNAS) 132 Dedelstorf 105 Delft 168 Digby 42, 44 Drc rn 44 Duxford 21

190

Easrchurch 53 Eglinton (RNAS) 127 Ellinkon 132 Farn borough 66 Fassburg 105 Fa yid 107 Filton 18 Ford (RNAS) 24,126,163 Grave 97 H a bbi n a ya 107 Hal Far (RNAS) 127 Han River 16 1 H a rro wbee r 44 H a wki nge 167 H c iju 156 Henl ow 22 High Ercall 42 Ho Do 156 Hong Kong 157 Holbeach 26 H o n ily 25 Hu cclecote 20,73 Hu tton C ra n sw ic k 53 Kemble 78, 167 Khartoum 73, 109 Kingston 123 Kimpo Air Base 161 Lee on Solent (RNAS) 127, 156 Kuala Lumpur 111 Langley 18 Llanbedr 53 Lubeck 164 Malta 135 Malvern 28 Marble Arch 73,74 M a rt lesh a m Heath 8,43 Matlask 43 Mersa Metruh 135 Merston 5 1 Middleton St George 168 Mogadishu 109 Newch urch 92,136 Nice 135 Nicosia 107, 11 0 Nijmcgcn 97 Olympia 9 Pakchang 156 Pas de Calais 96 Q uackcnbruck 105 Quonset Point 130 Ramat David 109 Rockliffc RCAF 130 Ruffortl1 167 San Antonio 13 9 Salisbury 167 Sasebo 158 Shea rwa re r (RCNAS) 130 Shoreham Airport 167 Singapore 160 Sleap Aerodrome 167

INDEX

Stavcrton 18 St M c rryn (R lAS) 129 Tengah III T h ruxr o n 25 Valkcnburg 129 Wallcnsca 97 Wcsthampnett 51 Wittering 42, 70 Woodford 18 Wright Field 167 Wycombe 168 Yeadon I Yula Ri ve r 159 Lufrwaffen Museum Uetersen 164 Michael Bcetham onservation Cent re 168 Mi liraire Lu c hvaart Museum 170 Ministry of Aircraft Production 18, 64 Ministry of Supply 164 Miss Merced 175 Mulberry Harbour 57 M u n srer la n d 50 M usco della R e voluci on 172 Napier Sabre 12, 13, 14, 19. 20, 23,34, 37. 41. 48,5 2,66. 67. 105 Napier Sabre I 13, Napier Sabre II 20, 28,34.66, 74 Napier Sabre V 74, 76,85 N a p ie r Sabre IV 28, 64, 66, 68, 69 Nap ier Sab re VI 85 Nap ier Sabre VIII 69 National Aviation Museum, Rockliffe 172 Naval Air Museum Nowra SW 172 Noballs 52 North Korean Air Force 162 Operation Boden/)larte 60,100 Operation Circus 4 1 Operation Clarion 100 Operation Firedog I I I Operation Intruder 48 Operation Jubilee 43 Operation Market Garden 97 Operation Musketeer 13 1 Operation Ranger 48 Operation Ramrod 4 1 Operation Rhubarb 44 Operation Roadstead 48 O peration Rodeo 48 Operation Strangle 159 Operation Torter 45 Pakistan Air Force Tempests 11 7 People Batista, President 139 Lt. Barlow 159

Wing Cdr Johnny Baldwin 57 Wg Cdr R P Beamont 43,44, 92,9 Lord Beavcrbrook 20 qdn Ldr Joseph Berry 95 F I Ben ne tt 7 AVM Harry Broadbcnt 51 ydney Cam rn 8, 9 Lt Pet er armichacl 162 \XI Ga rter 8 dr E Carver 156 Fidel astro 139 Ge ne ra l haing Kai hck 155 qdn Ldr Colebrook 107 AVM Arthur Conningham 51 Dr Sherman Cooper 175 Sqd n Ldr Dennis Cowley Milling 43, 107 Lt Peter Davies 162 Fit Lt Dawson 43 P.O. J F Deck 41 Fit Sgt Domanski 95 Sub Lt. Brian Ellis 162 V \XI Eyre 7 Sqdn Ldr David Fairbanks 96 Sqd n Ldr Frank Jensen 107 Sub Lt. Carl Haines 162 Sqdn Ldr R P Hanks vl l Lloyd Hamilton 173 H G Hawker 7. 8 W 'Bill' Humble 68 Lt. D PWKelly 157 P.O . Kilpatrick ri Sub Lt. Noel Kn a psren 161 P.O. Lawless 95 P G Lucas 14, 19. 66 Sqd n Ldr Maclntyre 49 W.O. Angus Mackay 106 Sub Lt. Nick MacMillan 161 Sub Lt. MacWilliams 161 R V Morell 124 Frank Murphy 11 8 Howard Pardue 175 Capt . L E Peaty 7 F Sigrist 7 Sqdn Ldr Allan Smith 47 Ken Seth-Smith zz Sir T OM Sopwith 7 Sqdn Ldr Peter Steib 107 Capt B Th omson 7 Sir Hugh Trenchard 8 Mao Tse Tsung ISS Kermit Weeks 168 Guido Zuccoli 172 Planes of Fame Museum 168 Pratt & Whitney R-4360-63 Wasp Major 173 Proof and Experimental Establishment (PEE) 168 RAE 18, 66

191

RAF Museum, Hendon 17 RATOG 125,15 2, 157 Royal Egyptian Air For c RFA Wavc Premier 160 RN Historic Flight 170 Rolls Royce Eagle 77 Rolls Roycc (R-R) Griffon 2 Rolls Royce Vulture 13 Roro l Prop e llers Ltd 18 (Royal) Indian Air Force T,'ml ) 12 R J eth l avy (R Second (2nd) Tactical Air For Sebtem bev Fury I 75

Sim/J/y Magnificent I 72 S kvfa rne M use u m 168 Smithsonian Institution I 7 S no wfla ke 45

Specifications N.21/26 10 E20/l? 10 E7/30 II E5/34 I I E36/34 I I E18/37 13,17 N.I I/40 28 EI O/4 1 28, 64 E2/43 77, 118, 121 . I N.7/43 11 8 N.n/43 II Squadrons Royal Air Force I Sqdn 42 3 Sqdn 48.70,92,I 5 Sqd n 110 6 Sqd n 107 8 Sqdn 107

Sqdn 106 20 Sqdn 11 0 26 Sqd n 106 30 Sqd n 110 33 Sqdn 9, I . I I I 39 Sqd n 109 46 Sqdn II 54 Sqdn 105 56 qdn 21. 22. 4 1, 77 qdn RA F I I 80 Sqdn 97. 105. I 84 qdn II I 137 qdn 52,54, 2 152 qdn 110 164 qdn 52 174 qdn I 18 1 qdn n , 4 I 2 qdn ,4 I qdn 2 , 'I I, I I 4 qdn 2 192 qdn 22

INDEX

193 Sqdn 44, 46, 53 195 Sqdn 44,45,48 197 Sqdn 44 198 Sqdn 44,45 213 Sqdn 107, 110 222 Sqdn 102 245 Sqdn 44,46 247 Sqdn 50, 105 249 Sqdn 107 257 Sqdn 42,45 263 Sqdn 50,52 266 Sqdn 24, 42, 45 268 Sqdn 27 274 Sqdn 96, 101 400 Sqdn 27 438 Sqdn 52 439 Sqdn 52 440 Sqdn 52 486 Sqdn 42,44,70,92 501 Sqdn 96 609 Sqdn 42,44 Fleet Air Arm 700 Sqdn 163 703 Sqdn 163 724 Sqdn 134 736 Sqdn 163 738 Sqdn 163 744 Sqdn 163 751 Sqdn 163 759 Sqdn 129 766 Sqdn 129 771 Sqdn 129 778 Sqdn 126 781 Sqdn 163 782 Sqdn 163 787 Sqdn 163 799 Sqdn 163 800 Sqdn 155 801 Sqdn 127 802Sqdn 127,1 55,1 63 803 Sqdn 130 804 Sqdn 127, 155, 163 805 Sqdn 127,1 33,1 63 807 Sqdn 127,1 55,1 63 808 Sqdn 133,1 63 810 Sqdn 155,1 63 811 Sqdn 163 812 Sqdn 155 825 Sqdn 132 826 Sqdn 132 827 Sqdn 155

828 Sqdn 155 850 Sqdn 134, 163 870 Sqdn 132 880 Sqdn 132 883 Sqdn 130 1830 Sqdn 163 1831 Sqdn 163 1832 Sqdn 127, 163 1833 Sqdn 163 1834 Sqdn 163 1835 Sqdn 163 1836 Sqdn 163 Luftwaffe JG2 6 Schnellkampfge rschwader 10, 45 Indian Air Force 3 Sqdn Ill , 11 5 4 Sqdn 11 5 7 Sqdn 11 6 8 Sqdn Il l , 11 5 9Sqdn 115 10 Sqdn 11 5 Pakistan Air Force 5 Sqdn 116, 138 9Sqdn 116 , 138 14 Sqdn 11 7, 138 Royal Netherlands Navy 3 Sqdn 129 860 Sqdn 129 Royal Canadian Navy VF871 133 VS880 133 VG924 133 Super Chief 175 Sword Beach 54 Svlt A PC 78, 11 2 Tac 'R' 27 Task Force 75, 160 Telecommunications Research Establishment 28 Tiger Force 104 Union of Burma Air Force 132, 134 Units 1 S of IT 167 1st Carrier Group 155 10 Group (Grp ) 45 11 Group (Grp) 45, 52 12 Group (Grp) 43, 45 13 Maintenance Unit (MU) 22

192

13 Operational Training Unit (OTU ) 73 l-lth Carrier Group 155 17th Carrier Group 155 lSth Carrier Group 130 19th Carrier Group 130 1320 Flight (Fit) 28 No.2 Fighter Conversion School 139 2 Group (Grp ) 52 20 Maintenance Unit (MU) 78, 11 2, 167 226 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) 78, 11 2 229 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) 78, 112 233 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) 78, 112 3 T:lCt ical Exercise Unit 25 30th Carrier Air Group 132 3 1st Support Air Group 132 5 Maint enance Unit (MU) 78, 167 6 Maintenance Unit 167 60 Maint enance Unit (MU) 167 83 Group (Grp) 51,57 83 Group Support Unit (GSU) 60 84 Group (Grp) 52,57 85 Group (Grp) 92 RCAF Joint Air School 130 USAA F 167 USS Bataan 158 USS Sioux 158 Vickers 31, 76 Vokes 79 Wing/Airfield 20 Wing 53 36 Wing 53 121 Wing/A irfield 49,54 122 Wing/A irfield 97, 102, 105 123 Wing/Airfield 53,54, 105 124 Wing /Airfield 49, 54, 105 133 Wing/Airfield 102 135 Wing Airfield 105 143 Wing/Airfield 26,52,54 146 Wing/Airfield 53 150 Wing/Airfield 92 324 Wing 109 Wright R-3350 172, 173 Wright Duplex Cyclone Type 'C' 18 Wurzburg 28