In response to
Specification F.18137, design of the Hawker Typhoon was initiated by
Sydney Camm in 1937. The Specification required a Rolls-Royce Vulture
or Napier Sabre engine, so two prototypes were built initially, that
with the Vulture known as the Hawker Tornado. The Sabre-engined
version, designated Hawker Typhoon, also encountered powerplant
problems. However, these were overcome because the Napier company
could devote more time and effort to development of the Sabre, whereas
Rolls-Royce was too concerned with the Merlin to devote adequate
resources to improving the troublesome Vulture.
It is an accepted
maxim for successful aircraft development that future requirements
should always be the principal concern of the chief designer and his
project design team. The company which allows itself to become wholly
preoccupied with the development of an established design may produce,
as a result, an outstanding aeroplane, but the policy is a
shortsighted one if no new prototype is following to consolidate this
success. Thus, the fact that Sydney Camm, Hawker Aircraft's chief
designer, was at work on a new fighter as a potential replacement for
the Hurricane as early as 1937, when the first production aircraft of
that type had still to fly, reflected no lack of confidence in the
Hurricane's potentialities but the natural desire to ensure that its
service successor would be a product of the same stable.
This massive new
fighter, the heaviest and most powerful single-seat single-engined
warplane envisaged at the time of its design, was to suffer a long
gestatory period. It was to be pressed into operational service before
it was fully developed and, in consequence, acquire a worse reputation
among its pilots than that of any fighter preceding it. It was fated
to be rarely employed in the interceptor role for which it was
originally conceived. Yet, despite its vicissitudes, it was to blossom
into one of the most formidable weapons evolved during the Second
World War; a close-support fighter that was to turn the scales in many
land battles and upset many conceptions of land warfare.
In January 1938,
barely two months after the debut of the first production Hurricane
Hawker Aircraft received details of specification F.18/37, calling for
a large single-seat fighter offering a performance at least 20 per
cent higher than that of the Hurricane and achieving this with the aid
of one of two 24-cylinder engines in the 2,000 hp class then under
development (the Napier Sabre "H" type and the Rolls-Royce Vulture "X"
type). Sydney Camm had commenced investigating the possibilities of
just such a fighter in March 1937, and had already roughed out a
design built around the Napier Sabre engine and housing twelve 7.7 mm
(0.303 in) Browning guns with 400 rounds per gun in its 40 foot wings.
At the proposal of the Air Ministry, Camm also prepared studies for an
alternative version of his fighter powered by the Rolls-Royce Vulture
engine, and increased the ammunition capacity of both machines to 500
rounds per gun.
Further
discussions over military loads and equipment followed, and revised
tenders were submitted to Throughout 1938 the Air Ministry at the
beginning of 1938 for both the Type "N" and the Type "R", as the
alternative Sabre and Vulture powered fighters had become known. These
tenders were formally accepted on April 22, 1938, and four months
later, on August 30, two prototypes of each fighter were ordered.
Structurally both types were similar: the wings were all-metal, the
front fuselage was of steel tubing, and the aft section consisted of a
stressed-skin, flush-riveted monocoque; the first Hawker designs to
employ this form of construction. Uniformity between the two fighters
was, in fact, achieved to a remarkable degree, but the designs did
differ in one important respect initially, the Vulture-powered fighter
made use of a ventral radiator while the Sabre-driven machine had one
of "chin" type.
Construction of
the two massive fighters proceeded in parallel, and work progressed
simultaneously on the preparation of production drawings. As a result
of the slightly more advanced development status of the Vulture engine
which had been designed along more conventional lines than the Sabre,
the Type "R" was the first of the two fighters into the air, flying in
October 1939. Named appropriately enough Tornado, the initial flight
trials of the prototype were promising, and a production order for
1,000 Tornados was placed at the beginning of November, it being
proposed that the new fighter should be built both by Hawker and by A.
V. Roe at Woodford. However, the flight test program soon began to run
into trouble. Compressibility effects, about which little was known at
that time, began to manifest themselves, and it was decided that the
ventral radiator bath was unsuitable for the speeds approaching 400
mph that were being achieved for the first time. The radiator was,
therefore, moved forward to the nose, a position already selected for
that of the Type "N", by now dubbed Typhoon; but the first prototype
Tornado (P5219) only flew long enough to indicate the beneficial
results of the change before it was totally destroyed.
Meanwhile, on
December 30, 1939, the first Napier Sabre engine had been delivered to
Hawker Aircraft, and the first prototype Typhoon (P5212) emerged from
the experimental shop to fly on February 24, 1940. It too became the
subject of a quantity production order which, it was planned, should
become the responsibility of Gloster Aircraft, whose assembly lines
were emptying of Gladiator biplanes and whose design office was
already immersed in the development of the Gloster Meteor, the first
British turbojet-driven aircraft. Although, like those of the Tornado,
the first flights of the Typhoon prototype indicated a promising
fighter, the machine proving relatively easy to fly at high speeds,
its low speed qualities left much to be desired, and it had a marked
tendency to swing to starboard during take-off. The "X" form of the
Tornado's Vulture engine had not permitted installation above the
front spar as was the Typhoon's Sabre and, in consequence, the overall
length of the former was 32 ft. 6 in. as compared with the 31 ft. 10
in. of the latter. Owing to the size and weight of the Sabre and the
need to preserve center of gravity balance, the Typhoon's engine was
fitted so close to the leading edge of the wing that severe vibration
was experienced as the slipstream buffeted the thick wing roots. On an
early test flight the stressed-skin covering began to tear away from
its rivets, and the Typhoon's pilot, Philip G. Lucas, only just
succeeded in bringing the prototype in to a landing.
Apart from
structural teething troubles, the Sabre engine, although a compact and
exquisite power plant, called for a considerable amount of
development, and it was perhaps fortunate for the future of the
Typhoon that, in May 1940, the grave war situation led to the
cancellation of all priority for Typhoon and Tornado development in
order to allow every effort to be put into the production of sorely
needed Hurricanes. Design development was allowed to continue,
however, and during 1940 three alternative engine installations were
proposed for the Tornado (Fairey Monarch, the Wright Duplex Cyclone,
and the Bristol Centaurus) and experimental drawings for the Centaurus
installation were completed. Development on the Typhoon included the
design of a modified wing containing two 20 mm Hispano cannon in place
of the six 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Brownings, the construction of an
experimental set of wings containing a total of six cannon, and the
initiation of a design study of a Typhoon variant with thinner wings
of reduced area and lower profile drag. This latter study was later to
arouse interest at the Air Ministry and eventually result in the
Tempest. However, by October 1940 enthusiasm had been revived and
production of the Tornado and Typhoon reinstated, production
deliveries of both being scheduled for the following year.
The Tornado
weighed 8,200 lbs empty and 10,580 lbs loaded. Its maximum speed was
425 mph at 23,000 feet. A. V. Roe had prepared a production line at
Woodford, and the first production Tornado (R7936) was delivered early
in 1941. But this was fated to be the only production Tornado, for
difficulties with the Vulture resulted in the decision to remove this
power plant from the aero-engine development program, this decision
also canceling production of the Tornado. However, in February 1941,
Hawker's received a contract to convert a Tornado to take a Bristol
Centaurus radial engine. Among the modifications required were a new
center fuselage and engine mounting. The new prototype (HG641) was
assembled from Tornado production components and flown for the first
time on October 23, 1941. The first Centaurus installation had an
exhaust collector ring forward of the engine from which a single
external exhaust stack pipe led back under the root of the port wing.
This arrangement soon proved unsatisfactory, so the oil-cooler duct
was enlarged and led forward to the nose, while twin exhaust pipes led
back from the front collector ring through this fairing to eject under
the belly of the fuselage. A level speed of 421 mph was attained with
the Centaurus-Tornado, and this was slightly higher than that
attainable by the Sabre-powered Typhoon, but the Typhoon airframe
could not be adapted to take the radial engine. The second prototype
Tornado (P5224) had, in the meantime, been completed, and the sole
production Tornado (R7936) later played a useful role as a test-bed
for deHavilland and Rotol contraprops.
The first
production Typhoon IA (R7082) with the 2,200 hp. Sabre IIA engine was
completed by Gloster and flown on May 26, 1941. Production of this
version, with its twelve Browning guns, was in limited quantity, and
those built were used principally for the development of operational
techniques. But the cannon-armed Typhoon IB was following closely on
the heels of the Mark IA, and the Air Ministry was pressing for its
rapid service introduction to counter the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Nos.
56 and 609 Squadrons based at Duxford began to receive their Typhoons
in September 1941, before the fighter was fully developed, and these
squadrons were forced to take on part of the onus of unearthing the
new machine's numerous faults.
The decision to
use the Typhoon before it was adequately developed for operational use
was ultimately justified by the results, but the price of its
premature introduction was high. In the first nine months of its
service life far more Typhoons were lost through structural or engine
troubles than were lost in combat, and between July and September 1942
it was estimated that at least one Typhoon failed to return from each
sortie owing to one or other of its defects. Trouble was experienced
in power dives--a structural failure in the tail assembly sometimes
resulted in this component parting company with the rest of the
airframe. In fact, during the Dieppe operations in August 1942, when
the first official mention of the Typhoon was made, fighters of this
type bounced a formation of Fw 190s south of Le Treport, diving out of
the sun and damaging three of the German fighters, but two of the
Typhoons did not pull out of their dive owing to structural failures
in their tail assemblies.
Despite this
inauspicious start to its service career and the unenviable reputation
that the Typhoon had gained, operations continued and the accident
rate declined as the engine teething troubles were eradicated,
although the tail failures took longer to solve, despite immediate
strengthening and stiffening as soon as the trouble manifested itself.
In November 1942 No. 609 Squadron, led by Wing Commander Roland
Beamont, was moved to Manston in an attempt to combat the near daily
hip-and-run raids which were being made by Fw 190s and could rarely be
intercepted by Spitfires. The Typhoon enjoyed almost immediate
success. The first two Messerschmitt Me 210 fighter bombers to be
destroyed over the British Isles fell to the guns of Typhoons, and
during the last comparatively ambitious daylight raid by the Luftwaffe
on London, on January 20, 1943, five Fw 190s were destroyed by
Typhoons.
On November 17,
1942, Wing-Commander Beaumont had flown a Typhoon on its first night
intrusion over Occupied France and, subsequently, the fighter was
employed increasingly for offensive duties, strafing enemy airfields,
ships and railway transport. The success of the Typhoon in the
ground-attack role led to trials with two 250 lbs or two 500 lbs bombs
which were carried on underwing racks. This load was later increased
to two l,000 lbs bombs, but the Typhoon was not to find its true
element until it was adapted to carry airborne rocket
projectiles--four under each wing. By D-Day, in June 1944, the R.A.F.
had twenty-six operational squadrons of Typhoon IBs. Without its
underwing load the Typhoon IB weighed 11,300 lbs; and with two 500 lbs
bombs and the necessary racks, 12,400 lbs. Maximum speed was 398 mph
at 8,500 feet and 417 mph at 20,500 feet, and an altitude of 20,000
feet could be attained in 7.6 minutes. Between the prototype and
production stages several design changes had been made. These included
the re-design of the fin and rudder, the redisposition of the wheel
fairings and the introduction of a clear-view fairing behind the
cockpit. On the first few Typhoon IAs the solid rear fairing was
retained; later a transparent fairing was fitted, but this was
abandoned in favor of the first sliding " bubble " hood to be used by
an operational fighter.
The Typhoon IB, by
now affectionately known as the "Tiffy", distinguished itself
particularly in the Battle of Normandy, where it decimated a large
concentration of armour ahead of Avranches, disposing of no fewer than
137 tanks, and opening the way for the liberation of France and
Belgium. For use in the tactical reconnaissance role, the Typhoon
F.R.IB was developed early in 1945. In this version the two inboard
cannon were removed and three F.24 cameras were carried in their
place. One Typhoon was also converted as a prototype night fighter,
with A.I. equipment, special night-flying cockpit and other
modifications. Production of the Typhoon, which was entirely the
responsibility of Gloster Aircraft, totalled 3,330 machines.
A Typhoon Mk IB in the process of being re-armed
Characteristics
The earlier
Typhoon was plagued with both airframe and engine problems, it was
towards the end of 1942 that these problems were rectified. The
Typhoon still had a poor rate of climb, but it was found at lower
altitudes to be very fast (426 mph) at 18,000 ft. By the end of 1942
it was discovered that the potential was in the aircraft’s ability to
function as a very effective fighter bomber and proved effective
against trains, tanks, shipping, German Communications especially when
equipped with rocket projectiles. The claims by 124 wing 2nd Tactical
Air Force are indicative of the potential of the Typhoon’s role as a
fighter bomber between June 1944 and January 1945, while operating
from bases inside Germany and Holland destroyed 115 tanks, 3 armoured
cars, 494 motor vehicles and damaged 292 more vehicles. The Tempest
Mk-V1’s which were a modified Mk-V speed trials took place 9 May 1944
this particular model attained a speed of 452 mph at 19,600 ft. but in
September reached a speed of 462 mph. The complex design in the engine
caused major headaches for the ground when it came to maintenance and
repairs. Compared to the Hurricane and the Spitfire the cockpit was
roomy, the noise from this large engine was almost unbearable and the
engine fumes deadly. One was required to wear an oxygen mask at all
times during starting, ground checks, taxiing and while in flight. It
is suspect that several accidents, which killed some pilots, were
caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Pilots
Wing Commander
Roland P. Beamont C.B.E. D.S.O. & Bar, D.F.C.& Bar D.L., F.R. Ae.s.
Personally destroying 32 V-1’s. Under the command of “BEE”Beamont, 150
Wing based in Mewchurch destroyed 632.V-1’s, this became a real art as
they found the most effective range and the most dangerous was to
close to 200 yards before opening fire, the results usually resulted
in having to fly through pieces of the exploding V-1 quite often
causing the fabric to burn off of the control surfaces of the
aircraft. Prior to flying the Tempest, Wing Cdr. Beamont flew the
Hurricane in the daytime air defense of France, and also became an ace
in the Battle of Britain. After the war he was the Chief Test Pilot
for the British Aircraft Corporation. Of which he was to play a
significant role in the introduction of the
Canberra,Lighting,TSR2,Jaguar and the Tornado.
There were 53 V-1 aces during this conflict representing the
nationalities of the following countries Britain, New Zealand, U.S.A.,
and Belgium.
The highest scoring were:
Confirmed scores
Sqn Ldr. J.Berry - British 61½
Sqn Ldr. R.van Lierde - Belian 40
Wng Cdr. R.P. Beamont - British 32
Sqn Ldr. A.E Umbers - New Zealand 28
Flt Lt. R.B.Cole - British 21 2/3
Flt Lt. A.R. Moore - British 21 ½
Fg Off. R.H Calpperton - British 21
Sqn Ldr. R. Dryland - British 21
Flt Lt. O.D. Eagleson - New Zealand 21
Fg Off. R.G Cammock - New Zealand 20 ½
Plt Off. K.G. Slade Betts - British 20
These are just a few of the Tempest aces responsible for destroying so
many V-1’s during freezing rainy winter nights. Night after night
these courageous and skilful pilots challenged themselves against the
weather and in ill equipped single engine fighters, knowing that they
officially were expendable.
Specifications (Hawker Typhoon Mk IB)
Type:
Single Seat Fighter Bomber
Design:
Sydney Camm
Manufacturer:
Hawker Aircraft Limited, also built by the Gloster Aircraft Company.
Powerplant:
(Mk IB) One 2,180 hp (1626 kW) Napier Sabre II 24-cylinder flat-H
sleeve valve, liquid cooled engine. A 2,200 hp (1641 kW) Sabre IIB or
2260 hp (1685 kW) Sabre IIC 24-cylinder H-type engine was also used.
(Mk IA prototype) One 2,100 hp (1566 kW) Napier Sabre I 24-cylinder
H-type engine. (Mk IA production) One 2,200 hp (1641 kW) Napier Sabre
IIA 24-cylinder H-type engine. Production was limited to 105 aircraft.
Performance:
Maximum speed 412 mph (664 km/h); initial climb rate 3,000 ft (914
m) per minute; service ceiling 35,200 ft (10730 m).
Range: 510
miles (821 km) on internal fuel with full loadout (bombs). 980 miles
(1577 km) with external drop tanks.
Weight:
Empty 8,800 lbs (3992 kg) with a loaded take-off weight of 13,250 lbs
(6010 kg).
Dimensions:
Span 41 ft 7 in (12.67 m); length 31 ft 11 1/2 in (9.74 m); height 15
ft 4 in (4.67 m); wing area 279.0 sq ft (25.92 sq m).
Armament:
(Mk IB) Four 20 mm Hispano cannon in outer wings and racks for eight
rockets or two 500 lbs (227 kg) bombs. Later aircraft could carry up
to 1,000 lbs (454 kg) of bombs. (Mk IA) Twelve 7.7 mm (0.303 in)
Browning machine guns.
Variants:
Typhoon Mk IA (machine guns), Typhoon Mk IB (cannons), Typhoon NF.Mk
IB (night fighter), Typhoon FR.Mk IB (tactical reconnaissance).
Avionics:
None.
History:
First flight (Tornado) October 1939; (Typhoon) 24 February 1940;
(production Typhoon) 27 May 1941; final delivery November 1945.
Operators:
RCAF, New Zealand, RAF.