Canadian Warplanes 5: Hawker Tempest Mk. VI
Hawker Tempest Mk. VI
(IWM Photo, ATP14599B)
Royal Air Force Hawker Tempest F Mk VI (serial NX201), in August 1945. NX201 was delivered to 6 Squadron RAF ("JV-U") at Nikosia, Cyprus, in 1947 and served in the Middle East until 1949.
The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the Typhoon II, was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to address the Typhoon's unexpected deterioration in performance at high altitude by replacing its wing with a thinner laminar flow design. Since it had diverged considerably from the Typhoon, it was renamed Tempest. The Tempest emerged as one of the most powerful fighters of World War II and was the fastest single-engine propeller-driven aircraft of the war at low altitude.
Upon entering service in 1944, the Tempest was used as a low-level interceptor, particularly against the V-1 flying bomb threat, and as a ground attack platform, in which it supported major events such as Operation Market Garden. Later, it successfully targeted the rail infrastructure in Germany and Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground, as well as countering such attacks by German fighters. The Tempest was effective in the low-level interception role, including against newly developed jet-propelled aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Me 262.
The further-developed Tempest II did not enter service until after the end of hostilities. It had several improvements, including being tropicalised for combat against Japan in South-East Asia as part of the Commonwealth Tiger Force.
The Tempest was a single engine fighter aircraft that excelled at low-level flight. In service, its primary role soon developed into performing "armed reconnaissance" operations, often deep behind enemy lines. The Tempest was particularly well suited to the role because of its high speed at low to medium altitudes, its long range when equipped with two 45-gallon drop tanks, the good firepower of the four 20mm cannon and the good pilot visibility. The three-piece windscreen and side windows of the Tempest had directly benefited from examination of captured Focke-Wulf Fw 190s, improvements included the careful design and positioning of the frame structure, blind spots being reduced to an absolute minimum. It had a bullet-resistant centre panel made up of two layers, the outer 1.5 in (38 mm) thick and the inner 0.25 in (6.5 mm). (Wikipedia)
Various engineering refinements that had gone into the Tempest II were incorporated into the last Tempest variant, designated as the Tempest VI. This variant was furnished with a Napier Sabre V engine with 2,340 hp (1,740 kW). The more powerful Sabre V required a bigger radiator which displaced the oil cooler and carburettor air intake from the radiator's centre; air for the carburettor was drawn through intakes on the leading edge of the inner wings, while the oil cooler was located behind the radiator. Most Tempest Mk. VIs were tropicalised, the main feature of this process being an air filter which was fitted in a fairing on the lower centre section.
Other changes included the strengthening of the rear spar and the inclusion of spring tabs, which granted the variant superior handling performance. The original Tempest V prototype, HM595, was extensively modified to serve as the Tempest VI prototype. On 9 May 1944, HM595 made its first flight after its rebuild, flown by Bill Humble. In December 1944, HM595 was dispatched to Khartoum, Sudan to conduct a series of tropical trials. During 1945, two more Tempest V aircraft, EJ841 and JN750, were converted to the Tempest VI standard in order to participate in service trials at RAF Boscombe Down.
At one point, 250 Tempest VIs were on order for the RAF; however, the end of the war led to many aircraft programs being cut back intensively, leading to only 142 aircraft being completed. For a long time, it was thought there were Tempest VIs that had been converted for target towing purposes; however, none of the service histories of the aircraft show such conversions and no supporting photographic evidence has been found. The Tempest VI was the last piston-engined fighter in operational service with the RAF, having been superseded by jet propelled aircraft. (Wikipedia)
Hawker Tempest Mk. VI (1), (Serial No. NV999). Single-seat RAF fighter with Sabre V engine (2,340 hp), 142 built. One was flown in Canada by the RCAF's Winter Experimental Establishment (WEE) Fight, for cold weather testing. Tempest NV999 flown by WEE, was the fourth production Mk.VI. Externally, it was similar to the Mk. V except for the additional radiators in the inboard leading edges of the wings and the tropical air filter beneath the centre-section, immediately aft of the radiator fairing 'chin'. This was the only Tempest in Canada. NV999 crashed in white-out conditions on a WEE flight trip. (RCAF)
