The Hawker Tempest was a WW2 fighter aircraft, which was in service with the British RAF from January 1944 to November 1949. Armed with four 20-mm cannons and two 454-kg bombs, it was also used in the ground-attack/tank-buster role. Very maneuverable and reliable, it was the fastest fighter aircraft used by the RAF in World War II. It was developed from the Hawker Typhoon, which had already seen combat action in 1942. However, the Tempest had a different wing design and a more powerful engine than its predecessor. It became famous for intercepting and shooting down the German V-1 flying bombs.
The prototype of the Hawker Tempest made its maiden flight on September 2, 1942. It was powered by one Napier Sabre IV piston engine, which generated 2,100 horsepower. It had the radiators and the oil coolers located in the wing to reduce drag. After more than two years of flight tests, it was finally introduced into service with the RAF on January 20, 1944, as the Hawker Tempest Mk V. A total of 1,710 Tempest combat planes would be made, with the Mk VI version being the most massively produced. Most Royal Air Force pilots stated that the new fighter was a very maneuverable, safe, and easy to handle aircraft. It was superior in speed and maneuverability to the German Messerschmidt Bf 109.
A week before D-Day, in late May and early June 1944, a squadron of Hawker Tempest aircraft flew in over French and Belgium territory. They attacked German airfields, command posts, radar installations, and coastal shipping with guns and bombs. In the few air dogfights that took place during these incursions, the Tempest reigned supreme, showing faster speed and higher maneuverability over their German counterparts. In the following weeks after D-Day, together with the Typhoon, it would contribute to ensure air supremacy in the skies over Europe.
Below, the first version of the aircraft; the Mark V, banking left in early 1944.
Technical Characteristics
The Hawker Tempest was a single-seat, single-engine monoplane, which was made with an all-metal fuselage. It was fitted with cantilever, low wing, which was broad, mounted with a slight dihedral angle. The tailplane was of the conventional type, with the vertical fin having a large rudder. The cockpit was small, with a single-piece bubble canopy, which could be jettisoned, while the windshield was bullet-proof. The cockpit was also fitted with an armor plate set up right behind the pilot's seat. Its retractable landing gear folded up inwardly into the belly of fuselage.
Specifications (Mk V)
Type: fighter aircraft
Length: 10.26 m (34 feet)
Wing Span: 12.50 m (41 feet)
Wing Area: 28.06 m2 (302 square feet)
Height: 4.90 m (16 feet)
Power Plant: one 2,366-HP, Bristol Centaurus Mk V, 24-cylinder, piston engine.
Maximum Speed: 686 km/h (425 mph)
Range: 1,191 km (740 miles)
Service Ceiling: 11,125 m (36,500 feet)
Crew: one
Armament: four 20-mm Hispano Mark II cannons; two 454-kg (1,000-lb) bombs.
Below, the prototype of the Tempest, with its identification number HM599, flying over England during tests.
A color picture of the Tempest Mk V in flight.
Below, a Tempest Mk VI on a British airbase in England in 1945.
