#Hawker tempest code#
Hawker Typhoon MN235 is painted as a 440 Sqn (RCAF) ‘Tiffie’ with the code letters ‘I8-T’. Once the Second World War was over in Europe and the Typhoon’s specialised role was complete, the type disappeared from front-line use in barely a year most were scrapped with no thought given to preserving any for posterity. However, by D-Day the Typhoon was the RAF’s dedicated fighter-bomber aircraft, with 20 operational squadrons available, and it achieved particular fame acting in the close-support role. The Typhoon had a troubled introduction to RAF service from August 1941, with engine failures and the loss of a number of aircraft when the entire tail units broke off in flight. A so-called ‘Bombphoon’ of 440 Sqn (RCAF) in 1945, ‘I8-P’ ‘Pulverizer IV’, loaded with 1,000lb bombs. In a dive it picked up speed very quickly, but was (officially) limited, for stability reasons, to 400mph loaded with bombs or rockets, although it was cleared to 525mph without them. It cruised fast, typically 350mph, with a maximum level speed of around 400mph. The ‘Tiffy’ was something of a ‘beast’ to fly. It was fitted with a massive ‘H’-layout, 24-cylinder Napier Sabre engine, one of the most complex piston engines ever built, with a displacement volume of 36.7 litres and a power output in excess of 2,000hp, with the later versions having an astonishing 3,000hp in reserve (with injection of a mixture of water and ethanol). Loaded for a fight, the Typhoon could weigh up to 13,250lbs, or six tons (6,000kgs). The cockpit is 8 feet (2.4 meters) above the ground.
The Typhoon is a large and imposing aircraft for a single-seat fighter, with a wingspan of 41½ feet (12.65 meters) and a massive three-bladed 14-foot (4.3-meter) diameter propeller. (Some readers may be disappointed to learn that there is no intention to make MN235 airworthy and this is a static exhibit only!) Hawker Typhoon MN235 – the sole surviving, complete, original ‘Tiffie’ in the BBMF hangar. This remarkable survivor has now returned to the UK and will be on display at the BBMF as a static exhibit until the end of September. After being repainted into the representative markings of a Typhoon of 440 Squadron (RCAF) with underwing D-Day invasion stripes and the code letters ‘I8-T’, it was loaned to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Rockliffe, Ottawa in 2014. It was acquired by the RAF Museum in 1968 and after some refurbishment was displayed in the museum at Hendon from 1972 to 2013. In fact it only flew a total of nine hours before being grounded and placed in storage. It never flew with the RAF, but was instead shipped to the USA intended for trials work. MN235 first flew from Hucclecote on 8th February 1944. All but 15 of the total number of Typhoons produced were assembled by the Gloster Aeroplane Co Ltd at Hucclecote, Gloucester. Hawker Typhoon Mk 1B MN235 is the only complete survivor of the 3,317 ‘Tiffies’ built between 19. The world’s sole surviving complete Hawker Typhoon is making a guest appearance in the BBMF hangar at RAF Coningsby for the next two months in a joint project between the Royal Air Force, the RAF Museum and BAE Systems. Header image: Hawker Typhoon Mk 1B MN235 in the BBMF hangar, photographed from the vantage point of the Lancaster cockpit.
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