Canadian Warplanes 5: Hawker Tempest

Hawker Tempest

(IWM Photo, HU 2173)

The Hawker Tempest Mk. V was Fighter Command's fastest piston-engined aircraft at low and medium altitudes, which made it the weapon of choice against German V-1 flying bombs. This aircraft, seen on a factory test flight in 1944, went on to serve with No. 3 Squadron.

(IWM Photo, ATP 14599B)

Hawker Tempest F Mk. VI (Serial No. NX201), in August 1945. NX201 was delivered to 6 Squadron RAF ("JV-U") at Nicosia, 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)

Hawker Tempest Mk. VI (1), (Serial No. NV999).

RCAF On Strength (1), Canadian Aircraft Losses (7). Detailed records of all known RCAF and Canadian casualties in the RAF during the Second World War may be viewed on line in the Canadian Aircraft Serials Personnel Information Resource (CASPIR). The CASPIR website is researched, coded, maintained entirely by Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (CWHM) volunteers with only one staff assisting periodically. This work has taken several years and is unlikely to be finished as continuing research leads to “new finds” and rediscovered Canadian aviation heritage and history.  The CWHM volunteer team looks forward to continuing to update and correct the record as additional information and photos are received. Check here.

(Roland Turner Photo)

Hawker Tempest Mk. II (Serial No. PR536), coded H-OQ, Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, UK.

Hawker Tempest Mk. II (Serial No. MW376) is under restoration to fly by KF Aerospace, Kelowna, British Columbia.

(IWM Photo, CH 14095)

Hawker Tempest Mk. V (Serial No. JN682), coded JF-Z, of No. 3 Squadron RAF, parked at Newchurch, Kent, as another pair of aircraft takes off to patrol the Normandy beachhead, June 1944.

(RAF Photo)

(RAF Photo)

Hawker Tempest Mk. V, RAF (Serial No. NV596). on a test flight from the Hawker factory Langley, near Slough, on 25 November, 1944. This aircraft went into service with No. 222 Squadron RAF a month later. The aircraft is piloted by William "Bill" Humble, who normally did not wear a helmet.

Although only one was on RCAF strength from 11 Feb 1946 to 18 Feb 1947, seven Canadians were KIA or KIFA while flying the Tempest Mk. V during the Second World War (Serial Nos. EJ588, EJ639, EJ685, EJ788, EJ845, EJ867, and NV943.

(SDA&SM Photo)

Hawker Tempest Mk. V (Serial No. JN802)

(SDA&SM Archives Photo)

Tempest Mk. V prototype with bubble canopy and Mk V tail, but with 20 mm Hispano Mk. II guns.

(IWM Photo, ATP 14599C)

Hawker Tempest Mk. V (Serial No. NX201), ca. November 1944.

(IWM Photo, CH 18814)

Squadron Leader A S Dredge, Officer Commanding No. 3 Squadron, RAF, briefs his pilots for a sweep over the Caen area, on the elevator of a Hawker Tempest Mk. V, coded JF-M, at Newchurch, Kent in the UK. A number of RCAF pilots flew the Tempest with No. 3 Squadron.

(IWM Photo, CH 14088)

Royal Air Force ground crew refuel and re-arm Hawker Tempest Mk. V, coded JF-G, No. 3 Squadron, RAF, by the grass North-South runway at Newchurch, Kent in the UK. On the far side of the runway is the dispersal area of No. 56 Squadron RAF.

(IWM MH 6860)

Hawker Tempest Mk. V (Serial No. EJ705), coded W2-X, No. 80 Squadron RAF, on a dispersal at an airfield in Holland, late 1944

(IWM Photo)

No. 56 Squadron, RAF, with early Mk. Hawker Typhoons in formation,  coded US-Y, US-A, US-C,US-X and US-H, UK, ca 1944.

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