A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft . It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, whereas bombers and attack aircraft are developed specifically for bombing and attack roles.
157-479: The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber , produced by Hawker Aircraft . It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor , as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane , but several design problems were encountered and it never completely satisfied this requirement. The Typhoon was originally designed to mount twelve .303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns and be powered by
314-592: A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress or 10 five-inch (127 mm) High Velocity Aircraft Rockets . The first pilots to fly the Thunderbolt from England were Americans who had been flying Spitfires in the RAF before the U.S. joined the war. They were not impressed initially; the Thunderbolt lost out to the more nimble Spitfire so consistently in mock dogfights that these encounters were eventually banned. But by November 25, 1943 Thunderbolts had found their true niche, attacking
471-482: A glider , specifically the Weltensegler , which performed its maiden flight in 1921. Its wings, which were externally braced, featured swept-back wingtips with negative incidence relative to the remainder of the main-plane. The Weltensegler also used a unique control system, consisting of a various pulleys and springs connected to a single control stick for the pilot, which warped the wing-tips as directed by
628-467: A " bayonet " aerial under the wing's centre section. A Beam Approach Beacon System ( Rebecca ) transponder unit was fitted in 1944, with the associated aerial appearing under the centre section. Once Typhoons started operating from forward landing grounds in Normandy, it was found that the dust clouds stirred up by propeller wash consisted of over 80 percent of hard, abrasive material which was damaging
785-399: A "Rhubarb" over France. Just as they were crossing the coast at low altitude, Mawson's Typhoon was hit by light flak. He managed to belly-land in a field near Cany-Barville but the aircraft was captured before he could destroy it. The Typhoon was repaired and test flown at Rechlin a German equivalent to RAE Farnborough , and later served as T9+GK with " Zirkus Rosarius ". EJ956 overturned and
942-544: A Luftwaffe airfield at Saint-Omer near Calais, France. On October 13, 1944, a Thunderbolt from 9th Air Force damaged the German Torpedoboot Ausland 38 (formerly the Italian 750 ton torpedo boat Spada) so badly near Trieste with gunfire alone that the ship was scuttled. The Vought F4U Corsair was built around the same Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine as the Thunderbolt, but for
1099-616: A Red Cross flag painted on at least one funnel. The previous day the Captain of the Cap Arcona refused to take any more inmates on board. On return to shore in longboats they were gunned down by Hitler Jugend , SS Guards and German Marines . Of an estimated 14,500 victims in the area two days earlier only 1,450 survived. The Hawker Tempest was a development of the Typhoon using the thin wing with an aerofoil developed by NACA and
1256-685: A Soviet boycott of the United Nations , a vote was carried without Soviet veto, to intervene in support of the South. Most readily available were U.S. and British Commonwealth forces occupying Japan and the Pacific fleets. The first arrivals were fighter-bombers, which helped to repulse the Northern attack on the vital port of Pusan , the last small territory held by the South. Some strategists felt that air and battleship strikes alone could halt
1413-595: A crew of three, and its payload was just 1,200 lb (540 kg) of bombs. The Blenheim suffered disastrous losses over France in 1939 when it encountered Messerschmitt Bf 109s , and light bombers were quickly withdrawn. In contrast, the Vought F4U Corsair fighter —which entered service in December 1942—had in common with its eventual U.S. Navy stablemate, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and
1570-633: A dive bomber almost as fast as the Mustang itself. By April 1943 USAAF Apaches were in Morocco supporting Operation Torch , and they continued bombing trains and gun emplacements northwards through Italy. When Soviet-backed North Korea attacked South Korea on June 25, 1950, their forces quickly routed the South Korean army which lacked tanks, anti-tank and heavy artillery. Its Air Force had 22 planes, none of which were fighters, or jets. During
1727-618: A fighter bomber, where one tried skip-bombing a 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb through the door of Field Marshal Günther von Kluge 's OB West HQ. A Lightning squadron also killed Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto over Bougainville in the Pacific acting on an Ultra intercept. The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a larger, evolutionary development of the P-43/P-44 fighter undertaken after the United States Army Air Forces observed Messerschmitt Bf 109s performing in
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#17327755290751884-805: A flag stuck into a shingle beach. Both WW1 fighter bombers were used with novice and experienced pilots. The best results were achieved with a vertical dive into the wind using the Aldis Sight to align the aircraft. But they were not considered good enough to justify the expected casualty rate. When war broke out in Europe, Western Allied Air Forces employed light twin-engined bombers in the tactical role for low-level attacks. These were found to be extremely vulnerable both to ground fire and to single-engine fighters. The German and Japanese Air Forces had chosen dive bombers which were similarly vulnerable. The Ilyushin Il-2
2041-553: A four-bladed propeller. The new engine and radiator arrangement required substantial modifications to the forward fuselage and engine bearer structures. Although a maximum speed of 452 mph (727 km/h) was claimed by Napier, it was decided that the modifications would not be worthwhile, mainly because of the promising development of the Tempest, and because the disruption to Typhoon production would not be sufficiently outweighed by any benefit achieved. In 1943, one Typhoon, R7881
2198-470: A larger airframe than the nimble Hurricane. At the prototype stage, there were problems with the new engines and stability of the aircraft itself, which led the Minister of Aircraft Production , Lord Beaverbrook to decree that production must focus on Spitfires and Hurricanes. The Typhoon disappointed as a fighter, especially at altitude but found its true niche as a fighter bomber from September 1942. It
2355-793: A last-ditch attempt to destroy Allied planes on the ground in support of the Battle of the Bulge . Allied fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber losses were downplayed, at the time. Seventeen airfields were targeted, of which seven lost many aircraft. The surprise was complete as the few Ultra intercepts had not been understood. At the worst hit, the Canadian base at Eindhoven , 26 Typhoons and 6 Spitfires were destroyed and another 30 Typhoons damaged. In total, 305 aircraft, mostly fighters, and fighter-bombers were destroyed and another 190 damaged. The Luftwaffe lost 143 pilots killed, 71 captured and 20 wounded, making
2512-485: A later version could carry eight rockets or 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) of bombs. The massive, powerful 18-cylinder Double Wasp engine weighed almost a ton—half as much again as the V12 Rolls-Royce Merlin and twice as much as the 9-cylinder Bristol Mercury that powered some heavy fighters . Increased engine power meant that many existing fighter designs could carry useful bomb loads, and adapt to
2669-471: A laterally stabilising dihedral , an uncommon feature for gliders of the era, which spanned roughly 40 percent of the inner wing span. Lippisch had chosen to adopt this configuration for its increased wingtip clearance, as well as the ill-founded belief that it would improve its stability during turns; however, studies have shown that normal gull wing configurations result in significantly less severe and more easily recoverable stalls. Inverted gull wings exhibit
2826-512: A majority of operational Typhoons had the four-bladed propeller and enlarged tailplane. In June 1943, Hawker fitted a Typhoon with four steel "Mark I" rocket rails under each wing. Trials at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A & AEE) and Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) showed that the combination of the RP-3 rocket and the stable, high-speed platform of the Typhoon
2983-537: A more powerful version of the Napier Sabre engine, giving a top speed of 432 miles per hour (695 km/h). At a low level, it was faster than any other Allied or German aircraft, but slower than the Spitfire above 22,000 ft (6,700 m). Fitted with four 20mm cannon it was a formidable fighter, respected even by Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter pilots as their most dangerous opponent. At its debut over
3140-484: A prominent bend in the wing inner section towards the wing root . Its name is derived from the seabirds which it resembles and from the Polish aircraft designer Zygmunt Puławski who started using this design in his planes. Numerous aircraft have incorporated such wings for a diverse range of purposes. The gull wing was commonly used to improve visibility in a high wing arrangement, because such wing could be thinnest by
3297-645: A provision for alternative combinations of weaponry. As well as Hawker, Gloster , Supermarine and Bristol submitted one or more designs each. Two prototypes of both the Type N and R were ordered on 3 March 1938 Camm and his design team started formal development of the designs and construction of prototypes. A contract for 500 Vulture and 500 Sabre engined fighters to F.9/37 was placed with Hawker on 10 July 1939. The official names 'Tornado' and 'Typhoon' were issued in August and December respectively. The basic design of
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#17327755290753454-566: A small tail-fin, triple exhaust stubs and no wheel doors fitted to the centre-section. On 9 May 1940 the prototype had a mid-air structural failure , at the join between the forward fuselage and rear fuselage, just behind the pilot's seat. Philip Lucas could see daylight through the split but instead of bailing out, landed the Typhoon and was later awarded the George Medal . On 15 May 1940, the Minister of Aircraft Production , Lord Beaverbrook , ordered that resources should be concentrated on
3611-488: A specific prescribed role. Engine power grew dramatically during the early period of the war, roughly doubling between 1939 and 1943. The Bristol Blenheim , a typical light bomber of the opening stages of the war, was originally designed in 1934 as a fast civil transport to meet a challenge by Lord Rothermere , owner of the Daily Mail . It had two Bristol Mercury XV radial engines of 920 hp (690 kW) each,
3768-523: A stable aircraft like the Typhoon. But soft targets were simpler. When the 51st Highland Division moved to block German panzers reaching Antwerp in the Battle of the Bulge Tommy Macpherson saw a half-track full of SS soldiers. All were uninjured, powerful men over 6 ft (180 cm) tall. All were dead, killed by the air blast from a Typhoon rocket. The Bristol Beaufighter was a long-range twin-engine heavy fighter derived from
3925-465: A streamlined rectangular "hump", just behind the main radiator fairing and between the inner wheel doors, where the updraught carburettor intake was located. A small, elongated oval static port appeared on the rear starboard fuselage in late 1944. This was apparently used to more accurately measure the aircraft's altitude. One Typhoon, R8694 , was used by Napier for trials with the more powerful Sabre IV, cooled using an annular radiator and driving
4082-547: A target tug role, where it could match the speed of the German bombers whilst towing a drone. In 1934, the British Air Ministry called for a carrier aircraft that could combine the roles of the dive bomber and fighter, to save limited space on small carriers. The Blackburn Skua was not expected to encounter land-based fighters but was to intercept long-range bombers attacking the fleet and also to sink ships. As
4239-472: A threat was turned into a great victory." Another form of attack carried out by Typhoons was "Cloak and Dagger" operations, using intelligence sources to target German HQs. With medium bombers, 42 Typhoons carried out an attack on 10 June against the headquarters of Panzergruppe West wounding the general, killing several staff officers and disrupting a planned counterattack against the Allied forces. One of
4396-502: A transparent structure (later nicknamed "The Coffin Hood"), the pilot's head armour plate was modified to a triangular shape and the side cut-outs were fitted with armoured glass; the first production Typhoon to be fitted with this new structure was R7803 . All earlier aircraft were quickly withdrawn and modified. From early 1942 a rear-view mirror was mounted in a perspex blister moulded into the later "car-door" canopy roofs. This modification
4553-415: A trend of the glider industry during the 1930s, the gull wing remained a staple feature amongst high-performance sailplanes through to the 1950s. The gull wing design found its way into seaplanes by the early 1930s. As engine power increased, so did the need for large propellers that could effectively convert power to thrust. The gull wing allowed designers to ensure adequate propeller tip clearance over
4710-644: A two-seater, it could not fight the Messerschmitt Bf 109 on equal terms. But the second seat carried a radio operator with a homing device that could find the carrier even when it had moved, in foul North Sea weather. It achieved one of the first kills of the war, when three from HMS Ark Royal downed a German Dornier Do 18 flying boat over the North Sea. On April 10, 1940, 16 Skuas operating from RNAS Hatston in Orkney under Commander William Lucy sank
4867-413: A ventilation tube helped alleviate, but did not solve the problem. In addition two small, rear opening vents were added below the port side radio hatch, just below the canopy. A major problem, afflicting early production Typhoons in particular, was a series of structural failures leading to loss of the entire tail sections of some aircraft, mainly during high-speed dives. Eventually a combination of factors
Hawker Typhoon - Misplaced Pages Continue
5024-421: A very fast radial engine fighter over France. First thought to be captured French Curtiss 75 Mohawks , they turned out to be Focke-Wulf Fw 190s , slightly faster and more heavily armed than the current Spitfire V. Kurt Tank had designed the aircraft when the Spitfire and Bf 109 were the fastest fighters flying; he called them racehorses, fast but fragile. As a former World War I cavalryman, Tank chose to design
5181-404: A very high-pitched engine note, which pilots found very fatiguing. The Typhoon did not begin to mature as a reliable aircraft until the end of 1942, when its excellent qualities – seen from the start by S/L Roland Beamont of 609 Squadron – became apparent. Beamont had worked as a Hawker production test pilot while resting from operations, and had stayed with Seth-Smith, having his first flight in
5338-443: A warhorse. With a BMW 801 radial engine , wide-set undercarriage, and two 20mm cannons as well as machine guns it became a better fighter-bomber than either of the pure fighters. By mid-1942, the first of these "Jagdbombers" (literally "fighter" or "hunter" bomber, known for short as "Jabos") was operating over Kent . On October 31, 60 Fw 190s bombed Canterbury with only one aircraft lost, killing 32 civilians and injuring 116, in
5495-499: A whip aerial further back on the rear fuselage. Starting in January 1943, R8809 was used to test a new, clear, one piece sliding "bubble" canopy and its associated new windscreen structure which had slimmer frames which, together with the "cut-down" rear dorsal fairing, provided a far superior all-around field of view to the car-door type. From November 1943 all production aircraft, starting with JR333 , were to be so fitted. However,
5652-517: A wide track of 13 ft 6 + 3 ⁄ 4 in. By contemporary standards, the new design's wing was very "thick", similar to the Hurricane before it. Although the Typhoon was expected to achieve over 400 mph (640 km/h) in level flight at 20,000 ft, the thick wings created a large drag rise and prevented higher speeds than the 410 mph at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) achieved in tests. The climb rate and performance above that level
5809-529: Is a heavily armoured two-seat single-engine ground-attack aircraft. It first flew a month later although few had reached the Soviet Air Force in time for Operation Barbarossa . Naval forces chose both torpedo and dive bombers. None of these could be considered as fighter bombers as they could not combat fighters. During the Battle of Britain , the Luftwaffe conducted fighter-bomber attacks on
5966-546: The Air Ministry and asked what projects Hawker could consider, number two on their list was a single-engined fighter. Two preliminary designs were similar and larger than the Hurricane. These later became known as the "N" and "R" (from the initial of the engine manufacturers), because they were designed for the newly developed Napier Sabre and Rolls-Royce Vulture , engines respectively. Both engines used 24 cylinders and were designed for over 2,000 hp (1,500 kW);
6123-414: The Battle of Britain . It was a massive aircraft built around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine and weighed up to eight tons with ordnance. The P-47 was twice as heavy and had four times the fuselage size of a Spitfire. Armed with eight .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns it could outshoot any enemy fighter, and as a fighter-bomber, it could carry half the bomb load of
6280-664: The Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber but with the 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) Bristol Hercules radial engine to give it a top speed 50 mph (80 km/h) faster. By late 1942 the Beaufighter was also capable of carrying torpedoes or rockets. The main user was RAF Coastal Command although it was also used in the Royal Australian Air Force with some aircraft assembled in Australia and by
6437-572: The German cruiser Königsberg which was tied to a mole in Bergen harbour. The Germans recorded five hits or near misses and as the ship started to sink, electric power failed, dooming the ship. The German cruiser Köln had departed during the night. With the failing of the Hawker Henley and the gradual fading of the Hawker Hurricane 's performance compared to the latest German fighters, it
Hawker Typhoon - Misplaced Pages Continue
6594-615: The Gestapo HQ in Oslo was attacked by four de Havilland Mosquitoes , which had flown over the North Sea below 100 ft (30 m) by dead reckoning navigation from RAF Leuchars , Scotland, carrying four 500 lb (230 kg) bombs each. The next day the RAF unveiled its new fast bomber. On December 31, 1944, the same aircraft was used against the same target, this time from RAF Peterhead in Scotland, flying high and diving onto
6751-590: The Hawker Siddeley group. As a result of good progress by Gloster, the first production Typhoon R7576 was first flown on 27 May 1941 by Michael Daunt , just over three weeks after the second prototype. In 1941, the Spitfire Mk Vs , which equipped the bulk of Fighter Command squadrons, were outclassed by the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and suffered many losses. The Typhoon was rushed into service with Nos. 56 and 609 Squadrons in late 1941, to counter
6908-631: The Normandy Beaches on D-Day +2, Tempests shot down three German fighters, without loss. Tempests supported the ambitious attempt to capture the bridge at Arnhem in Operation Market Garden in mid-September 1944. David C. Fairbanks , an American who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force was the top Tempest ace with 12 victories including an Arado Ar 234 jet bomber. General Henry H. Arnold , Chief of
7065-614: The Normandy landings in June 1944, 2 TAF had eighteen operational squadrons of Typhoon IBs, while RAF Fighter Command had a further nine. The aircraft proved itself to be the most effective RAF tactical strike aircraft, on interdiction raids against communications and transport targets deep in North Western Europe prior to the invasion and in direct support of the Allied ground forces after D-Day. A system of close liaison with
7222-703: The North American F-100 Super Sabre and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II , each of which was widely used during the Vietnam War . An example of a modern purpose-designed fighter bomber is the Sukhoi Su-34 . Gull wing The gull wing, also known as Polish wing or Puławski wing , is an aircraft wing configuration with
7379-696: The North American F-86 Sabre was rushed to Korea to combat the MiG-15s. There is much debate as to which was the better fighter. Recent research suggests a 13-10 advantage to the Sabre against Russian pilots, but the US pilots were mostly WWII veterans whilst the Russians were often “volunteers” with only a few hours aloft. The Australians converted from Mustangs to Gloster Meteor fighter-bombers,
7536-539: The PZL P.11 and Soviet Polikarpov I-15 . The PZL P.11 was a further improvement of the PZL P.7 that was in production throughout the early 1930s. It possessed various cutting-edge features for the era in addition to the high-mounted gull wing, such as its all-metal structure and its metal exterior; according to aviation author Jerzy Cynk, the P.11 was commonly considered to have been the most advanced fighter aircraft of its kind in
7693-590: The Royal Australian Air Force soon also flew across from Japan. Vought F4U Corsairs and Hawker Sea Furys from U.S., British and Australian carriers in the Yellow Sea and later from Korean airfields, also attacked the Pusan perimeter. The Sea Fury, a development of the Hawker Tempest had a Bristol Centaurus engine of 2,480 hp (1,850 kW) giving a 485 mph (781 km/h) top speed, one of
7850-567: The U.S. Navy . Difficulties with carrier landings meant that the first aircraft were used by the United States Marine Corps from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal from February 12, 1943. In its first combat action, the following day over Kahili airfield two Corsairs and eight other aircraft were lost when attacked by 50 Mitsubishi A6M Zeros . This became known as the St Valentine's Day massacre. Despite this initiation
8007-627: The USAAF . Over 30 Beaufighters flying from RAF Dallachy in Scotland from Australian, British, Canadian, and New Zealand squadrons attacked the German destroyer Z33 sheltering in Førde Fjord Norway. They were escorted by only 10 to 12 North American P-51 Mustangs . German destroyers escorted convoys of Swedish iron ore, which in winter were forced to creep along the Atlantic Coast by night, hiding deep inside fjords by day. Z33
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#17327755290758164-514: The United States Army Air Forces , urged the adoption of the Mosquito by the U.S. but was overruled by those who felt that the as yet untried Lockheed P-38 Lightning also twin-engined, could fulfill the same role. Although Lightning got its name from the RAF, the British eventually rejected it. Too slow and cumbersome to match Bf 109s as an escort fighter over Germany, it did fly over Normandy as
8321-569: The light bombers of only a few years earlier. The bomb-equipped aircraft were nicknamed "Bombphoons" and entered service with No. 181 Squadron, formed in September 1942. From September 1943, Typhoons were also armed with four "60 lb" RP-3 rockets under each wing. In October 1943, No. 181 Squadron made the first Typhoon rocket attacks. Although the rocket projectiles were inaccurate and took considerable skill to aim and allow for ballistic drop after firing, "the sheer firepower of just one Typhoon
8478-399: The "Polish Wing". The PZL P.1 led to a production model, the PZL P.7 , of which 149 were produced between 1932 and 1933. The gull wing was used to improve visibility in a high wing arrangement, because such wing could be thinnest by the fuselage, and in theory should limit pilot's view no more than A-pillars of a windscreen in a car body. It was used on multiple fighter aircraft, including
8635-484: The 1,001st production aircraft, EK238 . The new tyres helped to make heavier, bomb-laden Typhoons more manageable during ground manoeuvres. With the introduction of the bomb racks, small extensions were added to the cannon shell case ejector slots. These allowed the casings to drop clear of bombs or drop tanks suspended from the wing racks. Because of the vulnerability of the Typhoon's liquid-cooled engine cooling system to ground fire, some 780 pounds (350 kg) of armour
8792-485: The 1930s, a derivative of the standard design, known as the inverted gull wing , was developed. It was chiefly used on single engine military aircraft with increasingly powerful engines. Before contra-rotating propellers came into use, such powers required larger diameter propellers but clearance between the propeller tip and ground had to be maintained. Long landing gear legs are heavy, bulky, and weaker than their shorter counterparts. The Vought F4U Corsair , designed from
8949-528: The 1950s and 1960s, as new jet engines dramatically improved the power of even the smallest fighter designs. Many aircraft initially designed as fighters or interceptors found themselves in the fighter-bomber role at some point in their career. Notable among these is the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter , first designed as a high-performance day fighter and then adapted to the nuclear strike role for European use. Other U.S. examples include
9106-441: The 2nd TAF was able to field 11 RP ("Rockphoon") Typhoon squadrons and seven "Bombphoon" squadrons. Later in 1944, attempts were made to increase the firepower by "double banking" rockets on each rail, enabling the Typhoon to carry 16 rockets. The problems involved in operating Typhoons from 2nd TAF airstrips meant that this was not much used, although some Typhoons did fly operationally with 12 rockets, using double-banked rockets on
9263-454: The 9th USAAF. During the course of the battle, pilots of the 2nd Tactical Air Force and 9th USAAF claimed to have destroyed a combined total of 252 tanks. Only 177 German tanks and assault guns participated in the battle and only 46 were lost – of which nine were verified as destroyed by Typhoons, four percent of the total claimed. However, after-action studies at the time were based on random sampling of wrecks rather than exhaustive surveys, and
9420-701: The Allied airborne crossing of the Rhine that involved two full divisions of 16,600 troops and 1,770 gliders sent across the river. On 3 May 1945, the Cap Arcona , the SS ; Thielbek , and the Deutschland , large passenger ships in peacetime now in military service, were sunk in four attacks by RAF Hawker Typhoon 1Bs of No. 83 Group RAF , 2nd Tactical Air Force : the first by 184 Squadron , second by 198 Squadron led by Wing Commander John Robert Baldwin ,
9577-479: The British "Operational Research Section 2" analysts could confirm only ten out of the 456 knocked out German AFVs found in the area were attributable to Typhoons using rocket projectiles. At Mortain , in the Falaise pocket , a German counter-attack ( Operation Luttich ) that started on 7 August threatened Patton 's break-out from the beachhead; this counter-attack was repulsed by 2nd Tactical Air Force Typhoons and
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#17327755290759734-642: The British Isles were shot down by Typhoons in August 1942. During a daylight raid by the Luftwaffe on London on 20 January 1943, four Messerschmitt Bf 109G-4s and one Fw 190A-4 of JG 26 were destroyed by Typhoons. As soon as the aircraft entered service, it was apparent the profile of the Typhoon resembled a Fw 190 from some angles, which caused more than one friendly fire incident involving Allied anti-aircraft units and other fighters. This led to Typhoons first being marked up with all-white noses, and later with high visibility black and white stripes under
9891-418: The Corsair soon proved to be an effective fighter bomber, mostly flown by the Marine Corps, but also by the United States Navy , Fleet Air Arm and Royal New Zealand Air Force in the Pacific theater. When the British Purchasing Commission invited James H. Kindelberger , President of North American Aviation , to assemble the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk in an underutilized plant, he promised a better fighter on
10048-492: The French and Belgian coasts, targeting mostly oil and gas works. Losses were heavy, often more than the numbers of enemy fighters destroyed. By May 1942 Hurricane IICs with 40-imperial-gallon (180 L) drop tanks were intruding at night over France. On the night of May 4–5, Czech pilot Karel Kuttelwascher flying from RAF Tangmere with No 1 Squadron shot down three Dornier Do 17s as they slowed to land at Saint-André-de-Bohon after raiding England. On September 25, 1942,
10205-417: The Fw 190. This decision proved to be a disaster, as several Typhoons were lost for unknown reasons and the Air Ministry began to consider halting production of the type. In August 1942, Hawker's second test pilot, Ken Seth-Smith, while deputising for Lucas, carried out a straight and level speed test from Hawker's test centre at Langley, and the aircraft broke up over Thorpe, killing the pilot. Sydney Camm and
10362-410: The German formations while the US 9th Air Force prevented German fighters from intervening. Dwight D. Eisenhower , the Supreme Allied Commander, said of the Typhoons; "The chief credit in smashing the enemy's spearhead, however, must go to the rocket-firing Typhoon aircraft of the Second Tactical Air Force ... The result of the strafing was that the enemy attack was effectively brought to a halt, and
10519-463: The Germans, only 10 were found to be due to rocket-firing Typhoons. At Mortain, where the German counter-offensive Operation Lüttich came within 2 miles (3.2 km) of cutting through US forces to Avranches , Typhoons destroyed 9 of 46 tanks lost but were more effective against unarmoured vehicles and troops and cause the armoured vehicles to seek cover. General Dwight D. Eisenhower , the Supreme Allied Commander, said "The chief credit in smashing
10676-403: The Ju 87. These wings, which comprised conventional Junkers double-wing construction, reportedly gave the Ju 87 a considerable advantage over its contemporaries during take-off; relatively large lift forces were created through the aerofoil even when flown at a shallow angle, reducing take-off and landing runs. They also provided a high level of ground visibility to the pilot, as well as enabling
10833-400: The Mosquito I am yellow and green with envy. (The British) have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops.” Initially used for high-level photo-reconnaissance, the Mosquito was adapted to precision bombing, night fighter, and fighter bomber roles. It was built in Canada and Australia as well as the UK. Fitted with a British Army Ordnance QF 6 pounder (57 mm) gun it could sink U-boats found on
10990-410: The Polish aircraft designer Zygmunt Puławski developed the PZL P.1 , an experimental fighter aircraft ; a major innovation of the PZL P.1 was its relatively high-mounted gull wing. Seeking to protect his new wing arrangement, Puławski filed for an associated patent for this wing arrangement during the following year. The arrangement devised by Puławski has been referred to as the "Puławski Wing" or
11147-434: The Polish aviation designer Zygmunt Puławski developed a range of fighter aircraft during the late 1920s and early 1930s; in particular, the PZL P.11 , which possessed various cutting-edge features for the era in addition to its high-mounted gull wing, has been described as being the most advanced fighter aircraft of its kind in the world upon its introduction. The PZL P.11 served as Poland's primary fighter aircraft during
11304-414: The Sabre engines. The sleeve valves in particular were subject to excessive wear and it was calculated that engines would last for three take-offs. As a result, a "dome deflector" was designed and manufactured at great speed by Napier, and within a week most Typhoons had been fitted with it. In operational service these mushroom-shaped air filters , which became red hot, had a propensity for being blown off
11461-432: The Typhoon was a combination of traditional Hawker construction, as used in the earlier Hawker Hurricane, and more modern construction techniques; the front fuselage structure, from the engine mountings to the rear of the cockpit, was made up of bolted and welded duralumin or steel tubes covered with skin panels, while the rear fuselage was a flush-riveted, semi- monocoque structure. The forward fuselage and cockpit skinning
11618-560: The Typhoon was equipped with bombs, these bomb-carrying aircraft being nicknamed "Bomphoon" by the press. From late 1943 RP-3 rockets were added to its armoury. With those weapons and its four 20 mm Hispano autocannon, the Typhoon became one of the Second World War's most successful ground-attack aircraft . Even as Hurricane production began in March 1937, Sydney Camm embarked on designing its successor. Camm had contacted
11775-434: The Typhoon was modified and updated regularly, so that a 1945 production example looked quite different from one built in 1941. In the last months of the war, a number of older aircraft were taken out of storage and overhauled, sometimes seeing active service for the first time; for example, R7771 was from one of the first production batches, built in 1942 with the car-door canopy and other early production features. This Typhoon
11932-488: The Typhoon when carrying 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs. Problems were experienced with oil seal leaks from the new propeller unit and a growing number of Typhoons were held in Maintenance Units (MUs) awaiting the arrival of new seals from the U.S. Some 200 Typhoons were manufactured with the new Tempest tails and the three-bladed propeller. A modification programme was inaugurated but it took several months before
12089-430: The Typhoon's role changed from a low-level interceptor fighter to a fighter bomber. Racks capable of carrying 500-pound (230 kg) bombs were fitted to the wings from October 1942 and were first used operationally by 181 Squadron . By mid-1943, all Typhoons off the production line were capable of carrying bombs. Bigger, solid rubber, grooved "anti-shimmy" tail wheel tyres were introduced in March 1943 on all Typhoons from
12246-654: The United Kingdom from September to December 1940. A larger fighter-bomber campaign was conducted against the UK from March 1942 until June 1943. These operations were successful in tying down Allied resources at a relatively low cost to the Luftwaffe, but the British Government regarded the campaign as a nuisance given the small scale of the individual raids. In August 1941, RAF pilots reported encountering
12403-470: The air intake at high speed whenever a Sabre engine backfired. They were soon replaced by drum-shaped filters designed by the RAE and Vokes. These had " cuckoo clock " doors in front, which swung open with the pressure changes caused by engine backfires. This standardised filter became Typhoon Mod.420. At the end of June 1944, a decision was taken to fit tropical air filters as standard, similar to those fitted to
12560-510: The aircraft at that time. During late 1942 and early 1943, the Typhoon squadrons were based on airfields near the south and south-east coasts of England and, alongside two squadrons with the Griffon-engined Spitfire XII , countered the Luftwaffe ' s "tip and run" low-level nuisance raids, shooting down a score or more bomb-carrying Fw 190s. Typhoon squadrons kept at least one pair of aircraft on standing patrols over
12717-434: The attack had been brought to a standstill by 13:00 "due to the employment of fighter-bombers by the enemy, and the absence of our own air-support". The 20 mm cannon also destroyed a large number of (unarmoured) support vehicles, laden with fuel and ammunition for the armoured vehicles. On 10 July at Mortain, flying in support of the US 30th Infantry Division, Typhoons flew 294 sorties in the afternoon that day. They engaged
12874-473: The building. In February 1941 the Mosquito with two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and a streamlined wooden fuselage achieved 392 mph (631 km/h), 30 mph (48 km/h) faster than the current Spitfire. It was used on all kinds of missions, including silencing Hermann Göring 's Berlin Nazi anniversary broadcast on January 20, 1943, leading him to tell Erhard Milch, Air Inspector General that “when I see
13031-613: The car-door canopy. From early 1943 the wings were plumbed and adapted to carry cylindrical 45 imp gal (200 L; 54 US gal) drop tanks , increasing the Typhoon's range from 690 nautical miles (1,280 km) to up to 1,090 nautical miles (2,020 km). This enabled Typhoons to range deep into France, the Netherlands and Belgium. Some units, such as 609 Squadron and 198 Squadron , were able to achieve notable success in air combat and ground attack operations using these long-range Typhoons. As production continued,
13188-401: The complex modifications required to the fuselage and a long lead time for new components to reach the production line meant that it took some time before the new canopy became standard. In order to have as many Typhoons of 2nd TAF fitted before " Operation Overlord " as possible, conversion kits were produced and used by Gloster, Hawker and Cunliffe-Owen to modify older Typhoons still fitted with
13345-608: The construction of 1,000 of the new fighters. It was felt that the Vulture engine was more promising, so the order covered 500 Tornadoes and 250 Typhoons, with the balance to be decided once the two had been compared. It was also decided that because Hawker was concentrating on Hurricane production, the Tornado would be built by Avro and Gloster would build the Typhoons at Hucclecote . Avro and Gloster were aircraft companies within
13502-461: The degree of overclaim attributed to Typhoon pilots as a result was statistically improbable in view of the far lower known level of overclaim by Allied pilots in air-to-air combat, where claims were if anything more likely to be mistaken. Allied and German witness accounts of Typhoon attacks on German armour indicate that RPs did kill tanks with fair probability. Horst Weber, an SS panzergrenadier serving with Kampfgruppe Knaust south of Arnhem in
13659-529: The design team immediately ruled out pilot error, which had been suspected in earlier crashes. Investigation revealed that the elevator mass-balance had torn away from the fuselage structure. Intense flutter developed, the structure failed and the tail broke away. Modification 286 to the structure and the control runs partially solved the structural problem. (The 1940 Philip Lucas test flight incident had been due to an unrelated failing.) Mod 286, which involved fastening external fishplates, or reinforcing plates, around
13816-481: The design, they did not think the wing would be stiff enough. In March 1938, Hawker received the complete Specification F.18/37 and invitation to tender for a fighter which would be able to achieve at least 400 mph (640 km/h) at 15,000 feet (4,600 m), a ceiling of not less than 35,000 ft and specified a British engine with a two-speed supercharger . The armament fitted was to be twelve .303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 500 rounds per gun, with
13973-509: The difference between the two was primarily in the arrangement of the cylinders – an H-block in the Sabre, and an X-block in the Vulture. Hawker submitted these preliminary designs in July 1937, but were advised by the Director of Technical Development to wait until a formal specification for a new fighter to replace the Spitfire and Hurricane was issued. He also cautioned that while they liked
14130-432: The end of the Typhoon's life there were more tail failures, this time caused by a change to the undercarriage latch mechanism in late 1944; in high-speed flight the undercarriage fairings were pulled into the slipstream, creating an uneven airflow over the elevators and rudder resulting in tailplane and then rear fuselage structural failure. In total 25 aircraft were lost and 23 pilots killed due to tail failures. The Typhoon
14287-488: The enemy's spearhead, however, must go to the rocket-firing Typhoon aircraft of the Second Tactical Air Force . The result of the strafing was that the enemy attack was effectively brought to a halt, and a threat was turned into a great victory". The disparity between claims and actual destruction at about 25-1 owed much to the difficulty of hitting a fast-moving tank with an unguided rocket, even from
14444-489: The fastest piston-engined aircraft ever built. Initially, United Nations air forces using piston-engined fighter-bombers and straight wing jet fighters easily drove the North Koreans out of the sky and so disrupted logistics and hence the attack on Pusan. All changed when the Soviet Air Force intervened with swept-wing Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s flown by Russian pilots on November 1. The planes had Korean markings and
14601-577: The fighter-bomber role, especially where longer ranges were needed for naval strikes. Examples include the Lockheed P-38 Lightning , the Bristol Beaufighter (developed from a torpedo bomber ), and de Havilland Mosquito (developed from an unarmed fast bomber). The Beaufighter MkV had a Boulton-Paul turret with four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns mounted aft of the cockpit but only two were built. Bristol's Blenheim
14758-580: The fighter-bomber role. Notable examples include the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 , Hawker Typhoon and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt . Various bombing tactics and techniques could also be used: some designs were intended for high-level bombing , others for the low-level semi-horizontal bombing, or even for low-level steep dive bombing as exemplified by the Blackburn Skua and North American A-36 Apache . Larger twin-engined aircraft were also used in
14915-457: The first Allied jet fighter of WWII but no match for a MiG-15. It was pressed into combat but after four were lost when the squadron was bounced by 40 Mig-15s, reverted to ground attack, carrying 16 60 lb (27 kg) rockets. Although Meteors shot down 6 MiG-15s, 30 were lost, but mainly to ground fire. Both Corsairs and Sea Furies also shot down MiG-15s, but were vulnerable to the faster jet. Fighter-bombers became increasingly important in
15072-466: The fuselage at the transport joint. Starting in September 1942, a steel strap was fitted internally across the rear fuselage transport joint, although this was soon superseded by Mod 286 (modification number 286), in which 20 alloy "fishplates" were riveted externally across the rear fuselage transport joint, while internally some of the rear fuselage frames were strengthened. This was a permanent measure designed to stop rear fuselage structural failures and
15229-603: The fuselage, and in theory should limit pilot's view no more than A-pillars of a windscreen in a car body. Gliders were the first aircraft to feature the gull wing, starting with the Weltensegler in 1921; it was not until the record-breaking Fafnir at the end of that decade did the configuration gain popularity. Beyond becoming popular for the next three decades amongst high-performance gliders, various ground-based aircraft and flying boats also adopted various forms of gull wings. It rose to particular prominence in Poland, where
15386-414: The ground troops was set up by the RAF and army: RAF radio operators in vehicles equipped with VHF radio telegraphy (R/T) travelled with the troops close to the front line and called up Typhoons operating in a " cab rank ", which attacked the targets, marked for them by smoke shells fired by mortar or artillery, until they were destroyed. Against some of Germany's heavier tanks, the rockets needed to hit
15543-418: The increased load, it was decided that the extra take-off performance conferred by a four-bladed propeller was an advantage. This led to the adoption of a four-bladed propeller unit (de Havilland or Rotol ) from early 1944. Coinciding with the new propeller, it was also decided that the larger tailplanes of the Hawker Tempest were to be fitted when tests showed that they improved the handling characteristics of
15700-501: The inner rails. When extra range was required, Typhoons could also operate carrying a drop tank and two rockets outboard of the tank under each wing. From December 1944, aluminium "Mark III" rails, which weighed 240 pounds (110 kg) per set, replaced the steel Mk Is, which weighed 480 pounds (220 kg). In late 1943, Mk III IFF replaced the Mk I and the tailplane tip to fuselage Identification friend or foe (IFF) aerials were replaced by
15857-411: The inner wings incorporated two fuel tanks; the "main" tanks, housed in a bay outboard and to the rear of the main undercarriage bays, had a capacity of 40 imperial gallons (180 L); while the "nose" tanks, built into the wing leading edges, forward of the main spar, had a capacity of 37 imperial gallons (170 L) each. Also incorporated into the inner wings were inward-retracting landing gear with
16014-640: The invasion. USAF North American F-82 Twin Mustangs had the range to reach the front line from Japanese bases. The last piston-engined aircraft, produced in the U.S., it looked like two Mustangs, with two pilots in separate fuselages, bolted together. Initially intended to escort bombers over Japan from remote Pacific island bases, hence its long-range, it missed WWII and first saw action in Korea. Plain North American P-51 Mustangs of
16171-751: The jets of its main British and US opponents, which used the older Rolls-Royce Derwent design. Only the Navy Grumman F9F Panther used a version of the Nene and could match the MiG-15, accounting for seven during November. Daylight heavy bomber raids over North Korea ceased and the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and its all-weather variant the Lockheed F-94 Starfire were focused on bombing missions whilst
16328-736: The largest raid since the Blitz . Flying at sea level, under the radar, these raids were hard to intercept. The Jabos reached the Eastern Front in time to bomb Russian positions in Stalingrad . By July 1943 Fw 190s were replacing the vulnerable Stukas over the Battle of Kursk : although winning the air war, they were unable to prevent subsequent Red Army advances. On New Year's Day 1945 in Operation Bodenplatte , over 1,000 aircraft (including more than 600 Fw 190s) launched
16485-418: The later stages of Operation Market Garden , recalled that, during a battle with British 43rd Wessex Division on 23 September 1944, "We had four Tiger tanks and three Panther tanks ... We were convinced that we would gain another victory here, that we would smash the enemy forces. But then Typhoons dropped these rockets on our tanks and shot all seven to bits. And we cried... We would see two black dots in
16642-504: The latest 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) engines. Its service introduction in mid-1941 was plagued with problems and for several months the aircraft faced a doubtful future. When the Luftwaffe brought the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 into service in 1941, the Typhoon was the only RAF fighter capable of catching it at low altitudes; as a result it secured a new role as a low-altitude interceptor. The Typhoon became established in roles such as night-time intruder and long-range fighter. From late 1942
16799-633: The massive, seven-ton USAAF Republic P-47 Thunderbolt —a single Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine of 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) in a much smaller, simpler and less expensive single-seat aircraft, and was the first aircraft design to ever fly with the Double Wasp engine in May 1940. With less airframe and crew to lift, the Corsair's ordnance load was either four High Velocity Aircraft Rockets or 2,000 lb (910 kg) of bombs;
16956-471: The mid to late 1930s, while its further development, the PZL P.24 , served in the air forces of several countries and was a major success of the Polish aircraft industry. Various flying boats , such as the Short Knuckleduster , Dornier Do 26 , and PBM Mariner , also adopted the gull wing configuration, primarily as it enabled the engines to be positioned higher above the water. A variant of
17113-546: The most effective of these was carried out on 24 October 1944, when 146 Typhoon Wing attacked a building in Dordrecht , where senior members of the German 15th Army staff were meeting; 17 staff officers and 36 other officers were killed and the operations of the 15th Army were adversely affected for some time afterwards. On 24 March 1945, over 400 Typhoons were sent on several sorties each, to suppress German anti-aircraft guns and Wehrmacht resistance to Operation Varsity ,
17270-553: The most successful Allied aircraft of the First World War with 1,294 enemy aircraft downed, was losing its edge by 1918, especially over 12,000 ft (3,700 m). During the final German offensive in March 1918, it dropped 25 lb (11 kg) Cooper bombs on advancing columns: whilst puny by later standards, the four fragmentation bombs carried by a Camel could cause serious injuries to exposed troops. Pilot casualties were also high. The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 .
17427-432: The onset as a carrier-based fighter, not only had the largest propeller of any U.S. fighter, but was also expected to face rough landings aboard a pitching carrier deck. By adopting the inverted gull wing, the landing gear could be shorter and allowed to retract straight back (while twisting through 90º to place the mainwheels atop the lower gear strut ends) , the latter factor improving internal wing space. The anhedral of
17584-612: The opposite stall behaviour, but both normal and inverted gull wings impede lift-to-drag ratio and climb performance. The performance demonstrated by Fafnir, such as a 220 km (140 mi) flight between the Wasserkuppe and Magdeburg in late August 1930 that established a new world record, quickly encouraged numerous aircraft designers to perform their own investigations into the gull wing. Accordingly, numerous other gliders, as well as other platforms, would soon feature broadly similar wing configurations as well. Having become
17741-411: The outer sections, attached just outboard of the undercarriage legs, had a dihedral of 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 °. The airfoil was a NACA 22 wing section , with a thickness-to-chord ratio of 19.5% at the root tapering to 12% at the tip. The wing possessed great structural strength, provided plenty of room for fuel tanks and a heavy armament, while allowing the aircraft to be a steady gun platform. Each of
17898-461: The pilot. This unorthodox method relied upon the incidence changing with the increase and release of tension, and was also expected to confer increased stability in pitch and roll by automatic changes in wing-tip incidence; however, it gave no direct control over the wing-tips. The flying career of the Weltensegler was very brief, it being destroyed during the 1921 Rhön gliding competition after
18055-553: The pilots had been taught a few Korean words, in a thin sham that the USSR was not fighting. The MiG-15 used captured German swept wing technology and tools and British jet engines, 25 of which had been a gift from Stafford Cripps the president of the Board of Trade and were quickly copied. Josef Stalin remarked “What fool will sell us his secrets?” The MiG's Rolls-Royce Nene had 5,000 lbf (2,300 kgf) thrust, twice as much as
18212-590: The production of five main aircraft types: the Spitfire and Hurricane fighters and the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley , Vickers Wellington and Bristol Blenheim bombers. As a result, development of the Typhoon was slowed, production plans were postponed and test flying continued at a reduced rate. As a result of the delays the second prototype, P5216 , first flew on 3 May 1941: P5216 carried an armament of four belt-fed 20 mm (0.79 in) Hispano Mk II cannon, with 140 rounds per gun and
18369-563: The same time the port (left) cockpit doors were sealed. The Pilot's Notes for the Typhoon recommended that "Unless Mod. No. 239 has been embodied it is most important that oxygen be used at all times as a precaution against carbon monoxide poisoning ." Despite the modifications, the problem was never entirely solved, and the standard procedure throughout the war was for Typhoon pilots to use oxygen from engine start-up to engine shut down. In addition to carbon monoxide seepage, pilots were experiencing unpleasantly high cockpit temperatures; eventually
18526-610: The same timing. The resulting North American P-51 Mustang powered by a Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin engine became the outstanding long-range fighter of the war. When Lend-lease funding for the RAF Mustangs was exhausted, Kindleberger tried to interest the USAAC but no funds were available for a fighter; instead, the Mustang was fitted with dive brakes and emerged as the North American A-36 Apache ,
18683-479: The sky and that always meant rockets. Then the rockets would hit the tanks which would burn. The soldiers would come out all burnt and screaming with pain." The effect on the morale of German troops caught up in a Typhoon RP and cannon attack was decisive, with many tanks and vehicles being abandoned, in spite of superficial damage, such that, at Mortain, a signal from the German Army's Chief of Staff stated that
18840-582: The south coast, with another pair kept at "readiness" (ready to take off within two minutes) throughout daylight hours. These sections of Typhoons flew at 500 feet (150 m) or lower, with enough height to spot and then intercept the incoming enemy fighter-bombers . The Typhoon finally proved itself in this role; for example, while flying patrols against these low-level raids, 486 (NZ) Squadron claimed 20 fighter-bombers, plus three bombers shot down, between mid-October 1942 and mid-July 1943. The first two Messerschmitt Me 210 fighter-bombers to be destroyed over
18997-541: The standard configuration, the inverted gull wing , has been used on numerous fighters to facilitate the use of shorter landing gear and to provide sufficient ground clearance for their propellers. The most distinctive feature of the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka , a German ground attack aircraft used during the Second World War , is probably its inverted gull wing configuration. The gull wing was first implemented on
19154-416: The surface. On April 9, 1945, three were sunk en route to Norway, and in the following month, Mosquitos sank two more. The Hawker Typhoon was being designed as a replacement for the Hurricane in March 1937 before production had even started. The reason was to take advantage of the new 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) engines then being planned, either the Napier Sabre or Rolls-Royce Vulture which required
19311-429: The tail of the aircraft, and eventually internal strengthening, was only a partial remedy, and there were still failures right up to the end of the Typhoon's service life. The Sabre engine was also a constant source of problems, notably in colder weather, when it was very difficult to start, and it suffered problems with wear of its sleeve valves , with consequently high oil consumption. The 24-cylinder engine also produced
19468-412: The term fighter-bomber has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial warfare . Modern aircraft with similar duties are now typically called multirole combat aircraft or strike fighters . Prior to World War II , general limitations in available engine and aeronautical technology required that each proposed military aircraft have its design tailored to
19625-407: The thin-walled engine compartment or the tracks to have any chance of destroying or disabling the tank. Analysis of destroyed tanks after the Normandy battle showed a hit-rate for the air-fired rockets of only 4%. In Operation Goodwood (18–21 July), the 2nd Tactical Air Force claimed 257 tanks destroyed. A total of 222 were claimed by Typhoon pilots using rocket projectiles. Once the area was secured,
19782-419: The third by 263 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Martin T. S. Rumbold and the fourth by 197 Squadron led by Squadron Leader K. J. Harding. The top-scoring Typhoon ace was Group Captain J. R. Baldwin (609 Squadron and Commanding Officer 198 Squadron, 146 (Typhoon) Wing and 123 (Typhoon) Wing), who claimed 15 aircraft shot down from 1942 to 1944. Some 246 Axis aircraft were claimed by Typhoon pilots during
19939-502: The three Typhoons which had been sent to North Africa in 1943. One thousand sets of the filters were to be manufactured and fitted to front line Typhoons as Mod. 421. It was estimated that these could be fitted to all Typhoons on the production lines by the end of September. Research shows that late Typhoons starting in the RB--- series were fitted with the filters, as were some rebuilt aircraft from earlier production batches. Mod. 421 appeared as
20096-429: The war. 3,317 Typhoons were built, almost all by Gloster. Hawker developed what was originally an improved Typhoon II , but the differences between it and the Mk I were so great that it was effectively a different aircraft, and was renamed the Hawker Tempest . Once the war in Europe was over Typhoons were quickly removed from front-line squadrons; by October 1945 the Typhoon was no longer in operational use, with many of
20253-413: The wartime Typhoon units such as 198 Squadron being either disbanded or renumbered. By 1943, with its change of role to ground attack, the Typhoon was constantly operating over enemy territory: inevitably some flyable examples fell into German hands. The first Typhoon to be flown by the Luftwaffe was EJ956 SA-I of 486 (NZ) Sqn. On 23 March 1943, two aircraft flown by F/O Smith and F/S Mawson were on
20410-407: The water by placing the engines on the highest point of the wing. The alternative was placing the engine on a pylon. The first flying boat to utilize the gull wing configuration may have been the Short Knuckleduster , which first flew in 1933. The Dornier Do 26 , a high-speed airliner and transport platform, of which six aircraft were built, made its first flight during 1938. The configuration
20567-469: The wing failed during a sharp spiralling dive at excessive speed, resulting in the death of Willy Leusch, the Weltensegler's company test pilot. Following the Weltensegler's tragic loss, the gull wing was avoided by the majority of aircraft designers for almost a whole decade. During 1930, Alexander Lippisch 's record-breaking Fafnir represented a high-profile comeback for the gull wing, which contributed to its resurgence shortly thereafter. Fafnir featured
20724-422: The wing's center-section also permitted the wing and fuselage to meet at the optimum angle for minimizing drag , without using wing root fairings or other measures. Another reason for having an inverted gull wing is to permit clearance for a large external bomb load, as on the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka . The inverted gull wing has been described by aviation author Manfred Griehl as being the most distinctive feature of
20881-469: The wings, a precursor of the markings applied to all Allied aircraft on D-Day. By 1943, the RAF needed a ground attack fighter more than a "pure" fighter and the Typhoon was suited to the role (and less-suited to the pure fighter role than competing aircraft such as the Spitfire Mk IX). The powerful engine allowed the aircraft to carry a load of up to two 1,000 pounds (450 kg) bombs, equal to
21038-478: The world upon its introduction. The P.11 served as Poland's primary fighter aircraft during the mid to late 1930s, participating in the Polish campaign of 1939 to resist an invasion by neighbouring Nazi Germany . As a consequence of the rapid aeronautical advances made during the late 1930s, the P.11 was outclassed by newer fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 at the onset of the conflict. Examples: During
21195-518: The worst one-day loss in its history; it never recovered. The Bristol Blenheim and Douglas A-20 Havoc (which the RAF called Boston) were used as night fighters during the Blitz , as they could carry the heavy early airborne radars. The Hawker Henley , a two-seat version of the Battle of Britain -winning Hawker Hurricane , was designed as a dive bomber. It might have proved to be a capable fighter-bomber but overheating of its Rolls-Royce Merlin engine in this installation led to its relegation to
21352-448: Was added, lining the sides and bottom of the cockpit and engine compartments, as well as the radiator bath. With the added weight of the bombs and armour, bigger brake discs were fitted to the main wheels. At first this only applied to "Bombphoons", but eventually all Typhoons used these brakes. After tests conducted in 1943, it was determined that the Typhoon was capable of carrying a 1,000-pound (450 kg) bomb under each wing. With
21509-558: Was also considered disappointing. When the Typhoon was dived at speeds of over 500 mph (800 km/h), the drag rise caused buffeting and trim changes. These compressibility problems led to Camm designing the Typhoon II, later known as the Tempest , which used much thinner wings with a laminar flow airfoil. The first flight of the first Typhoon prototype, P5212 , made by Hawker's Chief test Pilot Philip Lucas from Langley ,
21666-562: Was also used on the US Navy 's PBM Mariner and P5M Marlin maritime patrol aircraft . The emergence of long range, land-based jets in the 1950s and the subsequent demise of the seaplane prevented widespread use of the gull wing, although it was still used in some post-war designs, like Beriev Be-12 Chaika (the name means 'gull' in Russian). Examples: During the late 1920s, the gull wing design found its way into landplanes. In 1928,
21823-489: Was converted to a prototype night fighter (N.F. Mk. IB), fitted with aircraft interception radar (A.I.) equipment, a special night-flying cockpit and other modifications. Also in 1943, five Typhoons were modified to "Tropical" standard by fitting of an air filter in a fairing behind the main radiator housing. Three underwent trials in Egypt with No. 451 Squadron RAAF , during 1943. Fighter-bomber Although still used,
21980-653: Was damaged and February 9, 1945, became known as Black Friday . Typhoons were involved in one of the worst tragedies at the end of the war when four squadrons attacked the luxury liners SS Deutschland and the SS Cap Arcona and two smaller ships SS Athen and SS Thielbek moored off Neustadt in Lübeck Bay The Cap Arcona had 4,500 concentration camp inmates and the Thielbek another 2,800 as well as SS Guards. The Deutschland had
22137-458: Was delayed until 24 February 1940 because problems with the development of the Sabre engine meant a flight engine did not arrive until December 1939. Although unarmed for its first flights, P5212 later carried twelve .303 in (7.7 mm) Brownings , set in groups of six in each outer wing panel; this was the armament fitted to the first 110 Typhoons, known as the Typhoon IA. P5212 also had
22294-651: Was delivered to, and served on the Fighter Interception Unit in 1942. In February 1945 R7771 was listed as being in front line service on 182 Sqn. ; by then it was fitted with a clear-view "bubble" hood, rocket rails and other late series features. The first problem encountered with the Typhoon after its entry into service was the seepage of carbon monoxide fumes into the cockpit. In an attempt to alleviate this, longer exhaust stubs were fitted in November 1941 ("Mod [modification] 239"), and at about
22451-620: Was equivalent to a destroyer's broadside". By the end of 1943, eighteen rocket-equipped Typhoon squadrons formed the basis of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2nd TAF) ground attack arm in Europe. In theory, the rocket rails and bomb-racks were interchangeable; in practice, to simplify supply, some 2nd TAF Typhoon squadrons (such as 198 Squadron) used the rockets only, while other squadrons were armed exclusively with bombs (this also allowed individual units to more finely hone their skills with their assigned weapons). By
22608-487: Was even pushed into service as a fighter during the Battle of Britain but it was not fast enough. Equipped with an early Airborne Interception (AI) radar set, however, it proved to be an effective night fighter. The first single-seat fighters to drop bombs were on the Western Front , when fighter patrols were issued with bombs and ordered to drop them at random if they met no German fighters. The Sopwith Camel ,
22765-406: Was first produced with forward-opening "car door" style cockpit doors (complete with wind-down windows), with a transparent "roof" hinged to open to the left. The first 162 Typhoons featured a built-up metal-skinned dorsal fairing behind the pilot's armoured headrest; the mast for the radio aerial protruded through the fairing. From mid- to late 1941 the solid metal aft dorsal fairing was replaced with
22922-491: Was fitted with racks to carry two 500 lb (230 kg) and then two 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs. By September 1943 it was fitted with eight RP-3 rockets each with a 60 lb (27 kg) warhead, equivalent to the power of a naval destroyer's broadside. Claims of German tanks destroyed by rocket-armed Typhoons in Normandy after D-Day were exaggerated. In Operation Goodwood , the attempt by British and Canadian forces to surround Caen of 75 tanks recorded as lost by
23079-508: Was identified, including harmonic vibration, which could quickly lead to metal fatigue, and a weak transport joint just forward of the horizontal tail unit. The loss of the tailplane of R7692 (having only 11 hours of flight recorded) on 11 August 1942, in the hands of an experienced test pilot (Seth-Smith), caused a major reassessment which concluded that the failure of the bracket holding the elevator mass balance bell crank linkage had allowed unrestrained flutter which led to structural failure of
23236-566: Was intended to have two machine guns jutting through the cockpit floor so as to spray trenches with bullets as it passed low overhead. But this did not work and it was fitted with four Cooper bombs, instead. It was ordered in very large numbers, but most were canceled after the Armistice . In February and April 1918 the Royal Flying Corps conducted bombing tests at Orfordness , Suffolk dropping dummy bombs at various dive angles at
23393-425: Was introduced on the production line from the 820th aircraft; between December 1942 and March 1943, all Typhoons without Mod 286 were taken out of service and modified. Modified balance weight assemblies were fitted from May 1943. Finally the entire unit was replaced with a redesigned assembly from August 1944. Although these modifications reduced the numbers of Typhoons being lost due to tail assembly failure, towards
23550-413: Was made up of large, removable duralumin panels, allowing easy external access to the engine and engine accessories and most of the important hydraulic and electrical equipment. The wing had a span of 41 feet 7 inches (12.67 m), with a wing area of 279 sq ft (25.9 m). It was designed with a small amount of inverted gull wing bend; the inner sections had a 1° anhedral , while
23707-516: Was modified to carry four 20mm cannon and two 500 lb (230 kg) bombs; once bombs were jettisoned the aircraft could put up a reasonable fight. Inevitably the type became known in the RAF as the “Hurribomber”, reaching squadrons in June 1941. It was soon found that it was hardly possible to hit fast-moving Panzers in the Western Desert , with bombs and cannon fire-making little impact on their armour. Daylight bombing raids were made on
23864-415: Was moored close to the vertical cliffside of the fjords so Beaufighters had to attack singly with rockets without the normal tactic of having simultaneous attacks by other Beaufighters firing cannon at the numerous flak gunners. Twelve Focke-Wulf Fw 190s surprised the Mustangs and Norway's biggest ever air battle was soon raging. Nine Beaufighters and one Mustang were lost as were five Fw 190s. The destroyer
24021-416: Was not very successful, because the mirror was subject to vibration. Despite the new canopy structure, the pilot's visibility was still restricted by the heavy frames and the clutter of equipment under the rear canopy; from August 1943, as an interim measure, pending the introduction of the new "bubble" canopy and cut-down dorsal fairing, the aerial mast and its associated bracing was removed and replaced with
24178-498: Was promising. Carrying the eight rails and rockets, it was found that the top speed was reduced by 38 mph (61 km/h), with no adverse handling effects. As a result, the Mk I rails and RP-3s were first fitted to production aircraft of 181 Squadron in October 1943. At first attempts were made to arm Typhoons with either bombs or rockets depending on requirements but it was soon decided that squadrons would specialise. By D-Day ,
24335-587: Was the prototype of the Typhoon IB series. Specification F.9/37 had been modified to include cannon armament as progress with the Westland Whirlwind cannon fighter (to F.37/35) and Boulton Paul 's twin-engined turret fighter (F.11/37) with cannon was slow. In the interim between construction of the first and second prototypes, the Air Ministry had given Hawker an instruction to proceed with
24492-474: Was used in the same role. The Royal Flying Corps received the first purpose-built fighter-bomber just as the war was ending. It was not called a fighter bomber at the time, but a Trench Fighter as that was what it was designed to attack. The Sopwith Salamander was based on the Sopwith Snipe fighter but had armour plating in the nose to protect the pilot and fuel system from ground fire. Originally it
24649-487: Was written off during a forced landing near Meckelfeld, on 10 August 1944. On 14 February 1944, another Typhoon was captured and later flown in Zirkus Rosarius. JP548 of 174 Squadron force landed after engine failure near Blois, France; the pilot, F/O Proddow, evaded capture. This Typhoon crashed at Reinsehlen on 29 July 1944, killing Feldwebel Gold. As was usual with many front line Second World War RAF aircraft,
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