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113-483: The camp was built in 1937 as accommodation for workers building the barracks at the nearby Westlager ("Western Camp") of Truppenübungsplatz Bergen ("Military Training Area Bergen"). In September 1939 the huts were fenced in and designated Stalag XI-B . The first prisoners to arrive were Poles in late 1939, followed by French and Belgians the following year. By the end of 1940 around 40,000 POW were registered there, although only about 2,500 of these were housed at

226-455: 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

339-400: 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

452-518: A choice, to be captured to the Russians or the British. Ostman provided Deans with a pass and a German guard, and Deans headed west to contact the advancing British troops. On 1 May Deans and his guard were sheltering in a house east of Lauenberg when they heard over the radio the news of the death of Adolf Hitler . The next morning the house was overrun by troops of the British 6th Airborne . Deans

565-623: 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

678-555: 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

791-477: A guard of Airborne troops, impeccably attired and led by RSM Lord. Post-war Stalag XI-B was used by the British as an Internment Camp for members of the Nazi Party . It then served as an accommodation centre for German refugees and displaced persons . Eventually the camp was demolished, and a housing estate now occupies most of the area, with the only surviving structure being the delousing hut. Fallingbostel

904-634: A large British military garrison for the 7th Armoured Brigade (the Desert Rats) which was part of the British Forces Germany . Opposite this barracks is the village of Belsen which gave its name to the nearby Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in the Second World War . The current German commandant of Bergen-Hohne Training Area, Colonel Gerd Ahrens, is also responsible for Munster Training Area . He also has command of

1017-514: 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

1130-654: A number of areas of marsh known in German as a Moor . In the northern part of the training area is the small Wittenmoor. Just beyond its eastern boundary is the larger Großes Moor, in the south is the Ostenholz Moor and on the southern boundary the Bannetzer Moor which adjoins the Meißendorf Lakes . The remaining areas consist of woodland. Outside of and flowing parallel to the northwestern edge of

1243-710: A planned counterattack against the Allied forces. One of 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 ,

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1356-650: 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

1469-406: 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 the aircraft at that time. During late 1942 and early 1943, the Typhoon squadrons were based on airfields near

1582-583: 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 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

1695-461: 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,

1808-466: 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

1921-450: 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

2034-415: 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

2147-520: 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

2260-810: Is a small lake, the Meiersee, through which the Meierbach stream flows in a southwesterly direction. The central and southern parts of the training area are drained by this stream (which passes the Sieben Steinhäuser ) and the Hohe Bach , both northeastern tributaries of the Meiße. Its southeastern part is drained by the Liehlbach (a northern tributary of the Meiße), along which several ponds are found and

2373-607: Is currently a base of the British 7th Armoured Brigade of British Forces Germany . Stalag IX-B was the administrative centre for POW work details in the region. At its peak there were about 80,000 POW working in 1,500 Arbeitskommando in agriculture and industry. Although prohibited under the Third Geneva Convention , POW from Stalag IX-B also worked in munitions factories. In total around 30,000 Soviet POWs died in Stalag XI-B and XI-D. Another 734 POW from

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2486-605: Is increasingly used by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and it is the only training area in Germany which may be overflown by reconnaissance drones. Air-to-ground practice and live munitions may also be fired. Hohne station was one of the main British Forces bases and was located in Lager Hohne , a former Wehrmacht facility, on the eastern side of the training area. It was the headquarters of Bergen-Hohne Garrison ,

2599-592: Is located between Bad Fallingbostel in the west and Bergen in the east, and between the towns of Soltau a few miles to the north and Wietze to the south. Its extent roughly coincides with the geographical area known as the Heidmark . The terrain is between 28 and 150 m above  sea level (NN) . The central part of the training area consists of two areas of heathland ( Heide ) known as Lohheide und Osterheide , which have not been under any local administrative control since 1945. Surrounding this are

2712-543: Is on the southwest boundary of the area in the Ostenholz Moor at about 28 m high. As early as the 19th century the army of the Kingdom of Hanover used two small areas here to drill their troops. The last wolf in the Lüneburg Heath was seen and shot east of Becklingen on 13 January 1872 in the forest of Becklinger Holz , which, today, is within the training area. It was shot by the forester, Grünewald, who

2825-548: 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);

2938-750: The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp , which was located on the edge of the training area near the town of Bergen . Under British control, the training area was steadily expanded and, since the 1960s, has also been used by the German Armed Forces ( Bundeswehr ) and other NATO troops. Bergen-Hohne Training Area is situated on both sides of the boundary between the districts of Heidekreis (formerly Soltau-Fallingbostel ) and Celle , about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Hanover , roughly 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of Bremen and around 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Hamburg . It

3051-653: The Bundeswehr was also allowed to use the training area again. They maintained a liaison headquarters there with the British commandant. On 1 April 1958 the British Army transferred the training area to the Bundeswehr. Up to 50,000 British, American and German soldiers were stationed at Bergen-Hohne and it became the largest military training area in Europe and one of the training area for NATO's ground forces in

3164-581: The Federal Republic of Germany . In the southwest of the area is Ostenholz Camp ( Lager Ostenholz ), which has an autobahn junction in the immediate vicinity. This camp is only used for exercising troops, yet it has permanent accommodation as well as the massive buildings of the training area's headquarters and permanent range staff. After the end of the Cold War the number of soldiers significantly reduced. The British Army withdrew completely from

3277-542: The Lüneburg Heath , in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It covers an area of 284 square kilometres (70,000 acres), which makes it the largest military training area in Germany. It was established by the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht , in 1935. At the end of the Second World War it was taken over by British occupying forces and some of its facilities used as a liberation camp for survivors of

3390-605: The Minister of Aircraft Production , Lord Beaverbrook , ordered that resources should be concentrated on 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

3503-615: 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

Stalags XI-B, XI-D, and 357 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3616-777: The Reichsbauernführer ("Reich Farmers' Leader") to present their concerns. On 18 March 1935 more than 80 farmers drove to Berlin to confirm their future and the planned relocation of their homes. In spite of opposition from the local population, within a few years 3,635 inhabitants in 25 villages had to leave their homes. Amongst the villages that disappeared from the map were Deil , Hörsten, Hoppenstedt, Hohne, Hohnerode, Manhorn, Lohe, Gudehausen, Ettenbostel , Oberndorfmark , Oberhode, Benhorn , Hartem, Fahrenholz , Böstlingen , Pröbsten , Kolk , Südbostel, Nordbostel, Obereinzingen , Untereinzingen , Achterberg , Wense and parts of Oerbke , Ostenholz and Hasselhorst. At

3729-578: 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 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

3842-622: The United States , Belgium , Britain , France , Italy , Yugoslavia , South Africa , Canada , Netherlands , Poland and Slovakia died in XI-B and 357. The Soviet POW and the remains of 273 others are buried at the "Cemetery of the Nameless" in Oerbke . On 16 April 2005, the 60th Anniversary of the camp's liberation, the Stalag XI-B (357) POW Memorial Gates were unveiled, dedicated to

3955-572: 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

4068-485: 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

4181-442: 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

4294-458: 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

4407-701: 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 ,

4520-481: 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

4633-726: The Germans evacuated Canadian prisoners of war from the Stalag II-D prisoner-of-war camp in Stargard to Stalag XI-B. In July 1941 the first Soviet POWs arrived, and were accommodated in a large fenced-off open area called Marquartsfeld about 1 km (0.62 mi) north-east of Stalag XI-B, and designated Stalag XI-D (also known as Stalag 321 ). Lacking huts the Russian prisoners initially lived in dugouts . Another 10,000 Soviet officers were accommodated in XI-B. In late 1941

Stalags XI-B, XI-D, and 357 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4746-449: The POW of 13 nations who were imprisoned in Stalag XI-B, XI-D and 357 from 1939 to 1945. "The Last Escape", THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR IN GERMANY 1944?1945 by Tony Rennell Bergen-Hohne Training Area The Bergen-Hohne Training Area (German: NATO-Truppenübungsplatz Bergen or Schießplatz Bergen-Hohne ) is a NATO military training area in the southern part of

4859-689: The SS separated out the senior officers, Communist Party officials and Jews from the Soviet POW, and sent them to the concentration camps at Sachsenhausen and Neuengamme . By November 1941 there were about 11,000 Soviet POW in XI-D, and some huts were built. The same month an epidemic of typhus broke out in both camps which lasted until February 1942. In early 1942 rations for the Soviet prisoners were slightly increased in order to enable them to work, however it

4972-434: 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

5085-562: 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

5198-434: 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

5311-490: 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

5424-430: 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

5537-675: The afternoon that day. They engaged 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

5650-471: 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

5763-534: The area in September 2015. The facility still has considerable importance, however. Live firing ranges are heavily used by the Bundeswehr , Dutch and Belgian forces. Plans for the future use of the military facilities are still unknown. The original ranges and their purpose: Today there are 22 firing ranges on the training area for main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles , of which nine are also suitable for anti-tank guided missiles . In addition there are 14 artillery fire positions, six of which are outside

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5876-399: 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

5989-514: The boundaries of the training area. There are also five small arms ranges and three ranges for hand-held anti-tank weapons, as well as air defence training facilities, FIBUA villages, deep wading points and bivouac sites. The troops of NATO member countries – Germany, Netherlands, Britain and Belgium – exercise regularly on the training area. Major combat equipment that uses the ranges include Challenger 2 and Leopard 2 tanks, WAH-64 Apache attack helicopters and Panzerhaubitze 2000 . The area

6102-411: The camp, with the majority assigned to various Arbeitskommando ("work team") in the area. Close by were the barracks of Landesschützen-Bataillon 461 ("Local Defence Battalion 461"), who guarded the camp. This Army unit was composed of men considered too old or otherwise unfit for front-line service, and were commonly used for guard and garrison duties. In the final stages of World War II , in 1945,

6215-617: 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,

6328-401: 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

6441-462: 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

6554-483: 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

6667-617: 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

6780-562: The eastern part of the area as a Royal Armoured Corps Training Centre. Up to 1952, the training area was expanded more and more until it reached its present-day limits. During the Cold War the area was intensively used by the heavy concentrations of troops on the North German Plain , which was seen as strategically important to NATO . There were also discussions about combining the training areas of Munster and Bergen. In 1957

6893-466: The eastern perimeter of the area, near the village of Belsen , and called in those days the Ostlager or "East Camp", around 100 barrack blocks , 50 stables and 40 large garage blocks were built, as well as a hospital, storage depots and a target factory, where targets for the firing ranges were made. To the south of this camp was a military ammunition dump for infantry munitions . On 4 May 1936

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7006-434: 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

7119-483: The first units took over their accommodation. On the western edge of the area, near the village of Oerbke , another camp, the Westlager ("West Camp"), was built. From 1 April 1937 until 1942 more barracks, stables, garages and depots went up. From 1 August 1938 military exercises took place across the whole training area. On 15 April 1945 the training area was taken over by British forces. They initially only used

7232-464: The floor of a hut for five days in order to avoid it. The men marched from the camp in columns of 2,000. After 10 days they arrived at Gresse , east of the Elbe. There they were issued with Red Cross parcels, but were then unfortunately strafed by British Typhoon fighter-bombers, mistaking them for German troops. Sixty POW were killed and many wounded. Deans confronted Oberst Ostmann and bluntly gave him

7345-467: 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

7458-425: 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 the tail of the aircraft, and eventually internal strengthening,

7571-464: 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

7684-419: 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 the British Isles were shot down by Typhoons in August 1942. During

7797-418: 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

7910-463: The influx of several hundred American POW captured in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Nordwind . These newer arrivals found themselves accommodated in tents. In early April 1945 Sergeant Pilot James 'Dixie' Deans RAF, the camp leader of 357, was informed by the Commandant Oberst Hermann Ostmann that 12,000 British POW were being evacuated from the camp in the face of the Allied advance. RSM Lord had also been selected to leave, but hid under

8023-456: 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

8136-413: 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

8249-440: The later "car-door" canopy roofs. This modification 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

8362-418: 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

8475-637: The military training area is part of the middle course of the River Böhme . Similarly the Meiße runs roughly along its southeastern and southern boundary (both are northeastern tributaries of the River Aller ). Near the centre of the area are the Sieben Steinhäuser (literally: seven stone houses), a group of dolmens that may be visited at weekends. East-southeast of them and not far away

8588-900: The northwest mainly by the Fischendorfer Bach (a southeastern tributary of the Böhme), which likewise has many ponds. The extreme northeast is drained by streams that flow eastwards into the Meiße . A heavily wooded moraine ridge runs across the training area in roughly a southwest-to-northeast direction. These woods include the Becklinger Holz and amongst the elevations here are the: Falkenberg ( 150 m above  sea level (NN) ), Hakenberg (143 m), Staffelberg (127 m), Hengstberg (121 m), Hammberg (107 m), Großer Dellberg (107 m), Scharpenhorn (107 m), Fuhrberg (102 m), Horstberg (98 m), Söhrenberg (93 m) and Ziegenberg (63 m). The lowest point

8701-414: 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

8814-565: 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

8927-480: 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

9040-633: 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 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

9153-472: The sparse population and the varied landscape this area was selected for creating the largest exercise area for Germany's armed forces, the Wehrmacht . On 15 September 1934 the news of the establishment of a training area reached the farmers resident there. On 1 October 1934 the farmers affected by the relocation assembled at the Sieben Steinhäuser for a counsel. A delegation went that same day to Goslar to

9266-441: The standards of the camp. Lord insisted on proper military discipline with regular exercise and parades. At that time 17,000 POW; mostly British, but also Russian, Polish, Yugoslav, French, and American prisoners were crammed into the camp causing severe overcrowding. Each hut contained 400 men, though it had bunks for only 150. By February 1945 the POW of XI-B and 357 were suffering from lack of food and medical supplies exacerbated by

9379-410: 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,

9492-420: 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

9605-502: 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

9718-533: The training areas at Ehra-Lessien and Lübtheen . There are several places of interest within the Bergen-Hohne Training Area: In the area of Lohheide : In the area of Osterheide and its neighbourhood: 52°48′0″N 9°49′0″E  /  52.80000°N 9.81667°E  / 52.80000; 9.81667 Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber , produced by Hawker Aircraft . It

9831-425: 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 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

9944-541: 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

10057-415: 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

10170-469: 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

10283-449: 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

10396-560: 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 ,

10509-521: 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 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,

10622-427: Was damaging 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

10735-461: 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

10848-653: 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

10961-401: Was effectively brought to a halt, and 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

11074-622: 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

11187-408: 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

11300-508: 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

11413-469: 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 the latest 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) engines. Its service introduction in mid-1941

11526-426: 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

11639-417: 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

11752-538: Was moved from Toruń in German-occupied Poland to the site of the former XI-D, with construction being carried out by the Italian POW from XI-B. This new camp was used to house mostly British and Commonwealth POWs. In November 1944 British paratroops captured at Arnhem arrived at Stalag 357. Led by the formidable RSM John C. Lord of 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment , they set about raising

11865-474: 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 a very high-pitched engine note, which pilots found very fatiguing. The Typhoon did not begin to mature as

11978-420: 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

12091-499: 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 ,

12204-532: Was removed and replaced with 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,

12317-410: Was slow. In the interim between construction of the first and second prototypes, the Air Ministry had given Hawker an instruction to proceed with 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

12430-523: Was still so inadequate that many prisoners died from exhaustion. In July 1942 Stalag XI-D was dissolved and incorporated into Stalag XI-B. In late 1943 a large number of Italian POW arrived at XI-B. They were poorly treated and suffered, second to the Russians, the most deaths in the camp. By mid-1944 there were 93,380 POW registered at XI-B; 25,277 Russian, and 79,928 of other nationalities, mostly in Arbeitskommando . In September 1944 Stalag 357

12543-499: Was taken to the commander of VIII Corps and explained the situation. He was given a captured Mercedes car and drove back to Gresse. Two days later the POW column marched back across the British lines. Meanwhile, the camps at Fallingbostel had been liberated on 16 April 1945 by British troops from B Squadron 11th Hussars and the Reconnaissance Troop of the 8th Hussars . They were met at the main gate of Stalag 357 by

12656-459: Was the head gamekeeper ( Leibjäger ) to King George V of Hanover , the last king of Hanover. In commemoration of the event, the "Wolf Rock" ( Wolfsstein ) was erected there in 1892. In 2012, wolves were once again sighted in the training area. The first plans for establishing the military training area were laid in August 1934 as part of the military re-armament of the German Reich . Due to

12769-490: 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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