Hawker Typhoon

Typhoon
Typhoon Ib "Dirty Dora" of 175 Sqn. being armed with concrete practice bombs in late 1943 at RAF Colerne, Wiltshire
General information
TypeFighter-bomber
National originUnited Kingdom
ManufacturerHawker Aircraft
Designer
Built byGloster Aircraft Company
Primary usersRoyal Air Force
Number built3,317[1][2]
History
Manufactured1941–1945
Introduction date11 September 1941
First flight24 February 1940
RetiredOctober 1945
Developed intoHawker Tempest

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.[3]

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 was plagued with problems and for several months the aircraft faced a doubtful future.[3] 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.[4]

The Typhoon became established in roles such as night-time intruder and long-range fighter.[5] From late 1942 the Typhoon was equipped with bombs, these bomb-carrying aircraft being nicknamed "Bomphoon" by the press.[6] 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.[7]

  1. ^ Thomas and Shores 1988, pp. 165–166.
  2. ^ Thomas 2000, p. 28.
  3. ^ a b Thomas and Shores 1988, p. 16.
  4. ^ Thomas and Shores 1988, pp. 35–36.
  5. ^ Thomas and Shores 1988, p. 34.
  6. ^ Reed, A and Beamont, R; Typhoon and Tempest at War; (Allan, London; 1974.)
  7. ^ Thomas and Shores 1988, pp. 23–26.