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The
Typhoon Mk Ib was an improved version of the early model that
had suffered a variety of teething problems, not the least of
which was a tendency for the engine to fail and the proclivity
for the tail to separate under certain conditions. The powerful
2200 HP engine produced a strong torque effect on take offs
which could cause the aircraft to veer off the run way, a most
alarming incident for the uninitiated pilot. Any of these
situations could, and did result in fatalities. This was often a
situation occurring under the less than ideal war time
conditions when there was such a distressing need for more and
better equipment......that was needed yesterday.
With a new
improved engine and reinforced tail units along with additional
tweaking of the design, the end result was a robust, heavily
armed, high speed fighter. The Typhoon was supposed to replace
the aging Hurricane but tests revealed that the high altitude
performance was disappointing. It was discovered however that
the Typhoon offered a very stable gun platform and surpassed
expectations at levels under 20,000 feet, so it was quickly
adapted to take on the role of ground attacks and low level
operations where it excelled. Armed with four 20mm cannon and
rockets and/or a combination of bombs it could land a
devastating punch against ground installations, armored
divisions, train busting and targets of opportunity. With a top
speed over 400 MPH, the Typhoon (and later Tempest, a further
development of the typhoon), was one of the few aircraft that
could successfully intercept the V1 rockets that were launched
against Britain beginning on June 13, 1944. Hawker Tempests
accounted for 638 V-1 rockets destroyed. Others were destroyed
by Spitfire and Mosquito pilots as well as anti-aircraft ground
units.
Note,
Germans launched some 9,215 V-1 rockets at England with the
majority landing indiscriminately on London. They resulted in
the deaths of 6,184 civilians and injured 17,981. While the V-1
could be seen and heard and flew at relatively low level, a more
insidious weapon was the V-2, the ‘V’ standing for
Vergeltungwaffe (vengeance weapon). The V-2 traveled faster than
the speed of sound, was the first rocket to reach space reaching
as high as 175KM (109M), though most reached about 80KM (50M).
They could not be seen or heard, arrived carrying 725 KG (1,600
lbs), of high explosives and caused great devastation when they
struck. Some 1,500 V-2 rockets were fired on England with most
hitting London killing an additional 7,250 people. The ‘V’
weapons were Hitler’s ‘’last kick at the can’’, but I
digress.
The Typhoon model
shown here was flown by No. 427 Squadron of the Royal Air Force.
The black and white wing and fuselage stripes were added to all
allied aircraft just prior to the D Day invasion. The stripes
were to offer easy identification of ‘friendly’ aircraft to
prevent accidental ‘friendly fire’ from trigger-happy ground
units or other allied fighters.
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