Development of the Hawker Typhoon
Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2021 6:32 am
I bought a copy of Aeroplane magazine yesterday, and was fascinated to read about the long and troubled tale of the Hawker Typhoon's development by Hawker under the direction of the mercurial Sydney Camm. The author of the piece Matt Bone, writes well and quite provocatively, claiming that while the aircraft had a troubled early history what with the problematic Vulture engine, intended for use with the Hawker Tornado interceptor, being canned in favour of the Frank Halford inspired 2000 horse power Napier Sabre engine which was still under development, and not yet reliable. The Typhoon was plagued by other problems too, including propellor shock wave induced tip stalling at high power, poor rearward visibility due to a sub-optimal canopy design, carbon monoxide leaks that killed a number of pilots, and worst of all, 26 resonance induced, tail area breakups in flight that killed 24 pilots, including esteemed Hawker test pilot Kenneth Seth-Smith.
Nonetheless, despite all the initial issues, the aircraft was developed into a good ground attack aircraft by 1944, although its role as a "tank destroyer" was overblown and it found its apotheosis in the superb Hawker Tempest which was effectively the development of the Typhoon II, that addressed the Typhoon's deterioration in performance at high altitude by replacing its wing with a thinner laminar flow design.
Despite the claims on this propaganda clip, the rockets fired by the Typhoon were not that accurate, although effective against targets like trains, but still provided effective area suppression and demoralized the German ground forces while providing hope to the allied troops who were apt to call in aerial reinforcement in the latter years of the war.
Nonetheless, despite all the initial issues, the aircraft was developed into a good ground attack aircraft by 1944, although its role as a "tank destroyer" was overblown and it found its apotheosis in the superb Hawker Tempest which was effectively the development of the Typhoon II, that addressed the Typhoon's deterioration in performance at high altitude by replacing its wing with a thinner laminar flow design.
Despite the claims on this propaganda clip, the rockets fired by the Typhoon were not that accurate, although effective against targets like trains, but still provided effective area suppression and demoralized the German ground forces while providing hope to the allied troops who were apt to call in aerial reinforcement in the latter years of the war.