Chris Thomas

The late filter design was spherical and had hinged doors which opened and shut like a clam or eyelids. There is a close-up photo in Wingleader No 29. Sorry, shameless plug. I should also point out that the framework supporting this, and the earlier Tempest dust filter is not included in the Eduard kit. The earlier version was 2 vertical metal strips with side of the filter and a horizontal strip other side supporting a similar ring. See page 43 ... The later version support was similar but a bit more complex. I\ll send photos to someone to post on my behalf if a volunteer send me their email.

JN751 and JN754 and would require the 'intake ring (strangely omitted by Eduard). The dust filter was introduced when Tempests entered service with the 2ndTAF in mainland Europe. There is some (limited) photographic evidence to suggest that these were removed during winter operations (no dust and the filters did knock a few mph off the top speed). However the filters were in universal use again from c.March 45 and were retained post-war. One exception on the decal sheet is SN330 J5-H which (as a post war rebuild by Hawker, delivered in 1947) appears to have been fitted with the late version of the filter, as fitted to TT.5s and sometimes described as 'clam-shell' or 'eye-lid'.

I'm not very keen on 'IIRC' or even vaguer posts and my memory is not what it was .. but FWIW here goes! I recall reading an article (it may have been in Tangmere Museum's magazine) by a former Tangmere airman who stated that during the critical stages of the Battle of France, all available Hurricane reserves were gathered at Tangmere for despatch as required. There were more than 100 at one time. A query on RAF Commands might provoke a more a more positive answer.

I'm still looking for a definitive answer to this question, as I was asked it by an aviation artist recently. I thought the answer was the same as Tail-Dragon has suggested but thought I had better check. I came across two bits of evidence which suggest that the clips were not released - at least some of the time. There are photos/film which show the clips in place immediately after firing - but it could be that the clips did not release immediately. However I also came across official correspondence concerning the techniques used by the battlefield analysts who went in after Mortain, Falaise etc. One of the ways to establish that RP had been responsible for the destruction of particular vehicles was the presence of the clips in question. Just to further muddy the waters - could the wartime clips have been retained but ejecting versions introduced later, say post-war? I know we have at least one armament expert in the community ... who might have the answer? CT

Further to the above, there is also a starboard view of PR-R on D-Day (recently identified as MN239) which has 'PR' (only) on the fin tip - PR on the fuselage being covered by the stripes.

The two cylinders were emergency water supplies, should the pilot be forced down in inhospitable country; they were coloured red. They were often removed from the Tempest IIs operated in Germany.

Hi Rob, Bob I reget to say I have not seen a photo of JR379 with D-Day stripes. I looked through all those Thorney Island films, frame by frame in places, at the IWM years ago and made notes. PR-M was the only one featuring a large 'M' on the forward fuselage; there was a port side view PR-B (with just an extra B on the fin) and a starboard view of PR-A which featured a small PR with A beneath on the fin. These would appear to be logical as the individual letter only was covered by the stripes on the port side but the squadron codes were hidden on the starboard side. That would be my best guess for PR-L if you want to take the route (unlikely anyone can prove you wrong ...). Incidentally I have not seen any photo for 'PR-J JP*16' either. Nor does a serial matching that appear in the ORB for June 1944. I suspect that the personal marking maybe genuine but the rest has been educated guesswork. Going back to PR-L, there are more images of this on film dated 30 May 1944, which seem to indicate the spinner was roundel red and it had 'L' repeated on the outside of the main u/c doors. Correctly on the starboard side but reversed (see IWM image) on the port side. Spinner appears to be red. It had earlier been with 609 sqn as PR-A in Jan/Feb 1944, when it had a black/Sky spinner. Chris

The Tempest F.2 and F6 in 'silver' finish were all painted in "Aluminium'. There are, however, several Tempest Vs known to have been stripped of all paint. A Tempest V, serial unknown, test flown by Hawker in 'natural' finish to see if there was any advantage. One (perhaps two and possibly more) flown by 501 Sqn in late 1944, on test. Known example allegedly coded SD-R (but possibly D or P, serial not known). Two post war with 33 Sqn, 5R-S SN213 and 5R-N EJ886. XC-D SN228 of 26 Sqn and possibly JN876 'RH' used by ACM Sir Roderick Hill as his personal transport.

See Wingleader No 16 page 38.

No problem Mike. I used to be able to rely on my memory too ….

Hi Claudio I am away from my references at present but check a plan view of the camouflage scheme to see if there is any Dark Green behind the seat armour. Yes, you are correct about the yellow leading edge stripes. the two light coloured dots between the landing lights and the wing root are letter 'A's. There are detailed photos of this aircraft in Wingleader number 16. Regards CT

That is a bold statement Mike. What is your source? I have been looking for definitive archive information on this topic for several decades ... without success. However from study of dateable photos and the odd reference - like R.P.Beamont having his Typhoon painted black when he started night ops in early 1943, I have come to believe that all early Typhoons had 'cockpit green' interiors and that black (from bottom of the doors upwards) was introduced in spring 43. I have also deduced that the portion of the rear fuselage monocoque under the rear portion of the canopy was in the upper surface camouflage until mid 43 when it may have been painted in black - possibly at the time when whip aerials were introduced with the original car doors. It was certainly black when the sliding hood was introduced. CT

Don't bother with the exhaust stain evidence - they were there after every flight and were regularly cleaned off using high octane fuel. The R-B with no D-Day stripes has stripes under the wings - note the u/c door. These were Typhoon-style identity stripes and were removed in April 1944 -which dates the photo to that month. I am away from records at present but I know the RAE report mentions that R-B had been repainted with D-Day stripes in standard paint finish rather than the original distemper, with a positive effect on performance. I believe that the top photo shows the repainted R-B and there middle photo shows the original distemper markings (note the code letters have been edged with masking tape to give the outline effect, which can be seen on other Tempests of the Wing).

Apologies for the late reply. Regret to say no concrete ident for the 3 Sqn Tempest with Beamont. Series 1 (well spotted) and I am missing half a dozen or so codes for the ones used by 3 Sqn. It appears to have been JF-I, J or L. I have no record of any ';I' and the only known suggestions for J or L are JN768. However I'm pretty sure JN768 was 'F' in May 44. Could have been all 3 at different times of course. Although it is identified in 3 Sqn's ORB as the Tempest in which Beamont was shot down, this was actually a later JF-L, EJ710. Beamont's Series 1 Tempest 'R-B' was certainly JN751 which he first flew on 24 March 44, and regularly until 5 Sept 44. His new aircraft was 'RPB' (in one block, forward of the roundel)) EJ706. The order of the striped R-B photos remains obscure to me at the moment, with conflicting evidence for both possibilities. It was flown to Langley for a repaint at some stage during its striped era (which was only about a month. The full stripes were only retained until very late June or early July 44. They were removed after a visit from RAE test pilots (including Winkle Brown) to assess methods of maximising speed. The distempered stripes were found to be drag-generating and were totally removed. Tempests did not wear stripes again until October 44 when they went to the ~Continent to join 2ndTAF. And then it was under-fuselage only.

Hi Will I'm afraid this photo is a fake. The pilot figure (Beamont) has been taken from another photo of hime in front of a 3 Sqn Tempest at a similar angle. The Tempest is possibly a model - the canopy shape is incorrect, also the headrest and the prop blades look dodgy too. So the port side pennant is probably a guess by the faker. Even the hedges in the background are taken from the 3 Sqn photo. There is in fact a photo of the port side of 'R-B' in the IwM collection but is slightly out of focus and badly lit but I cannot see any sign of a pennant. The photo is taken pre- D-Day .c.April or May 1944 and a pennant could have been added at a later date but no illustrations have come to light.

There were not many 'silver' Tempest Vs but among them there were examples that had their paint stripped off and others that were painted 'Aluminium'. Silver Spit 22s were more common, with more (judging from photos) in the painted Aluminium scheme than 'NMF'. 600 Sqn had a number of F.21s and at least one F.22 in a mixture of both - overall Aluminium but with stripped and highly polished engine cowlings. I guess your choice will be decided by decal availability.

The Tempests used by 287 Sqn from November 1944 to June 1946 were standard Tempest V Series 1 aircraft. The sorties flown were for the benefit of anti-aircraft batteries and radars calibration. No target towing was involved. The unit also operated Spitfires, Beaufighters and Oxfords. Certainly shortage of serviceable Sabre engines was the limiting factor on Typhoon and Tempest production. Typhoons were constantly in short supply through the winter of 1944/45 despite the apparently large numbers in store. The problem was that, on top of the engine shortage, the stored airframes were mostly early examples without many essential modifications eg. no sliding hoods, no bomb/RP/LRT facilities and no armour. The shortage of both types was further complicated by the shortage of pilots, leading to the formation of two new OTUs (which themselves required suitable aircraft and experienced instructors. As a result, between February and April 1945, three Typhoon squadrons were disbanded and the conversion of two Spitfire squadrons to Tempests was also abandoned.

Thank you Hornet133 for the vote of confidence! A bit unfair on the Czech 4+ publication though; it is one that I rate among the best on the Tempest - a lot of good information packed into a slim publication. I've just seen PatG's comments and I totally agree. And, although I do my best, I do not claim to be 100% accurate! I do however disagree with part of the description of the Mk V Series 1. I believe that the defining differences to the Series 2 were the use of former Typhoon elements (centre section structure and rear fuselage monocoque) and the introduction of the wing with long-range tank fittings. This would mean that only the first 50 of the JN series were Series 1 and the remainder were Series 2. There is one small flaw in the last statement, revealed by looking at the individual histories of Tempest airframes. In the last quarter of 1944 it is apparent that all the remaining Series 1 Tempests, most of which were under repair for one reason or another, were refurbished by Hawker and delivered to 20 MU (despite an acute shortage of front-line Tempests at the time - they were of no use to the 2ndTAF without LRT fittings). From 9 November 1944 onwards, as they became available, they were allocated to 287 Squadron, an an Anti-Aircraft Cooperation Unit. Among them was JN751, Beamont's famous 'RB' and the three with the latest serials were JN795, 796 and 797. But, hang on, that last serial, JN797, belonged to the 51st Tempest. However a look at slightly earlier machines shows that the 2nd Tempest, JN730, was the test aircraft for long-range tank trials, leaving 50 Tempest built with without the LRT wing. JN798 onwards had LRT wings and some (eg JN802, 807, 877) survived in front line service through to peacetime.

There is a photo of an FR Mustang, coded 'N', taking off from a French ALG, in the original '2nd TAF' book (Osprey 1970) p93. A distant shot, serial not visible, but the markings match those on the box art for the Frog kit pretty well (down to the rear D-Day stripe positioned over the Sky band and extending half way up it). The photo is somewhat briefly captioned 'Mustang I' but it could be a Mk II. No idea where the serial came from. Perhaps I ought to point out that FR915, as spotted by Ross (above) featured a Malcom hood - rarely seen on Mk Is and IIs.

'RB' definitely had a De Havilland prop and spinner. The Rotol combination did not appear until c.March 1945. I have not seen the Airfix kit offerings but it is difficult to depict the two spinner style differences in 1/72 scale. I also suspect some confusion in the verbal descriptions. The DeH spinner was shorter but (to my eye) more pointed. The Rotol, longer and with a blunter tip. The latter also had a deeper base plate and the main cone was in two sections (you need a good photo to see that). Another way to recognise the Rotol offering is that Rotol's distinctive propeller blade decals are often visible (as a spot) near the blade root.

SN330 did have 'counter-shaded' letters - along the the bottom and RH side of the letters; I would say thin rather than thick. I cannot post photos but am sending one to a friend who can, so hopefully it will appear later today. Of course, it is quite possible that the aircraft had solid green letters before the shading was added. CT

This is correct. However, it proved impossible to find definitive information on the original, incorrect, chakra colours and those chosen are thought to be the most likely. Even then, back and white photographs seem to suggest there were at least two different versions.

Yes, there are correct C1 wing roundels in the above links. The error only seems to appear in the plan views of JF-E NV994 on page 105 of the Eduard book 'The Temporary Tempest'. It should have Type C1 roundels on both the upper and lower wing surfaces.

Thanks for posting that Mike. All I would add is that there was a mistake in the artwork in the book and presumably the kit. The upper wing roundels on JF-E NV994, in April 1945, should be shown as 'Type C1', i.e. with yellow our and white inner rings (as on all of Clostermann's Tempests). CT

I regret to say I cannot add anything to the discussion of windscreen structure but would point out that the front panel glass on Typhoons was at some stage of 'sandwich' construction. This caused problems with the later gunsights which projected onto the windscreen and a single skin replacement was then fitted. Not sure on the timing but probably mid-44. This may account for apparent variations in the thickness in some photos. As for the photo of 'Nicky', it is not Fg Off Hugh Fraser's 'Nicky' RB281 5V-X. Compare this photo with the better-known shot of Fraser in the cockpit of RB281 and you will see subtle differences in the markings. The photo above is of Fraser's replacement Typhoon - when RB281 was damaged on 2.3.45 he took over RB262 (previously 5V-S) as his new 'X'. This aircraft was in turn damaged on 24.3.45 and Fraser had a new 'X', EK219, an early Typhoon rebuilt to later standards. If you look at the left side of the cockpit photo above you can see it has 'A' on an overpainted 'X'.