Airfix 1/24th Hawker Typhoon

[mick b]

I recently bought the car door version of this kit greatly reduced on that auction website and I have a couple of questions that I hope may be answered here , although I realise Chris Thomas maybe the man to ask directly...

 

They are both linked to dates and maybe specific batch serial numbers as to when certain modifications were carried out? 

 

The kit includes early and late type pilot seats for which the early basic seat applies to only one of the four decal versions provided, so what batch serial numbers were the early seats fitted to or when did they change to the later cushioned type or did they just stay as fitted at build? 

 

The tail reinforcement plates: from what date were they retro fitted and at which date had all operational Typhoons been successfully altered?

 

Finally were the early bare cannons all eventually shrouded and again any idea of dates? 

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[Troy Smith]

if you do this @Chris Thomas he'll get a notification and chip in...

[Chris Thomas]

No definite answers here I'm afraid ... but a few clues.

 

The sprung seat was Mod 231 and I know Beamont tested one in January 1943.  The only other clue I have found for implementation of this one is that there is a Charles Brown photo, taken on a visit to 257 Sqn at Warmwell in May 1943, which shows a Typhoon maintenance in a blister hangar with 6 of the old seats stacked in the corner. Would they have carried that many spares? I doubt it so perhaps they had been removed during servicing.  So it seems retro-fits were done in spring 1943.  Introduced on production? Perhaps (a guess) circa the JP-serial series.  Maybe on the EK-series, but few of those saw service - most went into store due lack of serviceable engines.

 

This clashes a bit with the tail re-inforcement, which was Mod 286, a much later number, but that as early as December 1942 and ran through until March 1943.  The first production aircraft which did not have to go back for the mod appears to be DN600, delivered 18 February 1943.  However this was a top priority safety related mod so would have been implemented ahead of the sprung seat which about reducing the effects of the high frequency vibration.  Some new aircraft were delivered straight from Glosters to 13 MU Henlow which was the main modification centre.

 

The cannon barrel fairings appeared on production aircraft circa DN330 (delivered 30 Nov 42).  All photos I have after this have cannon barrel fairings.  No evidence of retrofit.

 

Hope this helps.

 

CT

 

 

[mick b]

Hi Chris,

 

Great,  thank you for taking the time out to respond, very useful info and at least some dates to work around.

 

Cheers

 

Mike