My friend Chris Miller has aquired one of these and is restoring it to flying status. There are only 11 flying examples of this great Hawker in the world. He has aquired a 3350 for it. Hope him the best. Great guy on track to finish a super aircraft. Hope to see it at Reno when he's done.
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Re: Hawker Tempest Comming
Did he finish or sell his Harvard? I know he was debating that a while back. (I have never met Chris, we are both members of some groups and I have seen his posts.)
And before anyone gets confused, the Tempest Mark II was powered by a Bristol Centaurus, like the Sea Fury. Most of the other Tempests were Napier Sabre powered. I believe there are only one or two other Mark IIs flying. Kermit Weeks has one I think.
I think Weeks also has a Tempest V and is trying to make a Sabre for it, but that is a most difficult task.
I really wish Mr. Miller the best of luck and I hope to see it airborne one day. -
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And the engine even turns the right way!Originally posted by Mystical Power View PostComment
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Chris traded his almost complete Harvard for the 3350 and some additional parts for his Tempest.Comment
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i hate to burst bubbles...but there are no airworthy hawker tempest's of any mark at the moment...a few under active restoration ,one complete just waiting for it centaurus in the uk,Nelson ezell has recently restarted his own one and Kermit weeks mkv sabre powered one(though this wont fly in the short term).
i wish Chris good luck with his new project.Comment
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Thanks for the info. I thought there was one in the UK; maybe I was confused about the one waiting for its engine. I also thought Kermit Weeks' Mark II was airworthy but after Googling, I can see that it is not. All the more reason to wish Chris Miler the best of luck in getting such a rare piece of history back where it belongs.Originally posted by cdtpf60 View PostComment
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I wonder if larry made that mount.Comment
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Here is some interesting information about the Tempest II, with the radial engine.
The Tempest Mk II had been intended to be powered by the 2,250hp Sabre Mk IVA in-line liquid cooled enginge. Sir Sydney Camm however felt that the radial engined Tempest Mk II would offer the ultimate in performance for the Typhoon/Tempest line and, as a result, considerable effort was made to improve the efficiency of the 2,210 hp Centaurus air cooled radial engine.
During the test flight of the engine in a Tornado prototype (HG641) the engine and oil temperatures remained constantly near the maximum allowable and there was a high amount of carbon monoxide gas in the cockpit. The RAF technicians, studying a captured Fw 190, found that the Germans had solved the problem of cooling a closely cowled radial engine. They used an annular oil cooler which was built into the leading edge of the cowling and cooled by an engine driven fan. The engine exhaust system avoided the use of a collector ring and gases were discharged through individual exhaust pipes mounted in front of exit louvres on each side of the fuselage.
Hawker engineers redesigned the Tempest II with a modified Centaurus IV, which incorporated much of the German technology. This resulted in what was probably the cleanest radial engined fighter of Second World War. The prototype (LA602) made its maiden flight on June 28 1943. It had a Typhoon-style tail unit (later changed for the standard Tempest unit) and the new one-piece canopy.
Test with LA602 reavealed that the aircraft suffered from engine vibrations. These were solved by mounting the engine on six shock absorbing rubber-packed mountings. These mounts prevented the installation of the Centaurus XII engine (which was originally intended to power production Tempest IIs) and the Centaurus V was chosen as the production power plant.
The second prototype, LA607, flew on September 18 1943. It was first fitted with the Centaurus IV and later with the Centaurus V. LA607 was from the beginning fitted with the enlarged dorsal fin and a sliding canopy and was earmarked for powerplant tests and development. Large quantities were ordered by MAP as early as September 1942. The Mk II aircraft were to be built at Glosters, but because of their production of Typhoon the Bristol Aeroplane Co was choosen. While preparation for production at Bristol was under way, Hawker switched to their own production. The first Hawker built Mk II was completed in October 1944.
Orders were raised to 330 for Bristol and 1800 for Hawker. But at the end of the war most of them were cancelled. Hawker managed to finish 402 aircraft, while Bristol completed only 50 aircraft. All production aircraft were fitted with the Centaurus V engine, the short-barrelled Hispano Mk. V cannons and the standard Mk V tail-unit. All of Bristols aircraft and Hawkers first batch were built as fighters, while the rest of Hawkers production were built as fighter-bombers with strengthened wings. The former were later modified to FB standard. The prototypes and early Hawker built aircraft did not have air filter intakes in the upper fuselage behind the engine cowling. Later production Mk IIs had also the pitot head moved from beneath the port wing to the port wing tip.
Early Hawker built MW742: No air filter intakes in the upper fuselage behind the engine cowling and pitot head beneath the wing.
Later production Mk II, PR806: Air filter intakes and the pitot head at the wing tip. Note the bomb racks.
Wing span:
Wing area:
Length:
Height (tail down):
Weight (empty):
Weight (loaded):
Maximum speed:
Time to height:
Powerplant:
Max power:
Propeller diameter:
Numbers built:
41ft 0in
302 sq ft
34ft 5in
14ft 6in
8,900lb
11,800lb
442 mph at 15,200ft
4.5 mins to 15,000ft
Bristol Centaurus Mk V
2,520hp
4-blade 12ft 9in
452
Sources:
Hawker Tempest (4+ Publication)
Typhoon/Tempest in action (Squadron/Signal Publications No 102)
The Typhoon & Tempest Story (Chris Thomas & Christopher Shores)
This page was last updated 29 November 2011Comment
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Re: Hawker Tempest Comming
Is that the airframe that came over with Nelson's Tempest MW810?Comment
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IcePaq, Methinks that the two Tempests are the ones that Nick Grace had. He gave me some photos of them, and I think he said that he got them from Canada. His plan was to put a 3350 in one, and a H-24 in the other. He had some of the parts for the Napier Sabre, and thought he could come up with a serviceable engine. I sold him one of my 3350 engine mount rings, a set of RS40GSA Lord mounts, a set of clevices to bolt up to the Tempest, additional hardware, and some assorted lengths of 4130 steel tubing to complete the conversion. He wasn't sure if the firewall attatch points were the same as a Sea Fury, so he did it this way. I also sold him an engine, and I think, one of my 34 inch carbon spinners and backplate. Unfortunately Nick lost his life in an auto accident before he could finish the two aircaft. I have often wondered what happened to the Tempests.
LarryComment
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OK this will sound like "Folk lore" but it is the truth. Chris had found a P-39 that was in a barn someware in mid Michigan that was going up for sale. The original owner had passed away and his ecklectic collection of belongings was being liquated by a relitive. Cris asked me (since I live in MI) if I would drive there, look it over and take pictures of it for him before he commited to buying it. With the help of Google Maps and my Magellan GPS, I found the location and shure enough there it was, a dusty undamaged P-39 in a barn along with about 8 or more identical antique Fords in, and about, a number of other out buildings next to an old overgrowen grass airstrip. Someone in VA bought the P-39 before Chris could. Lets see if Chris still has the images saved, and would post them here. I know it sounds "unbliveable" but I was there and it is a "fact".Comment
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It will be cool to see the P39 when it surfaces. I'd love to see the pics of it in the barn. Finds like this are very rare, but they are still out there.
I can't wait to see the Tempest finished. Those are about as rare as they get.
WillComment
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There is a Hawker Typhoon in a museum in the UK also. I'd LOVE to see one of those in the air again !!!!Comment
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