Hawker MK.5 Tempest V

The Hawker Typhoon did not perform well as a fighter plane, but later served as a bombing fighter, especially when it was equipped with rocket launchers. High-altitude flight performance and climb were unsatisfactory, and in 1941 an attempt was made to counter this by using a wing with a thinner profile and elliptical contour. The engine radiator was moved from under the engine itself to the edges of the wing root, and the Napier Saber C.107C engine was selected as the drive source. As the new wing had a smaller capacity, it became necessary to install additional fuel tanks in the fuselage of the aircraft. The introduced changes were so big that at the beginning of 1942 the plane was named Hawker Tempest. The Tempest prototype flew in February 1943 and soon achieved a speed of 750 km / h at an altitude of 7,470 meters. The service of Hawker Tempest aircraft in the RAF colors began in April 1944. The wing that had them in stock took part in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy.