Hawker Tempest

The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to address problems with the Typhoon's unexpected low performance by replacing its wing with a much thinner laminar flow design. It emerged as one of the most powerful fighters used during the war.

Design and development

Origins

During development of the Typhoon the design team, under the leadership of Sydney Camm, were already planning design improvements, this process resulting in the Hawker P. 1012 (or Typhoon II). Although the Typhoon was generally a good design, Camm and his design team were disappointed with the wing, which proved to be too thick in its cross section. This created airflow problems and inhibited flight performance, especially at higher altitudes and speeds. The Typhoon's wing, using a NACA 4 digit series wing section, had a maximum thickness to chord ratio of 19.5% (root) to 12% (tip), in comparison to the Supermarine Spitfire's 13.2% tapering to 6% at the tip, the thinner design deliberately chosen to reduce drag.