P
Polux
Guest
Yep! 
This is my entry for the 1/24 Aircraft SSIG 2015.
Model: Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB
Scale: 1/24
Reference: Airfix A19002
View attachment 95259
History: Introduced into service in 1941, the Hawker Typhoon was designed to be the RAF's new ultimate interceptor fighter. Superseding the Hawker Hurricane, it was hoped that the Typhoon, together with the Spitfire, would be a powerful and effective opponent of the Luftwaffe. However, it was not to be. Initially plagued by mechanical woes from the engine and suffering from a deficit in performance at high altitude, the Typhoon instead found fame as a low level attack aircraft, a role to which it was both well-suited and hugely effective.
Envisaged even before the Hurricane was in RAF service, the Typhoon was built around the huge and incredibly powerful Napier Sabre engine. This engine was both highly impressive and a true feat of engineering, featuring 24 cylinders in a H-block pattern and developing over 2,200 horsepower. But, while it delivered excellent performance, its complexity and lack of reliability added to the Typhoon’s early problems. The rest of the Typhoon’s airframe was a combination of traditional Hawker and more modern construction techniques, featuring a semi-monocoque fuselage with easily removable panels around the engine maintenance. Armament was provided by four 20mm cannons, making the Typhoon very heavily armed for a fighter of that period.
The Typhoon presented a number of issues upon its introduction to squadron service. The tail was prone to separating from the rest of the fuselage during violent manoeuvres, which required strengthening plates to be added. Monoxide was found to be leaking constantly into the cockpit, so oxygen masks were required to be worn by pilots during the entire flight and this problem was never rectified throughout the machine’s service life. But various other aspects of the Typhoon were improved. As it matured from a high level interceptor with failings, to a superb low level fighter-bomber, it went through a number of structural and detail changes. The cockpit canopy changed from a car door type arrangement to a sliding bubble canopy, the number of propeller blades increased from 3 to 4 and the horizontal stabilizer was enlarged by fitting those from the Hawker Tempest. The Typhoon was also upgraded with the capability of carrying either two bombs, one under each wing, or 8 rocket projectiles, 4 under each wing. It was with the rockets that Typhoons really found their niche. By decimating German armour and material in the days both before and after D-Day, the aircraft became famous for its deadly and accurate attacks. Its powerful cannon armament was also ferociously affective for strafing.
Throughout its service life the typhoon remained a difficult beast to fly and despite being unforgiving and at times dangerous, the machine was both loved and respected by its pilots. However, once the war in Europe ended in May 1945 its days were quickly over, all Typhoons were retired and scrapped so that today just one complete survivor remains as a reminder of the contribution this wonderful aircraft made to the Allied war effort and as a memorial to the pilots who mastered its tricky flight characteristics and flew it to such good effect.
This is my entry for the 1/24 Aircraft SSIG 2015.
Model: Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB
Scale: 1/24
Reference: Airfix A19002
View attachment 95259
History: Introduced into service in 1941, the Hawker Typhoon was designed to be the RAF's new ultimate interceptor fighter. Superseding the Hawker Hurricane, it was hoped that the Typhoon, together with the Spitfire, would be a powerful and effective opponent of the Luftwaffe. However, it was not to be. Initially plagued by mechanical woes from the engine and suffering from a deficit in performance at high altitude, the Typhoon instead found fame as a low level attack aircraft, a role to which it was both well-suited and hugely effective.
Envisaged even before the Hurricane was in RAF service, the Typhoon was built around the huge and incredibly powerful Napier Sabre engine. This engine was both highly impressive and a true feat of engineering, featuring 24 cylinders in a H-block pattern and developing over 2,200 horsepower. But, while it delivered excellent performance, its complexity and lack of reliability added to the Typhoon’s early problems. The rest of the Typhoon’s airframe was a combination of traditional Hawker and more modern construction techniques, featuring a semi-monocoque fuselage with easily removable panels around the engine maintenance. Armament was provided by four 20mm cannons, making the Typhoon very heavily armed for a fighter of that period.
The Typhoon presented a number of issues upon its introduction to squadron service. The tail was prone to separating from the rest of the fuselage during violent manoeuvres, which required strengthening plates to be added. Monoxide was found to be leaking constantly into the cockpit, so oxygen masks were required to be worn by pilots during the entire flight and this problem was never rectified throughout the machine’s service life. But various other aspects of the Typhoon were improved. As it matured from a high level interceptor with failings, to a superb low level fighter-bomber, it went through a number of structural and detail changes. The cockpit canopy changed from a car door type arrangement to a sliding bubble canopy, the number of propeller blades increased from 3 to 4 and the horizontal stabilizer was enlarged by fitting those from the Hawker Tempest. The Typhoon was also upgraded with the capability of carrying either two bombs, one under each wing, or 8 rocket projectiles, 4 under each wing. It was with the rockets that Typhoons really found their niche. By decimating German armour and material in the days both before and after D-Day, the aircraft became famous for its deadly and accurate attacks. Its powerful cannon armament was also ferociously affective for strafing.
Throughout its service life the typhoon remained a difficult beast to fly and despite being unforgiving and at times dangerous, the machine was both loved and respected by its pilots. However, once the war in Europe ended in May 1945 its days were quickly over, all Typhoons were retired and scrapped so that today just one complete survivor remains as a reminder of the contribution this wonderful aircraft made to the Allied war effort and as a memorial to the pilots who mastered its tricky flight characteristics and flew it to such good effect.
