Hawker Typhoon Prototypes & Projects

[Justo Miranda]

On 3 May 1941 was flown the second Typhoon (P5216) with overall length of 32 ft (9.79 m), enlarged rudder, hinged D-doors on landing gear, tailwheel doors and twelve wing-mounted 0.303-in machine guns.

In June the prototype was modified with the installation of four belt-feed, 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannons, with 140 rounds per gun and the D-doors were replaced by conventional doors mounted on the centre-line of the fuselage.

The P5216 armament was flight tested in Boscombe Down in July 1941, on 9 November was fitted with extended wingtips and long ailerons to improve its rather lacklustre high-altitude performance. On 1 July 1942 the airplane reached Mach 0.74 diving from 30,000 ft.

The P5216 was painted in the standard ‘Type B’ scheme with Yellow undersurfaces.

 

[Justo Miranda]

The last Typhoon prototype (R8694) was one of the earlier ‘car door’ machines powered by one 2,240 hp Napier Sabre Mk.IV, with Hobson full injection system, driving a four-bladed de Havilland propeller.

The airplane was modified for trials with an experimental annular radiator with 12-blade, engine-driven, cooling fan.

With the 8.8 per cent drag reduction obtained with this arrangement the R8694 attained a maximum speed of 452 mph.

 

[nuuumannn]

There isn't much information on the Hawker Sea Typhoon conceived as a back up to the Blackburn Firebrand failing out there. Can anyone provide more?

 

[Justo Miranda]

In March 1939 the Air Ministry published the specification N.8/39 as a two seat replacement naval fighter for the Skua, and Sea Gladiator of the Fleet Air Arm.

The demands of the war forced the modification of the N.8/39 as N.11/40 by the end of 1939, requesting a short-range, single-seat, carrier borne interceptor, armed with four guns of 20 mm, a maximum speed of 644 km/h and 4 hours endurance.

The Hawker firm proposed the manufacturing of a navalised version of the Typhoon and one Mk.IA was converted to this standard under the project designation P.1009 Sea-Phoon.

To improve the Typhoon bad performance during landing at low speed, a new type of folding wing was installed, which was extended by means of increasing the width of the centre section and which housed two fuel tanks of 159 lt. each in the leading edge of the wings and two of 569 lt each in the wing roots

The main undercarriage folded sideways.

The rear fuselage was reinforced and an "A" frame arrester hook was installed on it.

Early 1941 the project was dropped in favour of the Fairey Fulmar Mk.II due to the bad reputation of the Napier Sabre engine.

P.1009 Sea-Phoon technical data

Power plant: One Napier Sabre Mk 1, 24 cylinder ‘H’, liquid cooled engine, rated at 2,100 hp, driving one de Havilland Hydromatic three-bladed constant-speed airscrew of 427 cm. of diameter, wingspan: 48.3 ft (14.73 m), length: 30.7 ft (9.36 m), height: 15 ft (4.57 m), wing surface: 354 sq.ft (31.9 sq.m), estimated maximum weight: 13,907 lbs (6,300 kg), estimated maximum speed: 342 mph at 18,000 ft (550 kph at 5,500 m), estimated ceiling: 41,656 ft (12,700 m), range: 1,180 mls (1,900 km), armament: four wing-mounted 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannon with 140 rounds per gun.

 

[nuuumannn]

Early 1941 the project was dropped in favour of the Fairey Fulmar Mk.II due to the bad reputation of the Napier Sabre engine.

Thanks for the info and the terrific drawings, Justo, but I'm not 100 percent certain the above is accurate as in early 1941 the Sabre was very much an unknown quantity except in prototype aircraft. The first production Typhoon did not roll out from the factory until May 1941 and the issues it was to suffer did not rear their heads until late 1941.

In fact, the admiralty began investigating the Sea Typhoon from early 1941 because of foreseen delays in the Firebrand, which was built to N.11/40, but Hawker was not able to promise the aircraft would be ready until around early 1942, by which time it was predicted that the Firebrand would have been ready - that it wasn't is another story altogether! In March 1941, the admiralty then agreed that the Sea Typhoon would not have been able to match the performance of N.11/40, so it was dropped from contention.

The idea was re-examined in late 1942 again because of the delays to the Firebrand, but by that time the Seafire was entering service and it was felt a naval Typhoon wasn't needed, although it was recommended that a Typhoon and/or a Tempest be provided to the admiralty for arrestor trials, which never happened.

 

[hesham]

From this Russian magazine.