storm

storm

Tempest is a British developed fighter. "Fengfeng" was originally designed as a more advanced fighter than "flamethrower". In the process of use, it was found that the climb rate and high altitude speed were not ideal, especially in the high-speed diving space-time aerodynamic characteristics deteriorated, so it was not easy to change from diving. In the process of use, it was gradually used as a fighter bomber and ground attack aircraft.

Historical evolution

Hawke company began to develop improved "storm" in March 1940, trying to make "storm" become the original advanced fighter. After research, changing the wing shape of "storm" and thinning the wing can greatly improve the "storm" performance. Then, a wing shape closer to ellipse than "storm" is adopted, and the wing chord length is reduced by 14.5% and the wing tip is reduced by 10%. As the wing thinned, the capacity of the wing tank was reduced, so the engine bracket was extended forward 21 inches and a 76 gallon fuselage tank was added behind the engine fire panel. The shape of the improved aircraft is very similar to that of "storm", but they can still be distinguished from each other by the shape of the wing and the length of the nose.

Service status

On November 18, 1941, the British air force ordered two prototypes, known as Storm II. In the spring of 1942, there were a variety of 2000 horsepower engines to choose from in the UK. Hawke company proposed several schemes to refit different engines for the British air force to choose again. In order to obtain advanced fighters, the British Air Force Department asked Hawke company to develop 5 types and 6 prototypes at the same time for the final choice. In August of the same year, "Storm II" was renamed "storm".

Model introduction

HM509/TempestMKI/SabreIV：

Move the palate cooler inlet to the leading edge of the wing root, similar to the "mosquito" bomber. The first flight test was on February 24, 1943. The maximum level flight speed of 750 km / h is achieved in the flight test, but the pitch response of the aircraft is sluggish at low speed. In addition, the performance of sabre IV engine is unstable and has been improving. In addition, the air force department has doubts about the survivability of wing cooler in combat, so it has not been further developed. After the war, the plan was abandoned.

LA602.LA607/TempestMKII/CentaurusIV：

The designer thinks: the Centaurus air-cooled engine may greatly improve the performance of the aircraft. After studying the captured fw-190, the designer understands the technical measures for the application of the high-power air-cooled engine, arranges a large annular air inlet, uses the powerful slipstream of the propeller to force the cooling of the cylinder fins, and uses separate exhaust pipes from each cylinder to collect to the gill exhaust port of the aircraft and the engine rubber The rubber component is connected with the engine bracket to reduce vibration. The prototype (la602) was tested on June 28, 1943. It was equipped with Centaurus XII (2520 HP) engine and the maximum horizontal speed reached 712 km / h. It was put into mass production in September 1944 and began to equip troops in November 1945. It did not participate in World War II and produced 452 aircraft in total.

LA610/TempestMKIII/GriffonIIB；

LA614/TempestMKIV/Griffon61：

MkIII / IV are all modifications of the planned Rolls Royce Griffon series engines. The type IV plan was cancelled in February 1943, and the type III flight test was carried out in September 1944 after the griffon 85 engine (la610) was installed. But only one was produced. After the war, this prototype was modified with sabre mkviii engine (3000 horsepower), and its maximum horizontal flight speed reached 777 km / h. It is the fastest aircraft in Tempest series.

HM595/TempestMKV/SabreII：

On September 2, 1942, the V-type prototype flight test showed that the extended nose affected the lateral stability of the aircraft, so it was necessary to increase the area of the vertical tail. Because of the urgent need of the war, hawker company welded an extension piece to the connection between the vertical tail and the fuselage of the prototype, which changed the shape of the original "typhoon" vertical tail. The V-type is not the best in the "storm" series in flight performance, but it is equipped with the sabreii engine with the most stable performance. It takes longer for other types of aircraft to be mass produced. The V-type becomes the model with the largest production volume and the only type number equipped during the war. The first production aircraft was delivered to the army on June 21, 1943. A total of 861 were produced. There are two types of I / II series of V-type. I series is equipped with hispanomkii (long tube) machine gun, and II series is equipped with hispanomkv (short tube) machine gun.

performance index

Dimension data: wingspan 12.49m, length 10.24m, height 4.09M, wing area 28.06m2.

Weight data: empty weight 4128 kg, maximum takeoff weight 6123 kg.

Performance data: the maximum level flight speed is 700km / h, the lift limit is 11000m, it takes 5 minutes to climb to 4572m, and the range is 1200km.

Weaponry: four 20 mm machine guns, capable of carrying 2 * 1000 kg bombs.

Power plant: a Napier Sabre II B24 cylinder "H" shaped liquid cooled engine with power of 1420 HP.