Encouraged by the potential of the Napier Sabre 2,000hp flat-H engine, Hawker Aircraft's Sydney Camm submitted a proposal to the British Air Ministry in April 1937 for a new fighter, eventually named the Typhoon. The Typhoon became an excellent ground attack fighter which could carry rockets and bombs in addition to the very effective cannon.

This massive new fighter, the heaviest and most powerful single-seat single-engine warplane envisaged at the time of its design. It was to be pressed into operational service before it was fully developed. Yet, it was to blossom into one of the most formidable weapons evolved during the Second World War; a close-support fighter that was to turn the scales in many land battles and upset many conceptions of land warfare.

Although it first saw fire above Dieppe in August of 1942, the plane became really operational only in November of 1942. Although its performance in altitude was only average because of the thick wings, the Typhoon was on the other hand a first class interceptor at lower altitude and became feared as tactical support aircraft.

Outside the RAF, New Zealand and Australian squadrons fighting in Europe got the Typhoon.
Although the plane was developed by Hawker, the firm Gloster was responsible for the production. The latter had spare capacities, after the end of production of the Gladiator, while the former was fully booked with the Hurricane.

Identification: The Typhoon bears resemblance with the Tempest V. The most obvious way to differentiate the two is to consider the thickness of the wings (at least two time thicker on the Typhoon) and the gun armament, heavily protruding on the Typhoon. The tempest has a longer and thinner fuselage.

The urgency to find a counter measure for the German Fw 190 forced the British to press the Typhoon too soon into service. It was not yet fully developed and got a terrible reputation because of the numerous accident it suffered, loosing the tail was one of the most usual ! It was a first class interceptor at lower altitude though. The Fw-190 discovered it sooner rather than later. It also put an abrupt end to the daylight harassments by German fighter-bombers against the South of Britain.

It had to wait until late 1943 before its full potential was realized: equipped with rockets, it became one of the most feared "Jabo" (German term for "fighter-bomber"). It wreak havoc amongst the columns of Panzers, especially during the battle in Normandy.