Plastic model kit of a British WWII fighter aircraft. The Hawker Tempest V, which must be regarded as one of the finest aircraft of the Second World War, harks back to the Hurricane fighters which had proved so decisive in the Battle of Britain only two years earlier, and represents the absolute pinnacle of piston engine fighter development. When the successful designer Sydney Camm was looking for a replacement for his Super Hurricane, he certainly had the Tempest V in mind. In fact, the Tempest is often confused with its predecessor in Royal Air Force service, the Typhoon, although they are two very different aircraft. The original fighter to replace the Hawker Hurricane was the Typhoon, an aircraft that sought to combine the most powerful piston engine available at the time with a small but powerful and heavily armed airframe. Although the Typhoon was intended as an interceptor, it became apparent during development that the new aircraft could not perform this task as the thickness of the wing was not suitable for high altitude performance. The development and introduction of the Typhoon was so difficult that even a termination of the programme was considered. Nevertheless, the Typhoon eventually found its niche in aviation as a powerful ground attack aircraft that would prove its worth during the Allied invasion of Normandy. 68 parts, length built 142.5 mm / width 173 mm. BAE SYSTEMS is a registered trademark of BAE Systems plc.
