 | |
| Formation | May 17, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Legal status | Charity |
| Purpose | To restore a Hawker Typhoon to airworthy condition |
| Website | hawkertyphoon |
Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group is a UK-based charity with an aim of restoring a Hawker Typhoon (serial RB396) to airworthy condition. [1] [2]
Deployed as a ground-attack aircraft during the Second World War, RB396 participated in more than 35 missions targeting Nazi-occupied Europe. Despite sustaining damage on numerous occasions, the aircraft underwent repairs 18 times over its four-month operational period.
During the Second World War, new aircraft were delivered from factories and Maintenance Units by pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary, a civilian organization operating under the Ministry of Aircraft Production. This group played a crucial role, delivering over 309,000 aircraft of 147 types. RB396 was built in November 1944, and test flown by Laurence Stark. On 9 December 1944, Polish ATA Pilot Anna Leska-Daab delivered RB396 from 51 Maintenance Unit (51MU) at RAF Lichfield to RAF Westhampnett, home of 83 Group Support Unit (83 GSU). [3]
RB396 was likely transferred from the UK to 174 Squadron on 31 December 1944, as indicated in an extract from the Squadron Operational Record Book (ORB). The ORB notes improved weather conditions on New Year's Eve, with two pilots returning from 83 GSU after an eight-day wait, bringing with them two very new aircraft, one of which was likely RB396.
On 13 January Pilot Officer Frank Johnson RCAF flew RB396 for local flying and practice at Volkel, southwest of Nijmegen, marking the first recorded flight of what he termed 'his W'. At some point, Frank had his girlfriend's name, 'Sheila', painted on the nose of the aircraft. Subsequently, Frank recorded 34 flights and sorties in RB396 over the next two and a half months before being shot down whilst flying in Typhoon SW495 on 30 March 1945.
On 1 April 1945, Flight Lieutenant Chris House piloted RB396, engaging mechanized enemy transports (METs) located five miles northeast of Hengelo, Netherlands. He had only been flying with 174 Squadron for six days. However, during the mission, the aircraft was hit by light flak, leading to a loss of altitude. Despite the damage, House successfully executed a forced landing northwest of Denekamp. He evaded capture for three days, subsisting on swedes he found, and was ultimately sheltered by a Dutch family who gave him civilian clothes and handed him over to the Dutch resistance, who facilitated his return to his Squadron. The Gestapo discovered the family's assistance to Chris, leading to their execution.
RB396's wreckage changed hands multiple times, initially falling into the possession of a scrap dealer and later a chemical factory, which intended to repurpose the rear fuselage for chemical wash production. Dutch enthusiasts intervened, securing the aircraft for display in Fort Veldhuis museum. [4]
One of the founding Trustees of the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group facilitated RB396's return to the United Kingdom. Subsequently, the group was donated a factory-inhibited Napier Sabre engine by Cranfield University, marking the establishment of the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group in 2016. [5]
The Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group partnered with the Aircraft Restoration Company, based at IWM Duxford, for engineering support in the project. This partnership involves the rebuild process, progressing as funds become available. Work began in 2019 on the fuselage at Airframe Assemblies, a subcontractor located on the Isle of Wight following a successful crowdfunding campaign. Work also began in 2021 on the cockpit section at Duxford. The original plan was for the Typhoon to be flying in time for the 80th anniversary of D-Day in 2024. [6]
The Covid-19 pandemic forced a pause on work on both sections at the end of 2021 as the HTPG was unable to raise the necessary funds. During this period, the HTPG raised funds and sourced more parts. The money was raised by the end 2022, but the work slot at AA had been filled with other projects, so the next available slot had to be waited for. Although initially hoped to be summer 2023, other projects overran, and work on RB396 was only able to restart in the second week of December 2023, with an aim to completion in June 2024.
The rear fuselage section holds significant importance within the project, serving as its foundational element. Notably, the port side of RB396's rear fuselage features the sole surviving significant original example of RAF Second Tactical Air Force paint worldwide, enhancing the aircraft's historical significance.[ citation needed ]
The rear fuselage's exceptional condition allowed for approximately 80% of the original structure to be reused in the rebuild process, a step felt by the Group to be important, despite the easier and cheaper option of remaking all elements from new materials.
Parts of two other aircraft, a Hawker Tempest and a Typhoon IB, have been acquired by the HTPG for incorporating into RB396. [7] [8] The IB, EJ922, consisted of the cockpit section, and was gained in 2016. [9] [10] The Hawker Tempest, JN768, was previously being restored to airworthiness by Anglia Aircraft Restorations. The compatibility of the jigs and fixtures, of which the project had a full set, and large sections and ancillaries, meant significant cost savings for the RB396 project. The group has announced that they may restart the JN768 project once RB396 is flying. [11] [12] [13]
The Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group has estimated the following costs for the project.
| Component | Cost |
|---|---|
| Fuselage monocoque | £400,000 |
| Cockpit | £500,000 |
| Engine | £750,000 |
| Front End | £450,000 |
| Propeller and hub | £500,000 |
| Wings inc. undercarriage | £1,500,000 |
| Tail section, rudder and tail planes | £250,000 |
| Electrics, pneumatics, flying controls and instrumentation | £500,000 |
| Final assembly | £650,000 |
| Total | £5,500,000 |
| Extras, contingencies and unknowns | £1,000,000 |
| Total estimated cost | £5,500,000 - £6,500,000 |
They aim to raise this amount via donations from individuals and from corporate sponsors, such as Airfix and Bremont. [14] [15]
The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered and it never completely satisfied this requirement.
The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the Typhoon II, was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to address the Typhoon's unexpected deterioration in performance at high altitude by replacing its wing with a thinner laminar flow design. Since it had diverged considerably from the Typhoon, it was renamed Tempest. The Tempest emerged as one of the most powerful fighters of World War II and at low altitude was the fastest single-engine propeller-driven aircraft of the war.
Royal Air Force Coltishall more commonly known as RAF Coltishall is a former Royal Air Force station located 10 miles north-north-east of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, which operated from 1939 to 2006.
The Hawker Hind was a British light bomber of the inter-war years produced by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force. It was developed from the Hawker Hart day bomber introduced in 1931.
The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy. Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two years after the war ended. It proved to be a popular aircraft with a number of overseas militaries and was used during the Korean War in the early 1950s, and by the Cuban air force during the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion.
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby, is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi) south-west of Horncastle, and 15.8 kilometres (9.8 mi) north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and home to three front-line Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 units, No. 3 Squadron, No. 11 Squadron and No. 12 Squadron. In support of front-line units, No. 29 Squadron is the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit and No. 41 Squadron is the Typhoon Test and Evaluation Squadron. Coningsby is also the home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) which operates a variety of historic RAF aircraft.
Number 3 Squadron, also known as No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2006. It was first formed on 13 May 1912 as one of the first squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps – being the first to fly heavier than air aircraft.
Imperial War Museum Duxford is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Britain's largest aviation museum, Duxford houses the museum's large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels in seven main exhibition buildings. The site also provides storage space for the museum's other collections of material such as film, photographs, documents, books and artefacts. The site accommodates several British Army regimental museums, including those of the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Anglian Regiment.
Wing Commander Roland Prosper "Bee" Beamont, was a British fighter pilot for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and an experimental test pilot during and after the Second World War. He was the first British pilot to exceed Mach 1 in a British aircraft in level flight (P.1A), and the first to fly a British aircraft at Mach 2 (P.1B).
No. 486 (NZ) Squadron was a fighter squadron established for service during the Second World War. It was a New Zealand squadron formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Plan. Although many of its flying personnel were largely drawn from the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the squadron served in Europe under the operational and administrative command of the Royal Air Force.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster heavy bomber and two fighters, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events commemorating the Second World War and upon British State occasions, notably Trooping the Colour, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday in 2006, and the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, and at air displays throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.
Number 56 Squadron, also known as No. 56 Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), nicknamed the Firebirds for their ability to always reappear intact regardless of the odds, is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both the First and Second World Wars.
Duxford Aerodrome is located 8 nautical miles south of Cambridge, within the civil parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly 1-mile (1.6 km) west of the village. The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and is the site of the Imperial War Museum Duxford and the American Air Museum.
Raynham George Hanna, was a New Zealand-born fighter pilot who emigrated to England to join the Royal Air Force (RAF). During his RAF career he was a founding member of the Red Arrows aerobatics display team. He also founded The Old Flying Machine Company, which commercially flies Second World War vintage fighter aircraft at air displays around the world, and for television and cinematic productions. He was a Spitfire display pilot in the latter half of the 20th century, noted for his daring aerobatic stunt flying.
Royal Air Force Chilbolton or RAF Chilbolton is a former Royal Air Force station in Hampshire, England. The airfield was located in Chilbolton approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southeast of Andover.
The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft. Some versions were built in Canada by Canadian Car and Foundry.
Air Marshal Sir Denis Crowley-Milling, was a Second World War fighter pilot and later an air officer in the Royal Air Force.
No. 135 Expeditionary Air Wing previously No. 135 Wing is a wing of the Royal Air Force. It was stationed at RAF Leeming, controlling the deployable subunits of the base. It was activated on 1 April 2006 as part of a modernisation package to make the RAF more deployable on an expeditionary basis.