[3] The Typhoon was originally designed to mount twelve .303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns and be powered by the latest 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) engines.

[3] When the Luftwaffe brought the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 into service in 1941, the Typhoon was the only RAF fighter capable of catching it at low altitudes; as a result it secured a new role as a low-altitude interceptor.

[10] Hawker submitted these preliminary designs in July 1937, but were advised by the Director of Technical Development to wait until a formal specification for a new fighter to replace the Spitfire and Hurricane was issued.

[10][8] In March 1938, Hawker received the complete Specification F.18/37 and invitation to tender for a fighter which would be able to achieve at least 400 mph (640 km/h) at 15,000 feet (4,600 m), a ceiling of not less than 35,000 ft and specified a British engine with a two-speed supercharger.

[19] The wing possessed great structural strength, provided plenty of room for fuel tanks and a heavy armament, while allowing the aircraft to be a steady gun platform.

Mod 286, which involved fastening external fishplates, or reinforcing plates, around the tail of the aircraft, and eventually internal strengthening, was only a partial remedy, and there were still failures right up to the end of the Typhoon's service life.

[citation needed] The Typhoon did not begin to mature as a reliable aircraft until the end of 1942, when its excellent qualities – seen from the start by S/L Roland Beamont of 609 Squadron – became apparent.

The Typhoon finally proved itself in this role; for example, while flying patrols against these low-level raids, 486 (NZ) Squadron claimed 20 fighter-bombers, plus three bombers shot down, between mid-October 1942 and mid-July 1943.

[35] As soon as the aircraft entered service, it was apparent the profile of the Typhoon resembled a Fw 190 from some angles, which caused more than one friendly fire incident involving Allied anti-aircraft units and other fighters.

Although the rocket projectiles were inaccurate and took considerable skill to aim and allow for ballistic drop after firing, "the sheer firepower of just one Typhoon was equivalent to a destroyer's broadside".

[citation needed] By the end of 1943, eighteen rocket-equipped Typhoon squadrons formed the basis of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2nd TAF) ground attack arm in Europe.

With medium bombers, 42 Typhoons carried out an attack on 10 June against the headquarters of Panzergruppe West wounding the general, killing several staff officers and disrupting a planned counterattack against the Allied forces.

[52] On 24 March 1945, over 400 Typhoons were sent on several sorties each, to suppress German anti-aircraft guns and Wehrmacht resistance to Operation Varsity, the Allied airborne crossing of the Rhine that involved two full divisions of 16,600 troops and 1,770 gliders sent across the river.

On 3 May 1945, the Cap Arcona, the SS Thielbek, and the Deutschland, large passenger ships in peacetime now in military service, were sunk in four attacks by RAF Hawker Typhoon 1Bs of No.

[55][56] By 1943, with its change of role to ground attack, the Typhoon was constantly operating over enemy territory: inevitably some flyable examples fell into German hands.

[31] As was usual with many front line Second World War RAF aircraft, the Typhoon was modified and updated regularly, so that a 1945 production example looked quite different from one built in 1941.

[61] In addition to carbon monoxide seepage, pilots were experiencing unpleasantly high cockpit temperatures; eventually a ventilation tube helped alleviate, but did not solve the problem.

[nb 12][57] A major problem, afflicting early production Typhoons in particular, was a series of structural failures leading to loss of the entire tail sections of some aircraft, mainly during high-speed dives.

Eventually a combination of factors was identified, including harmonic vibration, which could quickly lead to metal fatigue, and a weak transport joint just forward of the horizontal tail unit.

This was a permanent measure designed to stop rear fuselage structural failures and was introduced on the production line from the 820th aircraft; between December 1942 and March 1943, all Typhoons without Mod 286 were taken out of service and modified.

[66] Starting in January 1943, R8809 was used to test a new, clear, one piece sliding "bubble" canopy and its associated new windscreen structure which had slimmer frames which, together with the "cut-down" rear dorsal fairing, provided a far superior all-around field of view to the car-door type.

Coinciding with the new propeller, it was also decided that the larger tailplanes of the Hawker Tempest were to be fitted when tests showed that they improved the handling characteristics of the Typhoon when carrying 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs.

Trials at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A & AEE) and Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) showed that the combination of the RP-3 rocket and the stable, high-speed platform of the Typhoon was promising.

[citation needed] Once Typhoons started operating from forward landing grounds in Normandy, it was found that the dust clouds stirred up by propeller wash consisted of over 80 percent of hard, abrasive material which was damaging the Sabre engines.

Although a maximum speed of 452 mph (727 km/h) was claimed by Napier, it was decided that the modifications would not be worthwhile, mainly because of the promising development of the Tempest, and because the disruption to Typhoon production would not be sufficiently outweighed by any benefit achieved.

The aircraft was never popular with the pilots, who preferred the older Mustang Is and IAs, and the inherent engine and airframe vibrations meant that photos were invariably blurred.

As a consequence of these problems, the FR IB was phased out in January 1945..[citation needed] In 1941, as Blackburn's specification N.11/40 high performance base defence fighter (that was carrier transportable) was delayed, the Admiralty looked at navalised version of the Typhoon as an alternative.

Applying a few degrees of flap we swung on down into the airfield approach, levelled out above the runway and softly eased down on to her two wheels, leaving her tail up until she dropped it of her own accord.

[94] It was briefly on show in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight hangar at RAF Coningsby,[95] but returned to the Royal Air Force Museum London in November 2018.

On 9 June 1994, in recognition of the aircraft and crew's role in the liberation of Normandy, a Typhoon memorial was dedicated by Major M. Roland Heudier at Noyers-Bocage, France.