Het verschil tussen Tempest en Typhoon: (erg mooie kisten)
(edit hier meer info in het nederlands
http://www.strijdbewijs.nl/birds/typhoon.htm )
* While Hawker and the RAF were struggling to turn the Typhoon into a useful aircraft, Hawker's Sydney Camm and his team were rethinking the design. The Typhoon's thick, rugged wing was partly to blame for some of the aircraft's performance problems, and as far back as March 1940 a few engineers had been set aside to investigate the new "laminar flow" wing, which the Americans had implemented in the P-51 Mustang.
The laminar flow wing had a maximum ratio of thickness to chord of 14.5%, in comparison to 18% for the Typhoon. The maximum thickness was also moved back towards the middle of the cross section. The new wing was originally longer than that of the Typhoon, at 13.1 meters (43 feet), but then the wingtips were clipped off and the wing became shorter than that of the Typhoon, at 12.5 meters (41 feet). The new wing cramped the fit of the four Hispano 20 millimeter cannon, and so the cannon were moved back further into the wing, and the wing was extended into an elliptical shape to accommodate them. The new elliptical wing had greater area than the Typhoon's. Camm, noted for a sharp sense of humor, later remarked: "The Air Staff wouldn't buy anything that didn't look like a Spitfire."
Another important feature of the new wing was that radiators for the new Sabre IV engine were fitted into the leading edge of the wing inboard of the landing gear. This eliminated the distinctive "beard" radiator associated with the Typhoon and improved aerodynamics, but also displaced fuel tanks that had been fitted into the leading edge of the Typhoon's wing. This greatly reduced fuel capacity, but Hawker engineers found they could stretch the fuselage 53 centimeters (21 inches) ahead of the cockpit to accommodate more fuel storage in the fuselage. The longer nose did not seriously impair the pilot's forward view, but the tailfin had to be extended.
* The new design was basically solid by October 1941, and the Air Ministry issued a specification designated "F.10/41" that had been written to fit. A contract for two initial prototypes was issued the next month. The aircraft was originally named the "Typhoon Mark II", but was renamed "Tempest" in January 1942, when more prototypes with various experimental configurations were ordered.
The first Tempest prototype flew on 2 September 1942. This aircraft was really just a Typhoon fitted with the new elliptical wing, and retained the Tiffy's frame canopy, automobile doors, and Sabre II engine. It was quickly fitted with a bubble canopy and taller tailfin.
Test pilots found the Tempest a great improvement over the Typhoon. The Air Ministry had already ordered 400 Tempests in August, but production of the new Sabre IV engine ran into protracted problems and delays. The second prototype, the first with the Sabre IV and designated "Tempest Mark I", did not fly until 24 February 1943. This prototype also had the older Typhoon cockpit and tailfin at first. Elimination of the "beard" radiator did much to improve performance, and the Tempest Mark I was the fastest thing Hawker had built to that time, attaining a speed of 750 KPH (466 MPH).
