Tempest Mk.II early version - 1:48 scale model kit

ProfiPACK edition kit of British fighter aircraft Tempest Mk.II in 1/48 scale.

The piston engine aircraft development peaked at the end of World War II, pushing some remarkable designs into service. The Hawker Tempest was one of them. This high performing beast reached its full potential with radial engine power.

The story of the Tempest originated in an attempt to address the shortcomings that prevented its predecessor, the Hawker Typhoon succeeding as a fighter. The main design problem with the Typhoon was the thick wing with NACA 22 profile, offering lot of inner space for fuel and armament, but building drag rapidly with rising speed. Not surprisingly the wing was at the core of the changes in the development of the new fighter. The resulting design was originally supposed to retain the Typhoon name as the Mark II, but it was changed to Tempest finally.

The new wing was 5 in (12,7 cm) thinner at the root and the planform changed in comparison with Typhoon wing to a near elliptical shape. As the new wing did not offer enough space for fuel, additional fuel tank of 76-gallon (288 l) volume had to be installed in the fuselage. The space was created between the firewall and the oil tank by moving the engine forward by 21 in (53,4 cm). Owing to that, the horizontal tail surfaces had to be enlarged. The Typhoon main undercarriage was replaced by a levered-leg Dowty design.