Hawker Typhoon Mk IB R7752 PR o G, livrée au « 609 West Riding Squadron » à Duxford en Juin 1942, d’abord
machine de Paul Richey puis de Roland Beamont à partir d’Octobre 1942. Kit Revell ©1973 H266-380A 1/32ème, 1975-76 puis terminée à
l’énamel en 2003 puis entièrement refaite, re-gravée en creux,
re-rivetée manuellement par Patrice Poyet 05/2008. ©Patrice Poyet 1975-2008.
La maquette au 1/32 :
Le sujet
représenté fut livré au « 609 West Riding
Squadron » à Duxford le
2 juin 1942 et initialement alloué au Sqn.Ldr Paul Richey qui avait pris
son commandement la veille, le « G » étant sa lettre individuelle
d’identification. La première utilisation par le 609 à Duxford du Typhoon fut
durant l’opération « Jubilee », un raid sur Dieppe le 19 Août 1942.
Les forces alliées confondant les Typhoons et les les FW 190 diverses marques
d’identification furent appliquées, en particulier les bandes noires et
blanches alternées de 12
pouces de large. Au départ de Richey en Octobre 1942
pour l’extrême orient, le Sqn.Ldr. Roland Beamont le remplaça et reprit la
machine R7752 y ajoutant le drapeau du « leader » et diverses
marques. Beamont était retourné chez Hawker comme pilote d’essai sur
« Tempest » en Mai 1943 quand cette machine piloté par Alec Ingle fut
touchée le 1er Juin 1943 par la Flak près de Vlissingen (Hollande) et vint atterrir en catastrophe sur
la base de Manston. Le
pilote, le Squadron Leader Alec Ingle DFC, AFC,
qui commandait le 609 à ce moment ne fut pas blessé mais l’avion fut retiré du
service le 25 Août 1943.
L’avion :
Les
caractéristiques techniques du Typhoon sont : un moteur Napier Sabre II de
24 cylindres en H d’une puissance unitaire de 2 230 à 2 965 ch, une envergure
de 12,67 m,
une longueur de 9,73 m,
une hauteur de 4,67 m,
une surface alaire de 25,92
m2, une masse à vide de 3 992kg, une masse maximale en
service de 6 010kg, une vitesse maximale 664 km/h, un plafond de 10 730 m, une vitesse
ascensionnelle de 914 m/min, un rayon d’action de 821 km, un armement interne
4 canons de 20 mm
Hispano-Suiza HS-404 et externe 2 bombes de 454 kg ou 8 roquettes RP-3 de 127 mm.
The 1/32 scale model :
R7752
was delivered to 609
(West Riding) Squadron on 2nd June 1942. Initially, coded PR-G it was flown
by Squadron Leader Paul Richey (‘G’ was Richey’s favoured letter since his days
in the Battle of France with No. 1 Squadron), before becoming the mount of
Squadron Leader Roland
Beamont when he took command of the Squadron. The engine panel, on which Beamont
kept a tally of his victories is still in existence, and is now in the 609
Squadron memorial room at the Yorkshire
Air Museum
at Elvington. The panel is signed on the back by many of the pilots and ground
officers of the time, who presented the panel to Bee when he left the squadron.
The aircraft was then passed to Squadron Leader Alec Ingle, who took over 609
when Beamont went off for a rest tour as a test pilot at Hawkers. The Typhoon was well suited for low
level attacks against ground targets, such as airfields and armoured vehicles. R7752 wore four 12" black stripes under port and
starboard wings to avoid friendly fire but was damaged by enemy anti aircraft
fire off Vlissingen (Netherland)
and crash landed at RAF Manston on 1st June 1943. The pilot, Squadron Leader A.
Ingle DFC, AFC, the Commanding officer of 609 at the time, was uninjured. R7752
was back at Hawkers, where it was stripped and used for parts and was struck of
charge 25th August 1943.
Paint
schemes and markings changed regularly on Typhoons. At one point, PR-G had 1ft
wide yellow bands running back across the wings from close to the inside
cannons (until 3rd February 1943). The spinner varied from red tipped
duck-egg-blue (this was Richey, and Beamont initially) at one point, to yellow
with Beamont. Also, cannons were initially unfaired - it was Beamont’s idea to
have them faired in, and R7752 was the first Typhoon to have this modification
- with fairings from a Spitfire being used. These were also yellow. This
shrouding later became standard. Also, the reflector gunsight was modified,
part of it was blanked off with a slide in order to not blind the pilot when
attacking ground targets at night - this was never an official mod on Typhoons,
but became unofficially standard on 609's. Also, while Richey had it, at one
point the 'R7752' serial was painted out. Black and white identification bands
(not invasion stripes) and type 'c' roundels were also added, along with a
white chin stripe, when in Beamont's possession. The cockpit did not have a
blister in the top. The gun camera was fitted to the port wing, rather than
beneath the nose.
The aircraft:
Even before the new Hurricane was rolling
off the production lines in March 1937, Sydney Camm had moved on to designing its
replacement. This was to be a large fighter designed around the large and more
powerful 24-cylinder Napier
Sabre engine. The
second prototype, P5216, first flew on 3 May 1941: P5216 carried
an armament of four belt-fed 20 mm
(.79 in)
Hispano
Mk II cannon, each
with 140 rounds per gun and was the first prototype of the Typhoon IB series. It
was decided that because Hawker was dealing with increasing Hurricane
production the Tornado would be built by Avro, while Gloster
would build the Typhoons at Hucclecote. Avro and Gloster were both
aircraft companies within the Hawker Siddeley group. As a result of good progress
by Gloster the first production Typhoon R7576 was first flown on 27 May
1941 by Michael Daunt,
just over three weeks after the second prototype. A total of 3,300 Typhoons was
built by Gloster, plus 15 built by Hawker along with the two prototypes
bringing the grand total to 3317. About 60 Typhoons were converted to a
photo-reconnaissance configuration designated the "FR.1B", carrying
two 20 millimeter
cannon and various camera fits. Only one complete Hawker Typhoon still survives
– serial number MN235 – and it is on
display at the RAF Museum in Hendon, North London.
The Hawker Typhoon replica at the Memorial de la Paix, Caen (France) had been reconstructed from
some original components.
Original pictures are from THE RAF
WWII LOGBOOKS of Wing Commander R.P. Beamont.
Great video “Hawker Typhoon
Documentary Film”
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