Hawker Typhoon

The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was meant to be a medium to high altitude interceptor replacing the Hawker Hurricane, but design problems meant it never completely met that need. Powered by the 2,000 hp class Napier Sabre, the first prototype, P5212, flew on 24 February 1940, delayed by problems with the engine. Its service entry in late 1941 was plagued with troubles, yet it was the only RAF fighter able to catch the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 at low level, so it was rushed to Nos. 56 and 609 Squadrons. From September 1943 it carried rockets, and Typhoons became a feared ground-attack aircraft in Normandy and beyond. Some 3,317 were built, almost all by Gloster, and by October 1945 it was no longer in operational use.