Hawker Tempest

[SE210]

About 15-20 years ago, a Hawker Tempest wreck (or restoration project) was offered for sale in Flight International.

I recall it to be a Mark V or VI, and the price was 50.000£.

Anybody who knows, what became of the plane ??

Brgds

SE210

[treadigraph]

There is a Mk V on rebuild at Booker for Kermit Weeks. Whether it will fly or not is another matter - presumably the Napier Sabre must be an interesting challenge! Let's hope it does so and that Kermit allows it to do a few shows in the UK before taking it home to Florida.

There are several IIs around as well - one in the Midlands somewhere is making good progress, not sure what happened to the other and whether either or both were the two that Autokraft were rebuilding before they went under.

Always been surprised that the Fighter Collection didn't acquire one of the several projects - or perhaps they did and are keeping it under wraps.

[SE210]

To me, the real Tempest has got the Napier Sabre engine - like the Typhoon.

The engine is propably the reason, why none is flying today. Extremely tempered, and more or less impossible to get maintained/overhauled anywhere.

The Mark II with the Centaurus engine is another story. And is is strange, that no Tempest II is flying today. Especially when the Sea Fury, with the same engine, is pretty common today.

[treadigraph]

But the Centaurus has tantrums as well - I can think of three UK Sea Furies (Hayden-Bailey's, Spencer Flack's and the RNHF's two seater) that pranged as a result of engine problems, plus the current RNHF aircraft has had probs with the engine.

The US R3350 solution, whilst aesthetically unpalatable, does at least seem to have some longevity even when thrashed at Reno!

Cheers

Treadders

[SE210]

You are right.

Amazing, that an overboosted C-3350 can stand the punishment of Reno Air Show, considering the problems encountered when mounted on the DC7 and Super Connie/Starliner.

[ozplane]

Yes but at Reno they only have to do it for 10 minutes or so not 10 hours over the Atlantic in mid-winter. Good engine though.

[treadigraph]

Hayden-Bailey's, Spencer Flack's

Actually I seem to recall now that Spencer Flack owned and was flying both when they chucked their con rods (or whatever) out of the playpen. As unlucky as John Beattie in the RNHF examples!

[Mike51]

Actually I believe that the OH-B example was being flown by "someone else" (no names, no pack drill) at the time, and the forced landing was due to fuel system management. No con-rods were chucked in that particular incident!

[Conc]

Isn't there a Tempest under rebuild at either Gamston or Humberside. Seem to remember seeing something about it in a recent magazine article.

[treadigraph]

You're probably right Mike, but Spencer had just acquired it... Not lucky with Sea Furies was he, though very lucky to survive the prang at Waddington. Shame that luck didn't extend to his motor racing...

Conc, just been doing some research with G-INFO - both the ex-Autokraft Tempests are registered to a company at Gamston, and I'm sure that it is one of those that appears in the magazine article.

There was one owned by businessman who was murdered, and I thought one in a France; are either of these now at Gamston, or are they different aircraft entirely? A number of airframes were recovered from India in the late 70s.

[Mike51]

The aircraft that was owned by the businessman who was murdered (David Martin) is the one that went to France (to the late Philippe Denis). I'm not sure where that one is now, possibly still stored in France.

Of the others recovered by Doug Arnold from India, one went to the US (currently stored in Texas), one is in the RAF Museum in Hendon, one is on rebuild registered to an owner at Gamston (ex-Brooklands airframe) with a second airframe for parts, and a couple are still unaccounted for, possibly in external storage at Hemswell, Lincs.

I'm not sure what the present status of the most advanced of the 'Gamston' ones is, still awaiting an overhauled engine last I heard.

[Ex Oggie]

Isn't there one being restored somewhere in deepest Shropshire? The name Roger Marley??, or something similar seems to ring a bell.