Hawker Typhoon Construction.
 

I have been watching the Youtube Typhoon Legacy channel with interest. (My father flew Typhoons in WW11) especially as the rebuild is not so far away and No1 son was based at Comox (albeit before the rebuild started. We visited for Family flights. Great day out!)

I was wondering why Hawker chose to build the fuselage rear as a monocoque rather than as a skinned tubed construction while using tubes for the cockpit area. Hawker's had experience with tube construction in the Hurricane and clearly the loads required a complicated and massively strong tube build for the cockpit area (if tubes were to be used,) If it was to conserve weight then why not continue through the cockpit? The aircraft was already a big heavy aircraft, would the weight difference between the rear of the cockpit and the tail be all that critical considering the extra effort of constructing the frames ( and heat treating every single part of them?)

One of the great benefits of the Hurricane was ease of build and ease of repair. Why not retain that in the design of the Typhoon?

I am curious as I was struck by the great complication of the cockpit area and the massive construction of the tubular frame!

During war time, the materials available, and the skills available for fabrication, particularly mass production became factors in design. There was less focus on longevity, and maintainability, and more on building fast with the available materials.

Considering they were building a 'new' machine with an equally 'new and untried engine' it was a quantum leap in to new technology compounded by the shere weight, power, and 'unknowns' of the Sabre. Of course this was sorted in the Tempest, so the Typhoon has to be looked at as a development machine that HAD to go in to service. Whether an enlarged and upgraded Hurricane type construction would have seen them through is interesting, because there were several issues with the Typhoon that led from the Sabre itself, and vibration nodes are quite difficult to predict. Also critical area's were at the 'joints' and the elevator mass balance structure.
As it was it served as a stop gap to intercept low level FW 190 raids, and despite huge (low level) casualties to the superb German flack it is accepted that it did its job well, and indeed succeeded in the ground attack mode. What was needed was a far more organised forward air com system to compliment the versatility of its firepower. When you look at our tank 'losses' in the ground war there is no doubt that the Typhoon with a full ground air system would have had even more impact if the system was more integrated.