Tempest Mk.V

[chuckfourth]

Hi
Tempest Mk.V unit 492 in the British OOB seems to have 4 Rockets too many? amongst the many links Ive explored on the plane every one mentions that the plane only carries 8 rockets rather than the current in-game 12 rockets. This link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Tempest
also says this about Tempest Armament,
"8× 3 in (75 mm) RP-3 rockets (post-Second World War)"
ie Wikipedia seems to think they only carried bombs not rockets during WWII

[JohnHale]

8 Rockets is the accepted norm, Chuck - the Tempest was really only a thin-wing Typhoon (for better high-altitude performance), and thus had the same armament to deploy.

[chuckfourth]

Hi John,
Yes that sounds right to me, do you know if it did carry rockets in WWII? or is maybe the Wiki article correct in saying that these were a post war development? Maybe the WWII thin wing wasnt initially strong enough to carry the 8 rockets?

[DRG]

Yes, there are four rockets too many but it does look like this should only be a bomb armed aircraft anyway

http://www.hawkertempest.se/bombs.htm

gives the bomb loadouts and it indicated there was 1 bomb per wing from 250 pounds up to 1000 pounds and specifically notes the Tempest Mk. V Series 1 could not carry rockets.

The master OOB has been revised

Don

[JohnHale]

Going to my resources, not even that, Don.

Extracting from "The Typhoon & Tempest Story" by Chris Thomas and Chris Shores (page 111), trials with underwing stores did not begin until the summer of '44. Only in the last days of the war did 33 Sqn first fly missions with underwing 500lb bombs.

Tempests were thus limited to 20mm cannon (and long-range fuel tanks with the Mk5 Srs ii) until WinSPMBT comes along. Starnge - I always though they had the same armament as the Typhoon: you live and learn!

[chuckfourth]

Nice resources you have there John.

[JohnHale]

Buying books is a weakness of mine..... the wife calls it something else!