Initial design for the Typhoon and similar Tornado interceptors began around the time the Hurricane (W:AKM77) entered production. The Typhoon was larger than the Hurricane, with a more powerful engine and heavier armament (either twelve .303 Brownings or four 20mm Hispanos were planned). The Tornado differed only in powerplant and placement of the engine cooling system. The engines and airframes of both planes had numerous defects and the project was almost cancelled completely in 1940. However, interest in the type, no doubt spurred by the Battle of Britain, was revived and in May 1941, the Typhoon IA entered production and was rushed to the Nos. 56 and 609 squadrons at Duxford to intercept small formations of German aircraft entering British airspace. The Typhoon suffered numerous mechanical problems in service, earning it a poor reputation. Among other things, the tail assemblies had a bad tendancy to tear away in high-G situations, but it was not until the end of 1942 that the engine and structural problems were solved.
The Typhoon became one of the most effective ground-support aircraft of WWII with the release of the IB version in 1943 with four 20mm cannons and a pair of 500-lb (later 1000-lb) bombs or eight to twelve 60-lb rockets (p.W135). Alternatively, a pair of 54-gallon (later 108 gallon) drop tanks could be carried instead. Starting in 1943, Typhoons began attacking ground targets across the Channel and gave a good accounting of itself. In one instance in 1944, shortly after the D-Day landings, Typhoons destroyed over 135 German tanks in one day.
Early Typhoons were fitted with a frame-type canopy, with those later in the production run using bubble canopies (in fact, the canopy of the P-47D was based on a Typhoon canopy mated to an earlier "Razorback" Thunderbolt). Production ended with some 3,200 IB's built, most by Gloster. Aside from the British, New Zealand and Canada also used the type. The Typhoon IB uses 73 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Heavy Fighter chassis +3, Light Fighter-Bomber
Wings +2, three retractable wheels +1.
Powertrain: 1,626-kW aerial turbocharged HP gasoline
engine with 1,626-kW prop and 180-gallon self-sealing fuel tanks [Body].
Occupancy: 1 CS Cargo: 2.5 Body,
5.1 Wings
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| All | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Pilot | 0/+10 | 0/+20 | 0/+40 | 0/0 | 0/+30 |
Weaponry
4¥20mm Medium AC/Hispano [Wing:F] (140 rounds each)*
* Linked to fire in pairs, plus additional link can fire all four at
once
Equipment
Body: Medium range radio transmitter and receiver, IFF, navigation
instruments, autopilot. Wings: 1,000-lb hardpoint each.
Statistics
| Size: 32'x42'x15' | Payload: 1.65 tons | Lwt: 5.98 tons |
| Volume: 224 | Maint.: 26 hours | Price: $58,100 |
HT: 9
HP: 260 [body], 240 [each wing], 24 [each wheel]
| aSpeed: 412 | aAccel: 13 | aDecel: 29 | aMR: 7.25 | aSR: 2 |
Design Notes
Design speed was 401 mph. The historical value has been used, as well
as the actual wing area (279 square feet). The design purchased 585 rounds
of 20mm ammo but the historical value was used. Unloaded weight was increased
4% to match historical unloaded weight.
The weight, cost and HPs of the wings were doubled to get unloaded weight in the proper range, as well as improve aMR.
Variants
The Typhoon IA (1941) was the original production model, with 105 built.
It was armed with twelve LMGs (500 rounds per gun). Effective HT was 6.
The Tempest (1944) was a very similar plane (in game terms), with a top speed of 426 mph. It was used as a fighter-bomber and also to destroy incoming V-1's.