During World War II, the Allies deployed a formidable range of fighter planes, including the Supermarine Spitfire, the North American P-51 Mustang, the Soviet Yak series, and the Vought F4U Corsair, to combat the Axis powers. Despite facing German, Italian, and Japanese adversaries, numerous top-tier fighters proved highly effective. However, one Allied aircraft, the British Hawker Typhoon, which emerged as one of the deadliest in the latter stages of the war, nearly missed deployment due to developmental challenges. Despite initial setbacks, the Hawker Typhoon, equipped with a powerful single engine, bubble canopy, and the ability to carry machine guns, 20mm cannons, bombs, and rockets, ultimately excelled in combat, particularly during the Battle of the Falaise Pocket in eastern France. Although it fell short as a pure fighter, the Typhoon introduced innovative concepts to air warfare and demonstrated exceptional performance in critical engagements.
The Hawker Typhoon: Brain Child of the Famous Sydney Camm
The design of the Typhoon was initiated by Sir Sydney Camm, a towering figure in aircraft design history known for his irascible nature. Born in Windsor, he was a self-taught carpenter’s son who honed his skills at the Martinsyde Company before joining Hawker Aircraft. By 1925, at the age of 32, he assumed the role of chief designer. Camm’s portfolio boasted several successful single-engine aircraft for the Royal Air Force, including the Fury, Hart, and Demon biplanes, as well as the renowned Hurricane, propelling Hawker to the forefront of British aviation.
Anticipating the need for a successor to the Hurricane as early as 1937, Camm foresaw the demands of the Air Ministry, particularly in light of the escalating threat posed by German air power. Recognizing the necessity for a new generation interceptor, Camm envisioned a 12-gun fighter with an engine promising double the power of a Rolls-Royce Merlin.
In January 1938, the Air Ministry issued Specification F.18/37, seeking a replacement for both the Hurricane and Reginald J. Mitchell’s Spitfire. The new aircraft was to exceed contemporary bomber types in speed, reaching over 400 miles per hour, with a formidable armament of a dozen 7.7mm Browning machine guns. Hawker Aircraft Co. secured a contract for two designs, each to feature two prototypes.
Differences between the prototypes lay mainly in their engines: one powered by Rolls-Royce’s Vulture and the other by Napier’s Sabre. Despite encountering setbacks, including structural failures during testing, both prototypes progressed, with the Tornado flying first in October 1939, followed by the Typhoon in February 1940.
However, challenges persisted, particularly concerning engine reliability. Despite orders being placed for 500 Tornados, 250 Typhoons, and an additional 250 of the most successful type, production plans were overshadowed by the urgency of the Battle of Britain in 1940. Development of the interceptors took a back seat as the RAF focused on the manufacture and deployment of Hurricanes, Spitfires, and Merlin engines to defend against the German Luftwaffe and thwart the planned invasion of England.
The Typhoon is put into service.
The second Typhoon took to the skies on May 3, 1941, showcasing various enhancements such as the substitution of machine guns with four 20mm cannons and an enlarged fin and rudder for improved stability. Progress continued, with a production Typhoon flying later that month. Constructed by Gloster Aircraft at its Hucclecote facility in Gloucestershire, the initial batch comprised 110 Typhoon Mark IAs, fitted with machine guns due to shortages in cannon-feed mechanisms. Subsequent iterations, totaling 3,205 aircraft, were equipped with cannon armament as Mark IBs.
In contrast, the Tornado project was terminated due to severe engine failures, resulting in the completion of only one production model.
Tactical evaluations of the Typhoon commenced in September 1941. In comparative trials against a Spitfire Mark VB, the Typhoon demonstrated superior speeds, particularly at higher altitudes. While acknowledging its lesser agility compared to the Spitfire, it was believed that the Typhoon’s speed compensated for this drawback.
The first operational Typhoons joined No. 56 Squadron in September 1941, becoming fully operational by May 1942. However, issues soon arose, ranging from structural failures in the rear fuselage joints to carbon monoxide leakage into the cockpit, leading to fatal accidents. Despite improvements in cockpit sealing, the issue persisted, necessitating the use of oxygen masks by Typhoon pilots.
The aircraft’s poor rearward visibility was addressed with the introduction of a new teardrop canopy. Yet, reliability problems with the Sabre engine persisted, attributed to sleeve valve deformities causing engine seizures, a challenge not resolved until mid-1943.
Some Air Ministry officials advocated for the Typhoon’s withdrawal from service, citing concerns over its climb rate and high-altitude performance, sentiments echoed by former Hurricane and Spitfire pilots assigned to the aircraft. Many agreed unanimously on the Typhoon’s subpar performance in these aspects.
An imperfect Aircraft, a “Magnificent Gun Platform”
Squadron Leader H.S.L. “Cocky” Dundas, a 21-year-old highly decorated veteran of the Battle of Britain and the Bader Wing flying sweeps over France, assumed command of No. 56 Squadron just before Christmas 1941. He recounted, “Taking charge of the first squadron to receive the impressive new fighter was certainly exhilarating, but I must admit I was somewhat taken aback—perhaps ‘astounded’ is too strong a word—by what I encountered. It felt like an immense aircraft compared to the Spitfire. One practically had to climb up, open the door, and step in!”
Dundas expressed concern over the Typhoon’s issues with oil, starter, and rear-view visibility during a Fighter Command conference at Duxford Airfield attended by Air Ministry officials and the aircraft’s designer. He recalled, “Sydney Camm was rather offended when I strongly argued that this was a flawed design and unsuitable for combat. I recall him remarking something along the lines of, ‘My aircraft is so fast that you don’t need to see behind you!’ It became quite heated, I remember.”
Despite initial resistance, Dundas succeeded in having the Typhoons returned one by one for modifications. He noted, “They gradually improved the oil system during the early months of 1942. Then we encountered issues with the tails.”
Pilot Officer J.G. Simpson from No. 198 Squadron highlighted the risk of the Typhoon’s engine catching fire during startup. “The main issue,” he explained, “was the size of the propeller, combined with the torque from opening the throttle, causing the aircraft to swing significantly to the right during takeoff.”
Another seasoned pilot, Sergeant A. Shannon of No. 257 Squadron, confessed to feeling intimidated by the new fighter. He described, “I recall the Typhoon as a rather daunting machine, with the wind catching you off guard before you even took off…. The engine was quite imposing, and I was quite apprehensive when I first started it up and opened the throttle. After takeoff, which wasn’t too unsettling, I found myself at 15,000 feet in what felt like no time at all—almost before I realized it! It was unnerving, and for a while, I felt like the aircraft was flying me rather than the other way around.”
With further modifications and increased cockpit experience, pilots began to appreciate the Typhoon’s capabilities. Pilot Officer Simpson remarked, “After a few hours, the aircraft’s performance seemed quite ordinary, and once you mastered the throttle control, it was relatively easy to fly and remarkably stable. As a combat aircraft, it proved to be an excellent gun platform.”
Despite its commendable qualities, the Typhoon’s performance left much to be desired. Its engine remained unreliable and underpowered, and the aircraft lacked agility and speed above 15,000 feet, largely due to its thick wing section and high wing loading. Nonetheless, the troubled fighter exhibited impressive speed and agility at lower altitudes.
Train Busters
By September 1942, numerous Typhoon squadrons were deployed across southern England for defensive purposes. Although the frequency of German daylight bomber raids had reduced, sporadic attacks by Luftwaffe fighter-bombers, particularly the formidable Focke-Wulf 190, persisted throughout the autumn season. Typhoons were swiftly dispatched to intercept these incursions, often engaging them at low altitudes where they possessed superior maneuverability and speed compared to the FW-190s. Within a week of relocating to Manston Airfield in Kent, No. 609 Squadron reported the destruction of four FW-190s.
The RAF had finally found an aircraft capable of challenging the FW-190, one of the Luftwaffe’s most formidable adversaries, which ironically shared certain characteristics with the Typhoon. These achievements ensured the Typhoon remained in active service while Sydney Camm and his team at Hawker tirelessly addressed its deficiencies. During this period, a Typhoon was lost due to the detachment of its tail from the fuselage. Similar incidents prompted Hawker to reinforce the connection between the fuselage and empennage. However, this measure proved ineffective, and elevator flutter was later identified as the root cause. The permanent solution involved fitting an enlarged tailplane.
Recognized for its exceptional suitability for low-level combat, the Typhoon was equipped with bomb-carrying capabilities in late 1942. Eventually, aircraft from two squadrons were configured to carry various bomb configurations. Meanwhile, in 1943, Typhoon squadrons increased their involvement in offensive missions over Nazi-occupied northern Europe. Armed with rocket projectiles, the Typhoons became renowned for their effectiveness in disrupting enemy logistics, particularly as “train busters,” destroying numerous locomotives on French and Belgian railways. No. 609 Squadron alone accounted for the destruction of 100 locomotives in the initial phases of these operations, with minimal losses.
Typhoons from Nos. 174, 181, 245, and 609 Squadrons conducted raids over France and the Low Countries, causing significant damage to German targets. Their capability to operate at low altitudes and high speeds provided them with a considerable advantage over both enemy fighters and antiaircraft defenses. By the conclusion of 1943, the Typhoon had proven its effectiveness.
Operating in conjunction with other fighter-bomber units along the English southern coastline, Hawker Typhoons armed with various munitions targeted German assets in the English Channel and along the French coast. These missions intensified as Allied preparations for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Western Europe, accelerated in late 1943 and early 1944.
D-Day Air Support on Demand
By D-Day, 26 Typhoon squadrons were actively engaged with the British 2nd Tactical Air Force, under the leadership of the distinguished Australian-born Air Marshal Sir Arthur “Mary” Coningham, a seasoned veteran of World War I and the campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy from 1941 to 1944. Coningham’s formidable air force played a pivotal role in the Allied preparations and execution of the June 6, 1944, invasion, conducting extensive operations to weaken German defenses before and after the massive assault. With approximately 1,800 frontline aircraft and 100,000 personnel from seven nations, the 2nd Tactical Air Force provided crucial aerial support during the Normandy landings, the subsequent breakouts in the summer of 1944, and the Allied advance into Germany.
Hawker Typhoons played a vital role in the success of the Allied landings in Normandy by neutralizing enemy radar stations that could have alerted the Germans to the invasion fleet’s approach. Prior to D-Day, on June 2, Typhoons from Nos. 98 and 609 Squadrons targeted and destroyed the radar installation at Dieppe-Caudecote, while others incapacitated all six long-range radar stations south of Boulogne. Fifteen additional stations were rendered inoperable, leaving much of the Channel coast without radar coverage.
As Allied troops stormed the beaches on D-Day, Typhoons provided immediate air support, forming the offensive backbone of the 2nd Tactical Air Force’s combat wings. In Normandy, they relentlessly attacked enemy defenses alongside Allied bomber formations and U.S. Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts and other fighters. Coningham’s Typhoon squadrons played a significant role in impeding the rapid reinforcement of German positions behind the Allied beachheads. Operation Overlord and subsequent campaigns showcased the Typhoons’ effectiveness as they conducted continuous harassment of the German Army.
The first call for assistance from Typhoon units on D-Day occurred at 7:43 am when the British 21st Army Group requested an attack on the headquarters of the German 84th Corps near St. Lo. A squadron promptly responded, bombing the target and inflicting heavy casualties. In the days following, Typhoons from various squadrons targeted enemy radar stations and other strategic positions, while providing support to ground forces engaged in fierce combat.
As the Allied forces broke out of the beachhead, Typhoons moved closer to the advancing units, operating in close coordination with ground forces. The concept of close air support reached new levels of effectiveness, with Typhoon pilots conducting standing patrols over the front lines and responding swiftly to requests for air strikes on specified targets. This close collaboration earned praise from Allied troops battling stubborn German defenders in the challenging terrain of Normandy.
Assisting in the Normandy Breakout
By mid-June, Typhoon squadrons had shifted operations to makeshift airstrips near the front lines. While few German fighters engaged the Typhoons directly, the 2nd Tactical Air Force faced significant losses from enemy ground fire and damage caused by clouds of dust that clogged radiators and engines. This situation required the Typhoons to be withdrawn for repairs and the installation of specialized filters. The high rate of aircraft turnover meant that many battle-damaged planes had to be sent back to civilian repair facilities in England.
As the Allied forces secured their beachheads and advanced, adverse weather conditions hampered air operations and slowed progress. Despite enduring weeks of intense combat in the bocage terrain and facing reinforced enemy defenses, the Allies had established firm footholds and were determined to press forward.
By early August, the breakout had been solidified, although the pivotal Goodwood offensive, launched on July 18 by General Sir Miles Dempsey’s British Second Army, had stalled east and south of Caen. Meanwhile, U.S. forces initiated Operation Cobra on July 25, breaking through the German line west of St. Lo after a massive aerial bombardment. General Omar N. Bradley’s U.S. First Army spearheaded the assault, with three infantry divisions led by General Joseph Lawton Collins breaching the enemy defenses between Marigny and St. Gilles.
Within five days, the American advance reached Avranches, effectively flanking the western edge of the German front and opening the route to the Brittany peninsula. This breakthrough was facilitated by the concentration of German armor on the eastern front, opposite the British sector around Caen. Despite being a key objective on D-Day, Caen became a focal point of intense combat during the Normandy campaign.
On August 6, the Germans launched a powerful counterattack toward Avranches in an attempt to encircle General George S. Patton Jr.’s U.S. Third Army in Brittany. Collins redirected his forces eastward to defend Mortain, while the Third Army continued its advance through the Avranches gap, pushing into Brittany and then turning southward toward the River Loire. Meanwhile, British forces captured Mont Pincon, and Canadian, British, and Polish units advanced southwest toward Falaise and Trun. Throughout these maneuvers, Typhoon squadrons provided crucial support by attacking enemy tanks and fortified positions. On August 7 alone, the Typhoons conducted 294 sorties. Falaise, situated south of Caen, emerged as a key objective that would pave the way for the liberation of Argentan.
Pounding the Falaise Pocket
The German counteroffensive at Mortain initially gained ground against General Courtney H. Hodges’s U.S. First Army and three corps of Patton’s Third Army. However, a southeastward advance toward Falaise by the Canadian First and British Second Armies posed a threat of encirclement to the entire German armored force, including SS General Paul Hausser’s Seventh Army, the Fifth Panzer Army, and General Heinrich Eberbach’s Panzer Group West, creating a pocket between Argentan and Falaise. Elements of the U.S. First and Third Armies moved northward, and the Allied forces were on the verge of completing the encirclement by mid-August 1944.
Allied miscommunications, delays, and missed opportunities led to the maintenance of a gap through which the disorganized German Seventh and Fifth Panzer Armies escaped eastward toward the safety of the River Seine bridges. However, the retreating enemy faced significant peril within the Falaise-Argentan pocket as Allied tanks, artillery, and air power unleashed a furious assault. Columns of panzers, field guns, trucks, and horse-drawn transport clogged the roads and lanes, subjected to relentless attacks by Canadian, Free French, Polish, and American forces. The pocket turned into a scene of devastation, with burning vehicles, exploding ammunition, fleeing horses, and countless casualties.
During this intense period, the Typhoons had a field day in the Battle of the Falaise Pocket. Speeding from their designated positions, they relentlessly attacked the retreating Germans with rockets, bombs, and machine guns. Flight Lieutenant H. Ambrose of No. 175 Squadron recounted the havoc wrought upon the German Army at Falaise, describing how Typhoons and Spitfires effectively blocked roads, impeded movement, and inflicted heavy losses. The grim aftermath of the battle, with decomposing corpses and burning flesh, painted a harrowing picture of the carnage unleashed by the Typhoons. Falaise marked a significant triumph for the Typhoons, showcasing their effectiveness in combat.
Wing Commander Desmond J. Scott of No. 486 Squadron vividly described his attack on a retreating German column, recounting the chaos and devastation he witnessed: “The road was packed with enemy vehicles—tanks, trucks, half-tracks, even horse-drawn wagons and ambulances, all desperately trying to find cover. As I approached the front of this long column, hundreds of German troops spilled onto the road, fleeing towards the fields and hedgerows. There was no escape. Typhoons were already swooping in, unleashing rockets and cannon fire, turning the entire stretch of road into a scene of explosions and flames. Ammunition wagons erupted like colorful volcanoes…
“The once-proud forces of Hitler’s Third Reich were being decimated from above by the relentless firepower of our rocket-firing Typhoons.”
Air Vice Marshal J.E. “Johnny” Johnson, a renowned hero of the RAF, described the Falaise Pocket as “one of the deadliest battlegrounds of the war.”
Despite the significant casualties, the resilient Germans managed to avoid complete encirclement, with more than a third of Hausser’s Seventh Army slipping through the Allied trap. There was no mass surrender. Many thousands of retreating troops escaped before the corridor at St. Lambert was sealed, and a considerable portion of their armor managed to evade capture. However, only a fraction of these forces made it across the Seine. Despite the delayed closure of the Falaise Pocket by the Allies, the Wehrmacht suffered its most significant defeat since Stalingrad, with losses totaling 10,000 dead, 50,000 captured, and the destruction of at least 500 tanks and assault guns, along with thousands of other vehicles left destroyed or ablaze.
Despite missed opportunities and moments of hesitation, the Battle of the Falaise Pocket stood as a major Allied victory, marking the pivotal moment in the campaign to liberate France. Two enemy armies, the Seventh and Fifth Panzer, were effectively annihilated, and the Germans could not mount a significant defense until the Allies reached the borders of Germany itself.
However, the cost was high for the 2nd Tactical Air Force during that decisive August period, with Typhoon losses reaching an unprecedented level of more than 90 aircraft.
One of the Greatest Killing Grounds of Any of the War Areas
After the battle, the devastation in and around Falaise deeply affected all who witnessed it. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allied supreme commander, described it as “one of the greatest killing grounds of any of the war areas.” The roads, highways, and fields were littered with destroyed equipment, corpses of men and animals, making passage through the area extremely challenging. Forty-eight hours after the gap closed, Eisenhower walked through it and encountered scenes reminiscent of Dante’s descriptions, with stretches of land covered in nothing but dead and decaying flesh.
During the Falaise campaign, Sir Sydney Camm’s Typhoon emerged as an exceptional close-support fighter-bomber. Despite its troubled development and initial setbacks, the Typhoon proved to be one of the deadliest fighters in the Allied arsenal. Typhoons continued to play a vital role throughout the remainder of the European war, supporting Allied advances across the River Rhine and into Germany. However, production ceased in 1944, with Gloster Aircraft Company having manufactured nearly all of the 3,205 Typhoons.
Meanwhile, the Hawker Tempest, a faster and more advanced successor to the Typhoon, had already started making significant contributions to the RAF. The first 50 Tempest Vs were deployed to No. 85 Group at Newchurch, Kent, in April 1944. Tempests played key roles in the buildup to the Normandy invasion, conducted cab-rank patrols in support of Allied ground forces in France and Belgium, and effectively countered German flying-bomb attacks on England. Between June 13 and September 5, 1944, they shot down 638 V-1 buzz bombs, out of the RAF’s total of 1,771. Tempests also engaged Messerschmitt ME-262 jet fighters, shooting down 20 of them before VE-Day.
By August 1945, a total of 800 Tempest Mark Vs had been produced. Although they did not see action during the war, Tempest IIs were operational in occupied Germany, Hong Kong, India, and Malaya. RAF squadrons in Germany and the Middle East operated the Tempest Mark VI, while Tempest IIs remained in service in the Middle East until they were replaced by jet-propelled De Havilland Vampires in 1949.
