Hawker Tempest MK 1 to 6

The Hawker Tempest was just about the fastest piston-engined fighter aircraft to grace the skies at the end of World War 2 and beyond. It was a natural development of the Typhoon but had greatly increased engine power and an aerodynamically efficient wing. There were in all six versions of the Tempest. Surprisingly one of the later marks, the Mk.V went into service with its Napier Sabre inline engine before the Mk.II which had a radial Centaurus power plant. The Mk.V played an important part in defeating the V1 flying bombs as its speed matched that of the weapon and RAF pilots scored a great many succeses. Tempest squadrons followed the advance through Europe following the role of the Typhoons in attacking ground targets with considerable numbers of trains, barges and troop concentrations being destroyed. The Mk.II was not into full squadron service until the last days of the war and a number of squadrons served in India handing their aircraft over to both the Indian and Pakistan air forces after partition. This book, written and illustrated by Richard J.Caruana, describes all versions and is an ideal companion to Warpaint's Typhoon.