Mystery Hawker Typhoon?

The whole Profile Publication booklet can be viewed here. Just click on the pages to enlarge them.

http://www.boxartden.com/gallery/index.php/Profiles/Aircraft-Profiles/Britain/WW2/Hawker-Typhoon-81

Chris

Out of interest, I came across a video on YouTube, which included an air to air of a Jet provost in a similar scheme.
It was to study the airflow over the airframe, without the canopy in place.

Yes, Wings Palette will show you much of what is ‘out there’ … but does no checks for accuracy. The colour artwork in the ‘Profile’ series from the 60s, particularly the earlier issues, has many inaccuracies. In the case of the Typhoon, I know for a fact that the 5-view painting of TP-F, still appearing on decal sheets after 60 years, was based on “notes (allegedly) from the pilot” – no photos.

In the same publication there is much amiss with the Typhoons illustrated in colour. The most dubious example being the ‘target-tug’; having trawled through all available records and spoken to former instructors and pupils of 56 OTU there has been not the slightest trace of such a beast. It certainly was not SW500, if it did exist, as that airframe was allocated to 84 GSU as a training aircraft and carried the code ’49’; by August 1945 it was in store at 51 MU where it was scrapped in March 1946. As a Typhoon from the last production order SW500 had the later sliding hood, not the car-door type shown in the illustration.

The white/tufted Typhoon seems to have more of a whiff of reality, though no photos have turned up. The caption (or the drawing) must be incorrect however as Typhoons with cannon and the car-door canopy with transparent rear section were in service until 1942 and Typhoon underwing identity stripes were not seen until December 1942. Typhoons were not frequently transferred between RAE and A&AEE but there was one, R7617, which did undertake trials at both units and which include both Carbon Monoxide tests and ‘rudder handling’ (as well as many other and varied tests).

Thanks all, and you thought i had not already looked at Wings Palette? haha, its very good for resources.

However how exactly did they get that scheme? Surely if they made the profile they must have some resource for it?

Alas, I doubt a picture will be found but with some great researchers on this forum I rekon we can get pretty close

Thanks again to all those who have been helping.

Allegedly one, surmised as SW500 of a 2TAF unit and 56 OTU. Like you, never seen a photo of it.

http://img.wp.scn.ru/camms/ar/463/pics/9_48.jpg

The tuft test Typhoon has been discussed before:

https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?121483-Typhoon-aerodynamic-tests

Again, not aware of a photo of it – is Chris Thomas around per chance?

Was there ever a Typhoon painted with target tug stripes? I recall a profile somewhere but have never seen photographic proof. I know that immediately post-war, the Typhoon was abandoned in favour of the Tempest and disappeared very quickly (no disposal to friendly countries etc) but did one survive long enough to be useful in this role? I’d like to think so, but…

A couple of seconds searching revealed the answer. Here is a link to a site where you will find a drawing and a description of when and where the Typhoon was adopted this for aerodynamic research. Scroll down to the relevant entry and click on the drawing for an enlarged view.

http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/f/463/9/0

Thanks Consul and Fouga, but do either of you have any photos of a scheme or other models depicting it?

It looks as if the modeller has depicted an aircraft fitted with tufts to give an indication of airflow over the airframe during trials. If it is a genuine “scheme” then the lighter coloured areas would have enabled better evidencing of the movement of the tufts.

Probably a test aircraft to see airflow?