Hawker Tornado

With the Hawker Hurricane just entering operational service and proving successful, thoughts naturally turned to a successor, so Sydney Camm, Hawker's chief designer, started work on a potential replacement. So when the Air Ministry issued Specification F.18/37 in March 1938, which required a single-seater fighter capable of reaching 400 mph with a 35,000 ft service ceiling and armament of twelve 0.303-in machine-guns, Hawker submitted two new designs. The Type N, powered by a Napier Sabre engine, had a chin to house the radiator, and it was this prototype that was to become the Hawker Typhoon, with the Type R, powered by a Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. The 3rd March 1938 saw an order for two examples of both prototypes placed.

The Maiden flight of the Type R, given the name Tornado in August 1939, took place on the 6th October 1939, with Philip Lucas at the controls, powered by the 1,760-hp Rolls-Royce Vulture II engine. After flight testing showed problems with the airflow around the radiator, it was moved to the chin for the second prototype, which flew for the first time on the 5th December 1940. After having the 1,980-hp Rolls-Royce Vulture V engine installed, the aircraft achieved a speed of 398 mph and had a service ceiling of 34,900 ft, whilst armament was to be four 20mm cannons.

On the 10th July 1939 an order was placed for 500 Tornados, however all development work on the Rolls-Royce Vulture engine was ended on the 15th October 1941. Only one aircraft was produced, which flew on the 29th August 1941, before the Tornado order was cancelled. A third prototype Tornado did fly on the 23rd October 1941 with a 2,210-hp Bristol Centaurus IV engine, but by summer 1944, all four aircraft were scrapped.

In total only three prototypes and one production Tornado were built.