The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used during the war.
The first Tempest prototype flew on 2 September 1942. This aircraft retained the Typhoon\'s framed canopy, automobile-style door, the Sabre II engine, and \"chin\" radiator. It was quickly fitted with a bubble canopy like the later Typhoons and a modified tailfin that almost doubled the vertical tail surface area. The horizontal tailplanes and elevators were also increased in span and chord.
The second prototype, the \"Tempest Mark I\" with the Sabre IV did not fly until 24 February 1943.
Continual problems with the Sabre IV meant that only one Mark I (HM599) was built; consequently Hawker went into production with the Sabre II engined \"Tempest V\". The first rolled off the production line on 21 June 1943. The first Tempest Vs delivered had the long-barrelled 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk II cannon. Later production aircraft used the short-barrelled 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk V cannon, eliminating the protruding barrels.
Some of the assets of the Tempest V were its high cruising speed (nearly 400 mph/644 km/h using 1,420 hp/1,059 kW), good acceleration, excellent climbing and diving speeds, especially at low to medium altitudes.
The Tempest V was in the hands of operational squadrons by April 1944.
Most of the initial operations carried out comprised high altitude fighter sweeps, offensive operations known as \"Rangers\" (long-range sorties inside enemy territory, specifically to attack ground vehicles) and anti-shipping reconnaissance. In June 1944, however, the first German V-1 flying bombs were launched against London and the Tempest\'s excellent low-altitude performance made it one of the preferred tools for dealing with the small fast-flying unmanned missiles. Tempest squadrons racked up a considerable percentage of the total RAF kills over the flying bombs (638 of a total of 1,846 destroyed by aircraft).
Tempests also scored a number of kills against the new German jets, including the Messerschmitt Me 262.

The decal sheet allows you to build one of the following Tempest Mk V’s:
R B / JN751    R.P.Beamont, N°150 wing, March 1944
JF Z / JN862    R. Van Lierde, N°3 sqn, June 1944
SA N / JN766    N°486 sqn., Spring 1944
JJ N / EJ783    N°274 sqn., October 1944
SA M / SN129    C.J.Sheddan, N°486 sqn., April 1945
JF E / NV724    P.Clostermann, N°3 sqn., July 1945
W2 Y / EJ865    N°80sqn., 1945
US T / SN254    N°56sqn.