Newly promoted Sqn Ldr Hugh 'Cocky' Dundas
No. 175 Squadron RAF
The 175 Squadron RAF was a part of Second Tactical Air Force No. 83 Group RAF in support of the WWII Normandy landings, and supported the allied advance through France Holland and Belgium on into Germany. The squadron was active from under canvas on Temporary Landing Grounds in a matter of days after the D-Day landings. The squadron initially flew Hawker Hurricane fighters and was later outfitted with Hawker Typhoons prior to the invasion. The squadron was based in various locations during World War II such as RAF Redhill and RAF Dunsfold.
Motto: Stop at nothing
At the time that the first Hawker Hurricane rolled out of the factory in 1937, Hawker started thinking of a successor. They wanted to create a more advanced fighter to replace the Hurricane when the time wasd there. The design team, headed by Sydney Camm, thought up a fighter that was very close to the F.18/37 requirement of the British Air Ministry. This requirement was looking for an advanced fighter, powered by the Rolls Royce Vulture X-type or the Napier Sabre H-type engine, and heavier armament in the way of 4 × 20 mm cannons. Hawker decided that 12 × 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) guns would also increase the firepower by 50%, so they included that option as well.Two airframe variants were developed, the R-type (for the Rolls Royce Vulture engine), and the N-type (for the Napeir Sabre engine). These were to be named the 'Tornado' and Typhoon' respectively.The design emphasized on strength and maintainability, instead of elegance, and was also one of the first design to have a 'bubble'-like cockpit like also seen on the North American P-51D or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
Specifications:
Hawker Typhoon MK1b
Dimensions:
Wing span: 41 ft. 7 in. (12.67 m)
Length: 31 ft. 11 in. (9.73 m)
Height: 15 ft. 4 in. (4.67 m)
Weights:
Empty: 8,840 lb (4010 kg)
Operational: 13,980 lbs max
Performance:
Maximum Speed: 412 m.p.h. (663 km/h) @ 19,000 ft. (5,791 m) clean
Service Ceiling: 35,200 ft. (10,729 m); clean
Range: 570 miles (917 km)
980 miles with two 216 gallon (818 liter) auxiliary tanks.
Powerplant:
1x Napier Sabre IIA rated at 2180 Hp
Armament:
4 x 20 mm Hispano MkII fixed forward fireing cannons, 140 rounds each, 8 x 60 rockets instead of bombs or 2 x 1000 or 500 lb bombs
The Model
The Reference Material:
