Sydney Camm began working on the Hurricane's successors, the Typhoon and Tempest, in 1937, before the war even started. He said he might have made the Hurricane faster by tweaking the wing, but he knew that war was coming and he didn't have time for much fine-tuning of the design. The very fastest Hurricanes ever built, some PR (photo-reconnaissance) versions, had a speed of 350 m.p.h., there was only so much that could be done with a plane with such a thick wing (and non-retractable tail wheel).
The Hurricane did its job but, unlike the Spitfire, it had reached its logical development end. The next generation of Hawker would be available and take performance to the next level. The Typhoon had its fair share of troubles but, ended up as a bruiser along the lines of the Thunderbolt. The Tempest - Sea Fury was Camm's finest piston engined fighters.
Flying the Typhoon
Flight Lieutenant Ken Trott flew Typhoons with 197 Squadron and recalled:
Rather a large aircraft shall we say, for a single-engine fighter. Terrific power. Quite something to control. I liked it from the point of view of speed and being a very stable gun platform. You could come in on a target at 400 mph and the thing was as steady as a rock.
In early March 1943 at Tangmere the then new Squadron Leader of 486(NZ) Squadron, Des Scott, flew a Typhoon for the first time:
She roared, screamed, groaned and whined, but apart from being rather heavy on the controls at high speeds she came through her tests with flying colours...Applying a few degrees of flap we swung on down into the airfield approach, levelled out above the runway and softly eased down on to her two wheels, leaving her tail up until she dropped it of her own accord.
We were soon back in her bay by the dispersal hut, where I turned off the petrol supply ****. After a few moments she ran herself out and with a spit, sob and weary sigh, her great three-bladed propeller came to a stop. So that was it: I was drenched in perspiration and tired out...
Why not the Griffon? I guess the Napier was good enough with this sort of performance on tap.
Specifications (Sabre VA)
Data from Lumsden
General characteristics
Type: 24-cylinder supercharged liquid-cooled H-type aircraft piston engine
Bore: 5.0 in (127 mm)
Stroke: 4.75 in (121 mm)
Displacement: 2,240 in³ (36.65 L)
Length: 82.25 in (2,089 mm)
Width: 40 in (1,016 mm)
Height: 46 in (1,168 mm)
Dry weight: 2,360 lb (1,070 kg)
Components
Valvetrain: Sleeve valve
Supercharger: Torsion shaft drive to gear-driven, single-stage, two-speed centrifugal supercharger
Fuel system: Hobson-R.A.E injection-type carburettor
Fuel type: 100/130 octane petrol
Oil system: High pressure: Oil pump and full flow oil filter with three scavenge pumps
Cooling system: Liquid cooled: 70% water and 30% ethylene glycol coolant mixture, pressurised.
Performance
Power output:
2,850 hp (2,065 kW) at 3,800 rpm and +13 psi (0.9 bar, 56") intake boost
3,040 hp (2,200 kW) at 4,000 rpm war emergency power
Specific power: 1.36 hp/in³ (59.9 kW/L)
Compression ratio: 7:1
Fuel consumption: 117 gallons/hour (532 L/hr) at maximum cruise, F.S supercharger gear; 241 gallons/hour (1,096 L/hr) at maximum combat rating, F.S supercharger
Oil consumption: 47 pints/hour (27 L/hr) at maximum cruise 3,250 rpm and +7 psi (0.48 bar, 14"); 71 pints/hour (40 L/hr) at war emergency power
Power-to-weight ratio: 1.29 hp/lb (2.06 kW/kg)
Cheers
John