I only have one in my collection

[Arneken]

and it's this one:



A hawker tempest. but is there a way to find out when it's been taken? I found it in a book called the day of the typhoon, wich I bought in a second hand store. The person who had the book before me mistoke himself by thinking the photo was a typhoon.For the rest there is nothing on the backside.

Ther are some persons barely visible behind the plane but not enough to compare uniforms with.(3 if I'm not mistaken) And the background doesn't really give much away either.

I do know what a terrible question this is, but I better ask it because you never know.

Friendly Belgium Greetings Arne

 

[A4K]

Tht's a nice shot, Arne, thanks!
It's definitely a Tempest Mk.V, but without any visible codes it would be hard to place.
Where would you commonly find large open grassy airfields with very few trees or buildings around?
My uneducated guess would be one of the 'low-land' countries of continental Europe, rather than the UK, possibly Holland or even Belgium ??

 

[Wurger]

Yep It is possible.Especially that he dark painted spinner can indicate the Second TAF in Europe.But there had been other squadrons with Tempest dark coloured spinners before the 2ndTAF had

Here the pic with some corrections.

 

[Arneken]

thanks wurger (strange nickname. In dutch it means strangler)

Well I've been looking a bit at it with a magnifying (terrible word) glass and had already found the indictaion cirkels below the wings. Well Holland has been used for the tempest and Belgium had his bases too. The persons on the pic seem to be quite at ease and the feul at the wings makes me think in the direction off the uk or a airfield away off the front.

but those are just some small thoughts.

greetings.

 

[A4K]

You might be more familiar with it as 'Würger' - the nickname for the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Unfortunately for more than a few Allied pilots 'strangler' would be a fairly accurate translation...

 

[Wurger]

(strange nickname. In dutch it means strangler)

In German as well ,as memory serves.

A4K is right.It should be "Würger" what means Butcher Bird and it was the Fw190 nickname.As you know I'm a Pole and my computer uses a Polish letters with a keyboard.Therefore the "u" letter is without two spots.

Besides it is nice that there is somebody who is scared of me at last.

 

[Arneken]

scared

 

[Marcel]

Could it be one of Squadron 274, based on Volkel (NL)? I believe they had red spinners and the airfield was kinda barren at the time.

 

[Arneken]

Hmmm could be.

Maybe usefull to put the squadrons who had tempest in the low countries here.

o No. 3 Squadron RAF
o No. 16 Squadron RAF
o No. 23 Squadron RAF (Italie, Germany)
o No. 33 Squadron RAF
o No. 56 Squadron RAF

These look promising.

No. 486 Squadron RNZAF

The staid in Holland to with tempests before they move to Denmark

 

[Wurger]

scared

As far as the spinner colour is concerned, the red colour is possible but it could be dark blue or black as well.

 

[Arneken]

A post, on another part of this forum made me wonder. It's a black and white. Couldn't it be that whe're looking at a French Tempest?

Flight Lieutenant Pierre Clostermann (DSO, DFC*)
Nationality: France
Units: 274, 56 and 3
Victories: 12 and 6 shared in Tempest (and 11 previous).

Flight Lieutenant Régis Deleuze
Nationality: France
Units: 501 and 274
Victories: 8 V-1 Flying Bombs.

Lieutenant Jean Vaissier
Nationality: France
Unit: 274
Victories: 1 V1 Flying Bomb in Tempest.

Or did these men all served in the RAF?

 

[Marcel]

Closterman did serve in the RAF, he flew from Volkel for a time with Tempests

 

[Arneken]

I see one dutchman who flew a tempest too.

So would they be flying with The British roundels or the French one?

Drop tanks.

Streamlined 45 gal. drop tanks were introduced with the Serie II Mk. V's. They increased the range from 740 miles to 1530 miles.


Where these standard on the Tempest?

 

[Marcel]

I see one dutchman who flew a tempest too.

So would they be flying with The British roundels or the French one?

That would be Jan Linzel, he already flew Fokkers in 1940.
I believe Closterman flew in RAF squandons, although wearing french uniforms, he flew with a/c's painted in british colors.

 

[Arneken]

Thanks Marcel You've been a real help.

Flight Lieutenant G.F. Jongbloed
Nationality: Holland
Unit: 222
Victories: 1 Fw190 and 1 V-1 Flying Bomb in Tempest. (1 damaged and 7 and 2 shared V-1 Flying Bomb previously.)

Note: Shot down one of the last V1s in daylight on Feb 28 1945. He flew as a Flight Commander on 222 and had previously flown Spit XIVs with 322 Sqn.

There has even been A belgium pilot.

Flight Lieutenant Remy van Lierde (DFC**)
Nationality: Belgium
Unit: 3
Victories: 6 in Typhoon and 44 V-1 Flying Bombs in Tempest.

 

[Marcel]

Thanks Marcel You've been a real help.

Flight Lieutenant G.F. Jongbloed
Nationality: Holland
Unit: 222
Victories: 1 Fw190 and 1 V-1 Flying Bomb in Tempest. (1 damaged and 7 and 2 shared V-1 Flying Bomb previously.)

Note: Shot down one of the last V1s in daylight on Feb 28 1945. He flew as a Flight Commander on 222 and had previously flown Spit XIVs with 322 Sqn.

There has even been A belgium pilot.

Flight Lieutenant Remy van Lierde (DFC**)
Nationality: Belgium
Unit: 3
Victories: 6 in Typhoon and 44 V-1 Flying Bombs in Tempest.

How so, not anything near an answer for you.
There're probably more, I know for sure Jan Linzel also flew Tempests at the end of the war, he was born very close to my place of birth. He flew with 33th squandron, first Spits, then Tempests

Ed:
Interesting read for dutch speaking people about Linzel:
http://www.veteranen.nl/upload/File/18-19-4.pdf

And below Closterman's Tempest

 

[Arneken]

Well by keeping this topic alive and keep helping me solving these questions who may sometimes sound strange but I'm eliminating the possibilities from where and when this picture was taken.

 

[A4K]

Abridged, from 'Typhoon/ Tempest in Action', Squadron signal No.102:

On 28 september 1944, the Tempest squadrons were returned to the operational control of the 2nd TAF and took up residence on the continent. No's 3 and 56 sqn. Were the first to deploy followed by No's.80, 274, and 486 (NZ) Sqn...
Shortly after the five Tempest squadrons settled into Belgium, they were moved to Volkel, Holland under No.122 Wing. No's.80 and 274 sqn's were, however, based at Grave temporarily,(...) before rejoining the rest of the Wing at Volkel.

(in) February 1945, No's 33 and 222 sqn's arrived at Gilze Rijen as part of 135 Wing, while No's 349 and 486 sqn's returned to England..
..During April Hopsten airfield was occupied by No.122 Wing, which became the first Tempest Wing to operate from German soil. On 19 April No.80 sqn. Returned to England...

By 26 April 135 Wing was at Quackenbruck and no's 3 and 56 sqn had occupied Fassburg, Germany...
At end of hostilities there were 7 squadrons of Tempests in 2nd TAF and one in ADGB.


Publicity shots for the papers announcing the 'potent new RAF fighter' were taken of 501 sqn. Aircraft (SD- codes) on 19 October 1944 at Bradwell bay. These aircraft had dark coloured spinners, and the landscape is 'similar' to that in the pictures, though personally I don't think Arneken's picture was taken there.

(As an aside, the only visible difference between the Mk.V and Mk.VI Tempest were wing leading-edge intakes for the oil cooler and carburettor of thje uprated 2340 hp Napier Sabre V engine., according to the above book)

 

[Arneken]

From a good informed person I recieved this:

Black spinner, no invasion stripes or sky fuselage band. Looks like the photo is taken after 3rd January 1945.

My picture can now be seen here to:

unknown Tempest.

 

[A4K]

Well picked up, that guy! Maybe we can pin this one yet...