Hawker TYPHOON Mk.I.A

The Typhoon I.A fighter was designed to be an improved relay for the Hawker Hurricane and older Spitfires in service. In February 1940, an unarmed prototype with Napier Sabre engine was presented. Later the aircraft mounted twelve fixed 7.7mm machine guns, six in each wing, but only the first 110 examples were built with this armament layout. As a result of the advance of the War, the project was stopped to manufacture aircrafts already in service, but in May 1941, another prototype armed with four 20mm guns was presented, which would eventually be the Typhoon I.B. Finally, the order was given to manufacture the Typhoon I.A, which entered service in late 1941 with Nos. 56 and 609 Squadrons, although with poor initial results. Numerous modifications were made in 1942, and the Typhoon I.A began to be recognized as a great low-altitude fighter, the only one capable of facing the German Fw-190 with solvency. In 1943, modifications begun to convert most of Typhoon I.A into ground attack aircrafts, where they were finally able to exploit their full potential as Typhoon I.B.

TYPHOON I.A gallery and more info