Hawker Typhoon Mk I – 461 Sqn RAAF, Idku, Egypt 1943

Corgi Aviation 1/72 scale AA36501: Hawker Typhoon Mk I of 461 Sqn RAAF, Idku, Egypt, 1943. Limited Edition of 4,880 models.

Length 5.25 inches Wingspan 7 inches

Towards the end of May 1943, three Hawker Typhoons were sent for operational flight trials in the Middle East. 219 Group RAF, which was responsible for finding a lodger unit for these service trials, finally decided upon 451 Sqn RAAF. The Typhoon would have been an exciting successor to the Hawker Hurricane IIc then operated by the squadron. 451 Sqn at LG.106 near Idku under command of Sqn. Ldr. J. Paine, having been recently withdrawn from frontline operations, would provide personnel for the tests.

Designed by Sydney Camm for the British Air Ministry, the Typhoon was first flown on February 24th, 1940. The large under-fuselage chin radiator gave the Typhoon a menacing look, and was its most notable identifying physical feature. Powered by a Napier Sabre 24 cylinder engine-which gave it a top speed in excess of 400 mph-and fitted with air-to-ground rockets and two underwing bombs, it made an exceptional fighter-bomber hybrid. The Typhoon could engage ground targets and still hold its own against German bombers and fighters. It proved especially adept at engaging marauding Fw-190 on the British coast.