Armament/Drop tanks

Cannons

 

arm24 Early Tempest's Mk. V (Serie I) and the Tempest Mk. II prototypes had the 20 mm Mk. II Hispano cannons (identical to those fitted in Typhoon). The barrels extended 8 inches beyond the wing leading edge and they were mounted with short barrell fairings. 
Two cannons in each wing with 200 rounds per gun.		 arm131
arm110 Tempest Mk. V Serie II's, production Mk. IIs and Mk. VIs were fitted with the new short-barrelled Hispano Mk. V cannons which were completely enclosed. (They were 12 in. shorter and 25 lbs lighter than Mk. II.)
Mk. V and VI had 200 rounds per gun, but Mk. II 162 inboard and 152 outboard.		 arm121

 

Name Ammunition Rate of Fire Muzzle Velocity Weight
Hispano Mk. II 20mm x 110 (130g) 600 rpm 880 m/s 50 kg
Hispano Mk.V 20mm x 110 (130g) 750 rpm 840 m/s 42 kg

 

hispano1

Views showing the installation of the short barrelled Hispano cannons.

 arm111

arm231

 

A note from a visitor:

Hi,
I am an ex-RAF armourer, joined in 1949, and was trained on both the Mark 2 and Mark 5 cannon. As quoted, one is shorter than the other, by 10inches I remember, not the 12 inches quoted, but then my memory is not that good from those early days.
Reason I am contacting you is to say that the method of mounting both guns was exactly the same. So in essence, the Series One Tempest could be fitted with the Mark 5 gun, and vice versa. It is not to be relied on as a recognition feature, rather the serial number would have to be consulted. In point of fact I KNOW I have seen a Spit with a long barrel gun in one wing, and a short barrel in the other. This was a photo, and as usual with these things, I can't remember where!!
Thanks again for a lovely site,
Cheers,
Derek Pennington

Thanks for the info Derek!/Webmaster

 

 

 

 Vickers 47mm "P" gun

 

SN354-5

A Vickers 47 mm "P" gun was tested on a Tempest V (SN354) just after the war. The large cannons were faired into slim,

streamlined pods and carried on the bombracks. The tests revealed that the weapon had potential, but no production was undertaken.

 

 

 

Bombs

 

arm41 arm91
bombs-1 bombs-2
bombs-3 Above is photos of a 500 lbs bomb and to the left a GP1000 lbs bomb. Photos were taken at RAF Museum, Hendon, England.

 

 

 

Rockets

 

arm521 arm1521

Tempest Mk. V was tested and cleared to carry 8 zero length 60 lb ground attack rockets. But it was never used operationally during the war.

After the war, when used on Mk. IIs, the rockets were often mounted on zero length hooks. The rails spoiled the aerodynamics of the wing.

 

arm2011

Above rockets mounted on zero length rocket hooks on a Tempest Mk. VI. On the right a Mk. II with the rockets on rails.

 arm2131

 

 

bombs41

 

8 x 25lbs RP

4 each wing

8 x 60lbs RP

4 each wing

8 x 10lbs practice bombs

4 each wing

8 x 25lbs practice bombs

4 each wing

2 x 250lbs GP, MC or SAP bombs

1 each wing

2 x 500lbs GP, MC or SAP bombs

1 each wing

2 x 500lbs Mk.2 smoke bombs

1 each wing

2 x SCI 500lbs canister

1 each wing

2 x 1000lbs MC, ANM59 or ANM65 bombs

1 each wing

2 x M.10 smoke bombs

1 each wing

2 x Type R, C or CLE Mk.III supply container

1 each wing

2 x 45 gallon fuel tanks

1 each wing

2 x 90 gallon fuel tanks

1 each wing

2 x 45 gallon napalm tanks

1 each wing

Note: Tempest Mk. V Series 1 could not carry rockets or fuel tanks.

 

Drop Tanks 

 

arm181 Streamlined 45 gal. drop tanks were introduced with the Serie II Mk. V's. They increased the range from 740 miles to 1530 miles. arm141
arm71 For ferrying and long range patrols (mostly Mk. II and Mk. VI) two 90 gal. tanks were used. arm191
arm81 A more conventional cylindrical 45 gal. drop tank was sometimes used. This drop tank could also be used as a napalm bomb.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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