The Tempest Mk II was a British fighter developed alongside the Tempest Mk V during WWII after cancellation of Hawker Tornado. Unlike the Tempest Mk V, the Mk II was powered with a Bristol Centaurus 18-cylinder radial engine. The engine installation, cowling, and exhausts were inspired by a captured Fw 190. The first Centaurus-powered Tempest Mk II flew on 28th June 1943, the first prototype was using the rudder and tail fin of a Typhoon. The second prototype flew on 18th September 1943, and featured the enlarged rudder and tail later used on the Tempest. The prototypes experienced issues with engine vibrations which were fixed with different engine mountings and the plane also experienced overheating and some other issues. Due to this, as well as the decision to tropicalize all the planes for service in South-East Asia, the production was delayed. In September 1942, an order was placed for 500 Tempest Mk IIs to be built by Gloster, but in 1943 priority to the Typhoon was given and the contract was given to Bristol instead, while Hawker was to build another 1,800. The first production Tempest Mk II rolled off the line on 4th October 1944. As the war was nearing the end, only 50 Tempests were built by Bristol with 402 built by Hawker. A total of 100 were built as fighters and 302 were built as fighter bomber versions with reinforced wings and wing bomb racks capable of carrying up to 1,000 kg. The Tempest Mk II was intended for combat against Japan, however the war ended before they were deployed.
The Tempest Mk II has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. The Tempest Mk II is faster than the Mk V, however the engine performance drops significantly above 4,000 m. The Mk II is best utilized for Boom and Zoom tactics, as the plane itself is not very manoeuvrable in the horizontal, however the superior acceleration and dive speed could be utilized to either escape or regain energy again.
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Belt | Belt filling | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
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10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
HEI/SAP-I/T | 21 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 4 | |
AP-T/HEI/SAP-I | 36 | 33 | 24 | 15 | 10 | 7 | |
SAP-I/HEI/AP-T/HEI/SAP-I | 36 | 33 | 24 | 15 | 10 | 7 | |
AP-T/HEI/T | 36 | 33 | 24 | 15 | 10 | 7 | |
AP-T/SAP-I/HEI/AP-T | 36 | 33 | 24 | 15 | 10 | 7 | |
HEI/SAP-I | 22 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 4 |
Flight performance | |
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Survivability |
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Weaponry | |
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