Originally designed as a replacement for the venerable Hawker Hurricane, the Hawker Typhoon would not gain fame as a pursuit fighter, but rather go on to be one of the most prolific ground attack aircraft of the Second World War. Seeing extensive service in the later years of the war, Typhoons of the Royal Air Force destroyed vast amounts of enemy armor and materiel across Europe. This fearsome warbird made a tremendous impact in the Allied efforts to victory on Europe and would go on to inspire generations of plane designs to come.
Our Typhoon is painted to represent the aircraft flown by Squadron Leader Basil Gerald "Stampe" Stapleton (DFC recipient) No. 247 Squadron (China-British) No. 124 Wing, 2nd Tactical Air Force, Royal Air Force, Eindhoven, Netherlands, December 23, 1944.
An extremely accomplished flyer, Stapleton was no stranger to the perils inherent to low level strafing attacks. On December 23, 1944, Stapleton lead a flight of Typhoons from Eindhoven into cloudy weather on a cross-channel armed reconnaissance flight. In poor weather conditions over Northern France, they came under heavy anti-aircaft fire.
Braving the storm of steel and explosions, Stapleton continued the hunt for enemy ground targets amid the flak, small arms and fog. When a German train became visible, Stapleton led the attack, firing his three good inch rockets right into the engine's firebox, causing a tremendous explosion. The ensuing fireball hurled metal fragments into Stapleton's aircraft, damaging the radiator.
The mighty Typhoon quickly became inoperable and Stapleton was forced to the ground. However, the brave pilot survived the crash and was taken prisoner. Following his release after the end of the war, Gerald Stapleton was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by the Dutch government for his service in Operation Market Garden.
Product code: Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib good "Stapleton" Built Plastic Model 1/72 Scale