Hawker Typhoon Giclée Art Print

High quality art print of a Hawker Typhoon, a British fighter-bomber of the Second World War era. Originally designed as a high-altitude interceptor for the Royal Air Force, the Typhoon was plagued with performance problems in this role. It later found considerable success, however, as a long-range fighter-bomber; 3,317 are produced from 1941 to 1945.

Rushed into service in 1941, the Hawker Typhoon's first outings in RAF colours were disastrous. It was not until 1942 that Typhoons began to show their worth, intercepting low-altitude Luftwaffe raids on British aerospace. From 1943 onwards, the RAF increasingly needed ground-attack fighters, and the Hawker Typhoon took to this role naturally; a powerful aircraft, it was able to carry a significant load of bombs and under-wing rockets. Twenty-seven Typhoon squadrons were equipped for ground-attack roles by the time of the Normandy landings in 1944. While the rockets lacked accuracy, they nonetheless proved effective at knocking out German armour, and even moreso at breaking infantry morale.

Only one Hawker Typhoon still survives, Typhoon MN235. It is not airworthy, and is currently on display at the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon. This illustration depicts Typhoon JR128, a Typhoon Mk Ib equipped with under-wing rockets; JR128 was flown by No. 183 Squadron RAF from 1942 to 1944, when it was shot down over France.

This illustration by Rob Wisdom is a high-quality Giclée art print on cotton-rich fine art paper.