On its introduction into RAF service in April 1944, the Hawker Tempest proved to be a truly outstanding fighter / bomber. It was the fastest piston engined aircraft in the RAF, highly manoeuvrable and packed a real punch.
Equipped with 4 X 20mm cannons, it also carried bombs and rockets, which made it as fierce a ground attack aircraft as a fighter.
TEMPEST AT WAR provides a superb and totally unique film portrait of this now largely overlooked RAF warhorse, featuring rarely seen newsreel footage, original RAF films and never before released archive material from the Imperial War Museum film vaults. It includes air to air footage, gun camera film, weapons testing and ditching techniques, as well as a unique wartime RAF Tempest recognition film and ground crew training film material.
Surviving Tempest pilots and ground crew provide a fascinating insight into what it was like to fly and fight in the Tempest, recalling dogfights with Fw190s and Me262s, shooting down and 'wing tipping' V 1 Flying Bombs, a highly dangerous occupation, and stalking the skies of a ravaged Nazi Germany looking for targets of opportunity on the ground below. Expert commentary is provided by Kev Darling, author of many respected books on fighter aircraft.
- Technical film - “Tempest Hydraulics - Fair Wear & Tear” An official RAF instructional film as shown to RAF engineers to help them identify when component parts of the hydraulics system become life expired.