Hawker Typhoon RB396 – Restoration Update – Spring 2023

A nice view of the Typhoon RB396's forward section and wing spar remnants during the recent HTPG event at Duxford. From small beginnings, great things can come! (image via Charlotte Bailey)
United Fuel Cells


We have been covering the efforts of the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group and their quest to restore Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib RB396 to flying condition for some years now. The organization held an event at their base of operations at Duxford Aerodrome on April 1st, 2023 – the 78th anniversary of the aircraft’s shoot-down over the Netherlands during WWII. Charlotte Bailey was on hand to cover the proceedings for Vintage Aviation News, and we hope you enjoy her report below…


IMG 5904 1
Parts from the Typhoon laid out on the aircraft’s silhouette painted onto ARCo’s immaculately clean hangar floor. (image via Charlotte Bailey)

Hawker Typhoon RB396 Restoration Project Update

by Charlotte Bailey

On April 1st, 2023, the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group (HTPG) (a UK-based charity) announced the latest stage of their ambitious project to return Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib RB396 to airworthy condition.  

In the center of the Aircraft Restoration Company’s (ARCo) hangar in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, a white silhouette on the floor outlines an ambitious intention. The shape of things to come, this aspirational outline – a Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib – hints at an airframe that, when complete, will serve as a “living memorial” to the 666 pilots who lost their lives while flying the type during WWII. 

image 1 1
A nice view of the Typhoon’s forward section and wing spar remnants – from small beginnings can come great things. (image via Charlotte Bailey)

Admittedly, an initial glance at the assorted collection of pieces laid out like a part-assembled jigsaw reveals the scale of the work yet to be completed by this volunteer-run, passion-driven project. However, in the words of patron Air Marshall Cliff Spink, the puzzle pieces here are a metaphor for the type itself; “Such a significant aircraft missing from the historical jigsaw.” Unlike other WWII-vintage combat aircraft types which continue to inspire future generations as aerial ambassadors, the Typhoon is virtually extinct, with just a single, complete example in preservation, this being MN235 on static display at RAF Museum London. HTPG is eager to address this deficit, by resurrecting RB396’s bones to produce an airworthy Typhoon for the world. 

IMG 5934 1
The Typhoon project laid out in the silhouette the aircraft will one day cast in this important hangar at Duxford Aerodrome. (image via Charlotte Bailey)

Despite its significant role in helping turn the tide of the war – specifically for its prowess during the Battle of Normandy – 56% of all Typhoon pilots lost their lives while flying this pivotal, ground-attack fighter. Thus the HTPG formed in 2016 with the intention of creating a “national memorial” to serve as the “lasting legacy these brave men and women deserve.” 

IMG 5897 1
The Typhoon’s cockpit section which will likely begin its restoration at ARCo before too long. Note the wheel and undercarriage oleo sitting just to the lower right of the frame. (image via Charlotte Bailey)

The project has moved forwards with some pace since those early days, and the unveiling at Duxford showcasing its present status comes at a notable anniversary for the airframe in question. RB396, a late-production model (of 3,317 total Typhoons built) rolled off the line at the Gloster Aircraft Company’s factory in Hucclecote, Gloucestershire during November 1944, with No.174 Squadron RAF taking delivery soon after. During her brief military career, RB396 flew 35 combat sorties, taking flak damage on 18 separate occasions until fate eventually had its way on April Fool’s Day in 1945. RB396’s pilot Flt Lt Chris House force-landed the Typhoon in a field near Denekampin in occupied Holland. The aircraft lay where it fell until cut up for scrap following the war. Somehow, the battered rear fuselage survived to make its way into a Dutch museum, which eventually sold the precious relic to HTPG’s founders, who transported it to the UK in 2012.

RB396 rear fuselage 768x495 1
Hawker Typhoon RB396’s surviving fuselage section as it appeared before restoration began. Almost everything seen here, other than the skins, is now incorporated into the rebuild which is taking place at Airframe Assemblies on the Isle of Wight. (image via HTPG)

Since then, work to redress that damage has been underway, starting with the rear fuselage section which is approaching the final stages of its restoration with Airframe Assemblies at Sandown on the Isle of Wight. I am told that the team possesses the majority of the required elements (save some missing wing data) for the build, although the distinctive radiator will hopefully serve a greater significance than propping up as a makeshift bar at today’s event. 

24. fuselage presently
A recent image of RB396’s fuselage section which is nearing the end of its restoration at Airframe Assemblies on the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. (image via HTPG)

The intended engine – a factory-inhibited, zero-timed, 24-cylinder Napier Sabre Mk.IIa – came via donation from Cranfield University in 2016, and will ultimately power RB396’s return to flight. This engine is a lynchpin for the project, as barely a handful of rebuildable Sabres remain in existence. Crucially, the group has secured full engineering support from Rolls-Royce (Napier’s successor) for the powerplant; a collaboration four years in the making and described as critical to the project’s success. 

IMG 5908
The Typhoon’s ultra-rare, immaculately preserved Napier Sabre Mk.IIa 24-cylinder powerplant. The Cranfield Institute of Technology acquired this unit as a training aide in the immediate post-war period. Many decades later, and after a ten-year negotiating period, the successor organization, Cranfield University gifted the engine to HTPG. (image via Charlotte Bailey)

Sam Worthington-Leese, project director and trustee, also has a significant element to add to the build: a lever from the throttle quadrant of Typhoon Mk.Ib MN252. Recovered from a crash site in Holland many years ago, the component belonged to a No.184 Squadron ‘Tiffie’ which Sam’s grandfather, Roy Worthington, was flying when he had to bail out over Holland on May 21st, 1944. “It’s not really a dream anymore – we’re making it a reality,” notes Sam, who stresses the importance of engaging new generations with the HTPG’s endeavors. Working with the Lincolnshire College Group, the project will support “as many apprenticeships as it can handle”; teaching heritage skills while also serving a vital STEM educational role.

IMG 5919 1
Sam Worthington-Leese at the podium during his presentation. (image via Charlotte Bailey)

IMG 5913
Components recovered from the crash site of Roy Worthington’s Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib, MN252. They are, from left to right, a light housing, a bakelite fuse box, and the remnants of a throttle quadrant lever and its associated linkage. (image via Charlotte Bailey)

IMG 5912
A small display of items related to Sam Worthington-Leese grandfather, Roy Worthington. (image via Charlotte Bailey)

Another staunch supporter of the project is 100-year-old Bernard Gardiner, a veteran Typhoon pilot who flew 71 combat operations. Gardiner is believed to be one of only four surviving Typhoon pilots worldwide, and noted that he would “love to see it fly and hear the sound of the Sabre one more time.”

IMG 5930
Bernard Gardiner, one of just four Hawker Typhoon veterans still alive attended the HTPG event just a couple of days before his 101st birthday. (image via Charlotte Bailey)

Although the rebuild could be complete in as little as five years, the team is looking to raise approximately £6 million to ensure that the dream becomes a reality. Five tiers of support are available – bronze, silver, gold, platinum and diamond. More information for how readers can support this important project is available  HERE


Many thanks to Charlotte Bailey for this engaging report. For those who wish to read more of Charlotte’s work, she recently published an impressive book covering the de Havilland Vampire. She interviewed more than fifty service pilots to fill her book Vampire Boys: True Tales from Operators of the RAF’s First Single-Engined Jet with numerous first-person accounts for what it was like to fly this early jet-fighter!

5950b96b53fca257ead878469b70e12a?s=150&d=mp&r=g

Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.

After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.

Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.

Array
About Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 1060 Articles
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends. After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups. Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.

5 Comments

    • It’s a replica with some original parts – not a real or restored Typhoon. There is, currently one complete example, MN235, belonging to the RAF Museum.

  1. A long favourite of mine.Very glad to see that this generation will see and hear that great Napier Sabre.

Graphic Design, Branding and Aviation Art

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*