Above is P5224, the second Tornado prototype. In 1940 this aircraft was camouflaged in green and brown on upper surfaces and duck-egg blue underneath.
The Tornado was designed as type 'R' to the same specification as the Typhoon, F.18/37. The Tornado was a low wing single seat monoplane fighter powered initially by a X-configuration (resulting in two sets of exhaust stubs on each side), 24 cylinder liquid cooled Rolls-Royce Vulture engine driving a three blade constant speed propeller.
It had all metal wings with a thickness to chord ratio of 19% at the root tapering to 13% at the tip. The fuselage consisted of metal tube construction covered by non stressed metal from the engine to the rear of the cockpit and behind that all metal stressed skin construction apart from the rudder which was fabric covered.
The first prototype P5219 first flew on 6 October 1939 with an under fuselage radiator, as on the Hurricane, but test results soon resulted in it being moved to the chin position. The second protoype P5224 first flew on 5 December 1940. There were only four Tornados, in addition to P5219 and P5224, R7936 and the one and only production aircraft HG641 were built in 1941. Problems with the Vulture engine resulted in it being cancelled and the production order of 500 aircraft being reduced to 1.
Later the aircraft were used for trials of different engines and propellers and three aircraft were still flying in the Spring of 1944.
P5219 and P5224 were fitted with a 1,980 hp Rolls-Royce Vulture 5 engine driving a 3-bladed 12 ft 9 in diameter Rotol propeller.
R7936 was fitted with a 1,980 hp Rolls-Royce Vulture 5 engine driving 6-blade, (2 x 3-bladed contra-rotating) DeHavilland and Rotol propellers.
HG641 was fitted with a 2,210 hp Bristol Centaurus C.E. 4S engine driving 3 and 4-blade 13 ft 3 in diameter Rotol and DeHavilland propellers.
Although the work on contra-rotating propellers ultimately did not find a fighter application, the work with the Centaurus engine provided data for the Tempest Mark II design.
There was only one production Tornado, HG641.
The Tornado did not enter service.
The drawings above were published in October 1944 in AIRCRAFT OF THE FIGHTING POWERS.
| Aircraft | P5219 | P5224 | R7936 | HG641 | HG641 | HG641 |
| Engine Type | Vulture 5 | Vulture 5 | Vulture 5 | Centaurus CE 4S | Centaurus CE 4S | Centaurus CE 4S |
| Propeller | Rotol 3 blade | DeHavilland 3 blade | Rotol 2 x 3 blade | Rotol 3 blade | DeHavilland 4 blade | Rotol 4 blade | |
Span ft:in |
41:11 | 41:11 | 41:11 | 41:11 | 41:11 | 41:11 | |
| Empty Weight lb Normal Loaded Weight lb Maximum Loaded Weight lb |
|
|
| ||||
| Speed mph at Altitude : kft | 398 at 23 | 398 at 23 | 398 at 23 | 402 at 18 | 402 at 18 | 402 at 18 | |
| Mins to kft Service Ceiling kft (100 fpm) |
7.2 to 20 | 7.2 to 20 | 7.2 to 20 | 8.4 to 20 | 8.4 to 20 | 8.4 to 20 | |
| Range miles With 140 gal internal fuel |
Engine |
P5219, P5224 and R7936 : Rolls-Royce Vulture 5, 42.5 litre, 24 cylinder X-configuration liquid cooled engine producing 1,980 hp at ____ kft. | |
Armament |
P5219 : Provision for twelve 0.303 inch Browning machine guns. |
| Aircraft | P5219 | P5224 | R7936 | HG641 | HG641 | HG641 |
As far as I know there are no surviving Tornados.
The following publications contain information:
1) Hawker Aircraft since 1920, Francis K. Mason, Putnam, 1961, 1971 and 1991, ISBN 1 85177 839 9
2) Aircraft of the Fighting Powers, compiled by H.J. Cooper and O.G. Thetford, Harborough Publishing, 1944 and other editions.
By Tim Hammond
December 2009, Contents list added August 2010
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