Dave Homewood wrote:
How many Typhoons made it to Egypt or into the North African campaign? Did they see much action there? And if so, were they effective?
A couple made it only for early (desert) trials, IIRC - it wasn't in widespread service before the African campaign was over.
Dave Homewood wrote:
I know the Hurricane was extremely good at the ground attack role in the desert, bombing and strafing enemy columns, tanks and positions. Was the Typhoon meant to take on the same role?
No, and neither. Both the Hurricane and the Typhoon were
designed as air superiority fighters, with
no ground attack capability in the spec or original design, beyond the "...and will do other things." element.
The need for fast ground attack, and the development, primarily of the 60lb rocket, as well as other items (like the 40mm cannon on Hurris) none of which had been believed likely pre-W.W.II combined with the fact that the Hurricane and Typhoon both proved good at it was how it came to pass.
The Typhoon / Tempest story is that the Typhoon was intended to be the replacement (as an air superiority fighter) of the Hurricane - for various reasons, it was a failure at that, and would have been forgotten as a rare Hawker mistake, but for finding a new niche in ground attack. The Tempest was a Typhoon sorted for air superiority, with a sideline in ground attack; which it proved good at.
That's why the British trashed all their Typhoons, they were replaced in service by Tempests.
(And the Fury wasn't "better enough" than the Tempest for the RAF, but the RN were definitely up for a sea going super Tempest, hence the Sea Fury.)
Regards,
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