Editing Hawker Tempest (section)

{{short description|British fighter aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = Tempest
| image = File:Hawker Tempest V in flight Nov 1944.jpg{{!}}border
| caption = A Tempest V, ''NV696'', during a test flight, November 1944
| type = [[Fighter aircraft]]
| national_origin = [[United Kingdom]]
| manufacturer = [[Hawker Aircraft]]
| designer = 
| first_flight = 2 September 1942
| introduction = January 1944
| retired = 1953
| status = 
| primary_user = [[Royal Air Force]]
| more_users = [[Indian Air Force]] <br /> [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]] <br /> [[Pakistan Air Force]]
| produced = 
| number_built = 1,702<ref name=Mason67_14_16>Mason 1967, pp. 14, 16.</ref>
| developed_from = [[Hawker Typhoon]]
| variants = 
| developed_into = [[Hawker Sea Fury]]
}}
[[File:Tempests Attacking Flying-bombs (1944) (Art IWM ART LD 4588).jpg|thumb|Painting of two Tempest aircraft attacking a [[V-1 flying bomb]] in the sky above a farmhouse.]]

The '''Hawker Tempest''' is a British [[fighter aircraft]] that was primarily used by the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) in the [[Second World War]]. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the [[Hawker Typhoon]], intended to address the Typhoon's unexpected deterioration in performance at high altitude by replacing its wing with a thinner [[laminar flow]] design. Since it had diverged considerably from the Typhoon, it was renamed ''Tempest''. The Tempest emerged as one of the most powerful fighters of World War II and at low altitude was the fastest single-engine propeller-driven aircraft of the war.<ref>Beamont, Roland. Tempest over Europe, 1994, p. 13.</ref>

Upon entering service in 1944, the Tempest performed low-level interception, particularly against the [[V-1 flying bomb]] threat, and ground attack supporting major invasions like [[Operation Market Garden]]. Later, it successfully targeted the rail infrastructure in Germany and ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' aircraft on the ground, as well as countering similar attacks by German fighters. The Tempest was effective in the low-level interception role, including against newly developed [[jet propulsion|jet-propelled]] aircraft like the [[Messerschmitt Me 262]].

The further-developed Tempest II did not enter service until after the end of hostilities. It had several improvements, including being tropicalised for combat against Japan in [[South-East Asian theatre of World War II|South-East Asia]] as part of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] [[Tiger Force (air)|Tiger Force]].