Hawker Tempest Mk.II Bristol Centaurus VI Engine Run

Fighter Aviation Engineering's newly restored Hawker Tempest Mk.2, MW763, being given an engine check run and taxi test by pilot, Pete Kynsey, at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford Airfield, on 9 November 2023. The aircraft is believed to have flown twice since the completion of its restoration, for flight testing and a delivery flight from Sywell to Duxford.
Although the original identity of the aircraft is MW763, it's marked and painted as PR533, a Tempest II coded 5R-V, flown by 33 Squadron, RAF in Malaya during the 1950s. Production Tempest Mk.2's were powered by the Bristol Centaurus Mk.V engine, although many later received the Centaurus Mk.VI. This one has a Centaurus Mk.VI.
Hawker Tempest F Mk.2 MW763 was part of the first production batch of 100 Aircraft built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd at Langley, Buckinghamshire. The majority of these were completed as interceptor fighters and many were subsequently modified to incorporate wiring for underwing bomb racks.
After completion and acceptance by the Royal Air Force during the summer of 1945, MW763 was allocated to No.183 (Gold Coast) Squadron at RAF Chilbolton during August 1945. On 15 November 1945, 183 Squadron was disbanded and re-numbered 54 Squadron, remaining at RAF Chilbolton with its Tempest Mk.2's, where it was to spend two years training pilot's, destined for overseas service, in flying the Tempest Mk.2.
54 Squadron converted to flying De Havilland Vampire jets during mid October 1946 at RAF Acklington and their Tempest Mk.2's, including MW763, were flown to No.20 Maintenance Unit (MU) at RAF Aston Down (formerly RAF Minchinhampton) where they were put into storage.
On 28 May 1948 it and a number of other Tempest Mk.2's were bought back from the RAF by Hawker Aircraft Ltd, for refurbishment and sale to India. MW763 became one of 98 Tempest II's supplied to the Royal Indian Air Force (later Indian Air Force) by Hawkers' during 1949, refurbished as RIAF aircraft serials HA547-645, from ex-RAF aircraft stored at 20 Maintenance Unit (MU), Aston Down. It was taken on charge by the RIAF on 1 June 1948 and allocated RIAF serial HA586. It was test flown at Hawker's Langley by Eric Stanley Morrell on 21 June 1949 and exported from the UK to India later during 1949, when it was recorded at Blackbushe Airport, UK for the purpose of customs export clearance, together with other Tempests destined for India.
It served with the IAF until April 1954, when it became a decoy at Poona (Pune) Air Base.
Doug Arnold of Warbirds of Great Britain Ltd acquired MW763 and five other Tempest 2's from the Indian Government in 1979 and shipped them to Blackbushe, UK.
As a restoration project MW763 changed hands several times in the years that followed. It started with Nick Grace & Chris Horsley at Tangmere and then went to Autokraft Ltd at Brooklands, where the first attempts were made to restore the machine to airworthy condition. It was registered as G-TEMT on 9 October 1989.
On 2nd January 1997 ownership passed to Tempest Two Ltd at Wickenby, where it was worked on over the next seven years. During this time it was displayed at the 2009 Wickenby Wings and Wheels show, fairly complete, in a standard RAF European theatre camouflage scheme, marked with the 54 Squadron identity code 'HF'.
During spring/summer 2014 the project passed to Canfield Hunter Ltd and was moved to Weald Aviation at North Weald Airfield, Essex, who were to continue the rebuild and also to use their expertise in restoring a pair of original Centaurus engines, including one from a Tempest 2, from a stock of three Centaurus engines, using one for spares.
During April 2016 ownership went to Anglia Aircraft Restorations Ltd and the aircraft moved to Air Leasing Ltd at Sywell, who finally completed the restoration over the next seven and a half years. Since 2022 the aircraft has been registered to Fighter Aviation Engineering Ltd, which is closely associated with the previous two owner companies.
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[@HighFlight]

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[@user-kw5qv6zl5e]

And a salute to those that flew them , maintained them and the dessigners in WW2

[@Simon_Nonymous]

I love this plane! And there are little bits like the undercarriage covers, the rudder, and the corrugations in the rear fuselage that clearly shows her grandmother was a Hurricane!

[@453421abcdefg12345]

Good to see this Tempest under power at last! I wonder what happened to the other 4 ? And having two engines must be a huge asset. Many thanks for being there to bring us this excellent video Steve! Chris B.

[@jameshardie9914]

Hopefully we'll be able to see this aircraft make several public appearances in the next airshow season

[@mikeburton7077]

Love that beautiful aeroplane!

[@haitolawrence5986]

Glorious noise!!! 😎

[@colinmartin2921]

Terrific thank you.

[@HighFlight]

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. I hope to catch it flying soon!😊

[@colinmartin2921]

@@HighFlight It took eight years to rebuild that engine, so I hope that they look after it!

[@HighFlight]

@@colinmartin2921 I'm sure that they will. They choose not to rest and inhibit their engines over the winter months. Instead they make sure that they lubricated and run up at least once every 2 weeks. Probably cheaper in the long run and far better for the engine.

[@keithwaller4545]

Lonely to see excellent. Would lovely to see duxford beaufighter in the air .

[@user-kw5qv6zl5e]

Pity they were built for war... just a touch more expensive than a 172 for a fun flight..nice one

[@peterhille5221]

4-blade prop? I guess only the Sea Fury had the 5-blade.

[@HighFlight]

The prop and blades are authentic to those which the Tempest 2 had. Yes, I think the 5 blades started with the Sea Fury - more power but also a bit more drag!

[@ThomasDoubting5]

5 blade props started on the later Mark Griffon powered spits to the best of my knowledge I'm possibly wrong though .

[@inspectormills3290]

What is the copper colored band around the engine section

[@HighFlight]

I think you mean the further aft of the 2 metal plates immediately aft of the 8 exhaust ports. If so then they are both detachable metal plates that give access to the gearing, controls, pipe work and all of the other fitments immediately behind the engine block on both sides, also deflect the exhaust gases away from the cockpit. The rearmost one would appear to be made either of stainless steel or polished aluminium. The foremost one may be of the same or similar material but less polished. Both get weathered by the exhaust emissions and also delay a patina as a result of being heated by the hot exhaust gases. I filmed an engine run on the Sea Fury/Fury II ISS (to be uploaded soon) which has these same features, but from which the rearmost plate had been temporarily removed.

[@inspectormills3290]

Thanks!

[@number1genoa]

386 Gallons per hour at takeoff power setting, shes a beast 😂

[@james426able1]

It's odd how the CAA are still allowing the Centurus to be used on the Fury & Tempest yet Navy Wings is waiting for Pratt & Whitney engine for their Sea Fury

[@HighFlight]

I don't think that the CAA are preventing the use of Centaurus engines, rather that Navy Wings don't have a Centaurus that they can use on their Sea Fury. They are pretty rare engines and the cost and availability may also be a problem?

[@johncrispin2118]

That is really bad news about Navy Wings . what is a historic aircraft if it is not the genuine article ? Imagine a Spitfire without a Merlin (or Griffon) what is it ? I agree the engines are scarce and good to learn the Tempest has two, but an earlier version than the Fury. It seems there are enough of these about surely for some Co-operation To re manufacture spares in the day of computerised reverse engineering and CAD and CAM ? The Hawker projects with Sabres iare going to be even more difficult if this Is anything to go by.

[@HighFlight]

@@johncrispin2118 I suspect that other factors influencing the Navy Wings decision, as well as finance and availability, are the 3 Centaurus engine failures that they've had with Sea Furies that resulted in the loss of aircraft, perhaps difficulty with the skills required to service and maintain them and a rumoured lack of oil of the right specification, since the only remaining supply was destroyed in an oil refinery fire. Although the last two don't explain how Air Leasing with North Weald Aviation manage to now keep 2 Centaurus engines running on the Fury II/ISS and Tempest. Yes, Sabres are even rarer but I'm pretty sure that the RB396 project, which is using the remains of a Tempest V airframe and a Typhoon airframe, has 2, one of which is a former zero timed engineering exhibit.

[@KyleClarke-pj4dp]

​@@HighFlightI believe that only parts of the Tempest will be used as the project have mentioned and eluded that there next project will be the Tempest V. So that's probably why they have two Sabre engines

[@colinmartin2921]

Centaurs engines are rare, as are spares and expertise, and remanufactured parts cost the earth.

[@tonyriordan2853]

Now this is a cranky old airplane 😂

[@MrVilok]

И почему в Америке все старое работает и летает, а в России нет. Стыдно как-то. ((

[@HighFlight]

Не Америка, а Англия. Может быть, проблема в России в том, что те, у кого достаточно денег, чтобы заставить старые вещи работать, не заинтересованы в этом, а у тех, кто ценит историю и старые вещи, нет денег? Я думаю есть Ил-2 Штурмович, который извлекли из озера и восстановили в Новосибирске?

[@MrVilok]

@@HighFlight Ну может и так.

[@aaronsosnoski1017]

Bad set of magnetos? Why did it break up?

[@HighFlight]

Sorry, I don't understand your question on this as nothing 'broke up' and I don't think there's anything wrong with the Magnetos. It doesn't say on the film but the reason that it didn't fly here is because the pilot wasn't happy with the tail wheels directional response on taxiing and it won't fly again until that's corrected.

[@sidthompso8097]

This looks an awful lot like an fury not a tempest ????

[@HighFlight]

Yes it does, but it is a Hawker Tempest Mk.II, which preceded the Tempest Mk.V and the Sea Fury. The Hawker Hurricane led to the Typhoon which was then developed towards the Typhoon Mk.II and the Tornado. This then led directly to 6 prototypes of the Tempest and eventually to the Tempest Mk.II followed by the Tempest V. Development then continued into the Fury II/Sea Fury.

[@bigsmoke6189]

that is not a bristol centaurus engine.

[@HighFlight]

Yes it is. It's a Bristol Centaurus VI. If you don't believe me phone up either Weald Aviation who rebuilt/restored the engine or Air Leasing, who operate and look after the aircraft for the owner, Fighter Aviation Engineering.