Typhoon Mk I
| World War II aircraft | |
| Typhoon Mk I | |
| |
| Nickname | Tiffy, tiffie |
|---|---|
| Type | Fighter/attacker |
| Country of origin | Britain |
| Manufacturer | Hawker |
| Crew | Single-seat |
| Dimensions | Wing span 41 ft 7 in (12.67 m) Length 31 ft 11.5 in (9.73 m) Height 15 ft 4 in (4.66 m) |
| how to edit | |
The Typhoon Mk I in World War II[edit]
The Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft starting in 1941. Although it was intended to be a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane in the interceptor role, the Typhoon underwent a long gestation period, eventually evolving into one of the Second World War's most successful ground-attack aircraft. In RAF slang, the Typhoon was nicknamed the Tiffy.
Development[edit]
Unit Deployment[edit]
External Links[edit]
| Aces High II aircraft | |
| Typhoon Mk IB | |
| Nickname | Tiffy, tiffie |
|---|---|
| Type | Fighter/attacker |
| Crew | Single-seat |
| Aces High II loadout options | |
| Package 1 | 4x 20 mm Hispano, 140 rpg |
| Options | 8x rockets, or |
| 2x 1000lb bombs, or | |
| 2x 500lb bombs, or | |
| 2x 44 gallon drop tanks | |
| Aces High II Main Arenas | |
| Earliest MA | Mid War |
| Typical perk cost | 0 (Late War) |
| ENY value | 10 (Late War) |
| Available on carrier | no |
| how to edit | |
The Typhoon Mk I in Aces High II[edit]
The Typhoon is a plane with a lot of character that is perhaps poorly understood. It can be an extremely dangerous opponent in the hands of a skilled pilot with a deadly combination of firepower and speed. The Typhoon can be an unforgiving aircraft though, and that's what sticks out in the minds of many newer pilots, having torque in the opposite direction, terrible gliding characteristics, fragile radiator, and what can only be described as an abysmal roll rate. As with many of the highest performance aircraft in AH though, the Typhoon is one that is often flown near the edge of the envelope in order to really shine.
Engine Power[edit]
The Typhoon is fast, especially at lower altitudes where it is intended to operate. For example, at sea-level the Typhoon cruises at 355mph and can sprint at 370mph (WEP), clearly putting it in the top 3 speed demons at low altitude. With only a short climb to 8K, the Typhoon cruises at 385mph. The performance above 8K is a little unspectacular though at 19K you can cruise at 400mph and the top speed is about 405mph at 18K. Above 19K you are really out of your element. Climb rates show similar issues, down low being good at 3,200ft/minute, dropping to 2,700ft/minute at 10K and only 2,500ft/minute at 15K. You don't want to be climbing really high in the Typhoon as that process can be fairly long. Acceleration is fairly average at low altitude so don't count on it to get you out of trouble. One thing that you really notice about the Typhoon is the terrible drag as it simply will not glide well and when you remove engine power it slows very quickly. Ensure you save your WEP for combat if at all possible since without it the Typhoon will feel quite sluggish and the WEP duration is only 5 minutes. The extra 15mph of deck speed provided by the WEP might be the key in escaping a bad situation. Range on the Typhoon is poor - 27 minutes on internal fuel - and although the option exists to add drop tanks (two), they only add another 13 minutes combined and take up what is often a valuable spot to carry some air to ground ordinance. Be very careful if you are not taking drop tanks though as the fuel tanks in the Typhoon can be confusing to monitor and the later tanks tend to be burned very quickly as they are smaller than the early tanks.
Aces High II Performance Charts[edit]
Firepower[edit]
Arguably there is no weapon configuration clearly superior to the four Hispano 20mm cannons (140 rounds/gun) of the Typhoon. The ballistics of the Hispano are superior to any other cannon in the game and the damage effects are crippling, even with only a small number of hits. The only knocks against this layout in the Typhoon is the relatively small ammo load and the fact that the weapons are paired, yet placed fairly distant in the wings. This makes for some convergence issues and you will have to decide how best to set up the convergence while in the hanger. The snapshot abilities of the Typhoon are incredible, even at long range, and the Hispanos are equally useful to attacking lightly armoured vehicles or structures on the ground. The Hispano can actually also be effective against heavier armour although that ability is typically at very short ranges and at high angles of attack from the rear. Externally, the Typhoon has options for wing mounted rockets or bombs up to 1000lbs in size, making it a capable attacker that can bomb and strafe with great effect. Be careful while carrying heavy external loads on the Typhoon though as they seem to make for a lot of drag and decrease in speed. Typically, people will take the bombs over the external fuel tanks which might leave them short on range in the end.
Maneuverability[edit]
The Typhoon isn't the greatest maneuvering plane, not by a long shot, and some might compare it to a dumptruck. It has poor energy retention in turns, bleeding speed quickly and not being able to easily replace it. It also has about the worst roll rate in the game, feeling more than sluggish at almost every speed. Around 400mph perhaps the roll rate is acceptable, but at any other speed is it at best poor and at worst terrible. Turn rate is OK at high speeds but probably around average at low levels, making you an easy target for almost every decent turner in the game. Handling in general is not all that good at most speeds. The Typhoon simply feels heavy at low speeds and can easily pick up a high sink rate that requires almost constant throttle to overcome. It also stalls rather abruptly and will flip in the opposite direction as most planes because of the opposite rotation of the engine. That alone can catch many players who expect the stall to be similar to other aircraft and compensate for it, only to find that they are actually accentuating the problem even more. At very high speeds, the Typhoon gets quickly heavy in all axis but remains pretty much controllable to the extremes of speed over 550mph. The roll is so unresponsive that at low speeds it is almost impossible to even balance an uneven load of bombs if you only dropped one, so it's advisable to always drop them in pairs from the Typhoon. All this in mind though, the Typhoon is a good vertical fighter when using slashing style attacks and not overcommitting to turning.
Fighting in the Typhoon Mk I[edit]
Many of the Typhoon pilots you will see are suicide guys who make no attempt to survive, which is unfortunate. They use the superior speed to get into their target, make a bombing pass, and then try and make one additional guns firing pass before succumbing to what they feel is the inevitable end. The Typhoon is better than that. It's the fastest plane under 8K that can carry the amount of ground pounding ordinance that can be so useful, and once rid of the drag imposed by external stores, it can race for safety at very high speed. It really isn't the greatest of fighters because of handling deficiencies, but those can be mostly overcome with the deadly application of its firepower. Nothing within D650 of a Typhoon should be safe as any firing opportunity it can generate is deadly.
Offensively, try and ensure that you are at a good cruising altitude and speed. Decide whether your target will require rockets/bombs and load them appropriately, otherwise, taking external fuel tanks instead. Any external ordinance should be discarded before entering a dogfight situation as the performance penalties are simply too high for the Typhoon to overcome easily. Always try and maintain your speed and don't commit to turn-fighting anything for any extended period of time unless you can be sure that you are isolated from any other enemy interference. Even then, the Typhoon is at best an average turner. Any sort of scissors defense is likely to be a real problem for you, and people will know that. If they start to scissor, accept early that you cannot hope to match the rolling motions. A slashing style of attack is usually best, using your speed to slash through the pile to take shots at anything that stumbles into your path, extending out the other side, only to reverse and come back again. Don't accept Head Ons if possible. Although you have more than enough firepower to basically destroy the other aircraft, the front of the Typhoon is very vulnerable to any caliber weapon damage and the radiator (most commonly damaged) will quickly drain. A damaged radiator in the Typhoon almost ensures you will not be able to return to base, even if you are close. Don't be afraid to take difficult and improbable shots - the Hispanos can surprise you with their ease of use and devastating effects.
Defensively, never slow down enough for anyone to catch you. Honestly, the Typhoon does not have a very good defensive ability as it rolls so poorly, accelerates only average, decelerates quickly, bleeds speed badly, doesn't turn well, and isn't a superior diver. If someone catches you and locks on your tail in guns range you are in deep trouble and most maneuvers you will try will be of the desperate variety. The La7 will be your most dangerous foe as there is almost nothing you can do to shake one free unless it makes a mistake. Ensure you save your WEP, at least part of it, for escape because without WEP there are a number of aircraft that might be able to chase you down eventually. Always maintain your bearings on the route home so that you can speed towards the most likely location of friendly help and don't be afraid to open the throttles, dive, and extend away at low level.
A side note, the landing gear on the Typhoon extends at lower speeds than is typical of other planes and takes a long time to fully deploy. This, combined with flaps that are also restricted to lower speeds can make landing approaches more difficult. Give yourself extra deployment time when approaching a field. This may seem pretty simple but if you are trying to land a Typhoon with damaged engine or at shallow angles you can find yourself acquiring too high a sink rate before the landing gear is fully extended or the flaps are deployed to aid with lift.
Fighting against the Typhoon Mk I[edit]
The Typhoon should be pretty easy to beat as long as you can address it with either superior speed or superior maneuverability. You can be sure that most Typhoons will try one of two defenses, the run-away with superior speed, or the lets-play-chicken defense with a Head On. Often, the fight might start with the first method and deteriorate to the second.
If you find a Typhoon you wish to attack, ensure you have enough speed, or altitude to convert to speed, to catch it. Once you catch it, almost anything can out-turn a Typhoon. If nothing else, you know a turning Typhoon is bleeding speed like crazy, so simply forcing even a 90 degree turn might pull 100mph out of the Typhoon in the process, speed which it is unlikely to replace. So, corner the Typhoon and then build your position to take your shot. Be very careful that you don't end up accepting a Head On in this situation as you simply cannot survive if the enemy has even a decent aim. If you find you are chasing the Typhoon and only barely closing yet in no trouble from other enemies, remember that the Typhoon can only sprint for the duration of its WEP (5 minutes). Likely, as is the case with most Typhoon pilots, they have already used up more than half of that before you met them and maybe more. That means that if you have lots of WEP time remaining, you may find the Typhoon slowing down after a minute or so as his WEP runs dry. If you can wait that out, then the Typhoon will be even more helpless.
When attacked by a Typhoon, aggressively maneuver to avoid any sort of shot he may try and take. If you hear a single Hispano ping it might be too late. Attempt to escape through maneuvering and using rolling motions, the Typhoon's major weakness. Something like a barrel roll can be almost impossible for a Typhoon to follow, although you need to make sure it is sharp enough to throw off the Typhoon that is spraying Hispano fire to try and get you. A great tactic if you have a plane that rolls well, i.e. P47, F4U, 190, etc is to try and sucker the Typhoon into a scissors defense; vertical, rolling or horizontal, where the lack of roll rate will quickly present the Typhoon out of phase with you. Once out of phase you can build in impossible shot angles by staying ahead of the poor rolling of the Typhoon while planning your next more offensive maneuver. Overshoots and barrel rolls are classics, the Typhoon can not stay with you and will either give up the attack and try to extend, or will attempt to throw on the brakes so as not to overshoot, thus creating a slow turning fight for which the Typhoon is poorly equipped.
A final point, always respect a Typhoon until you have it on the ropes. One mistake and the Typhoon can make you instantly pay, though if you play your cards well you should be able to beat the Typhoon, if you catch it, almost every time.
