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Twenty Tempest IIs were exported, what happened to them?

Posted by Jagan on Mon Apr 08, 2002 12:13:13 PM

I got the following info - Copyright of Mr. Andrew Thomas, RAF Museum

-Nine derelict Tempest IIs discovered at Poona, including one, HA580/MW758 now stored at Chichester. Had all moved on by 1972 to unknown destination.

-Centaurus engine and pair of Tempest II wings presented to RAFM by Indian Govt, arriving in UK c.1972. The wings came from Kanpur, from which aircraft is not recorded. This was the result of an RAFM request to India for Tempest spares in 1968.

-1977 Eleven Tempest IIs put up for tender by Indian Govt, at Halwara and Jodpur after use as airfield decoys. Six were brought back to the UK, purchased by Doug Arnolds' Warbirds of Great Britain. They were mostly complete with engines but missing propellers and often tailplanes and rudders. They had been stored outside in dry conditions for many years.

-1979 The WOGB Tempests finally arrived in the UK. HA457 (the aircraft now at Hendon) (RAF PR536); HA557 (MW404); HA564 (MW376); HA586 (MW763); HA591 (MW810); HA604 (MW401). This is the first definite information on `PR536' since 1947.
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My Question, if there were 20 Tempests in all that were exported out of India in the 70s. There are now about 10 survivors...what happened to the rest? (Apart from the six reported buried by the UK Collector)

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