Plane review - Hawker Tempest Mk.V

Tempest Mk. V Plane analysis

RAF's BnZ master

Click here to see the Youtube video review with commentary&gameplay

Introduction:

Sitting at level 14, the Hawker Tempest Mk.V is a plane every War Thunder player devoting his time into advancing in the british line can't wait to unlock, as it's yet another different model than the by now common for him Spitfire and Typhoon. Given it's high level for a propeller plane everyone hopes for great things, yet most of them are let down, as the plane is not what they expected it to be, and discard it as useless or lackluster.

The truth however, is very different. The plane is far from lackluster. On the opposite, it's a brilliant fighter and one of the most powerful and capable threats any german piston engined fighter can find in War Thunder skies. The problem with this plane resides in the fact that it's the first true Boom and Zoom fighter of the british regular line; while the previous planes all were highly capable turnfighters against german fighters, the Tempest is not.

As such it takes a different approach to get the best out of this beast, and a different flying style than the one that most british nation players have developed during their grind. But once flown to it's qualities the Tempest doesn't just shine - it excels.

General description:

The Hawker Tempest Mk.V is a low wing single engine fighter with a traditional configuration. It's got a laminar flow semi-elliptical wing which gives it a low high speed drag, but at the cost of a somewhat degraded low speed turning ability.

Powered by a Napier Sabre engine rated at 2450hp at takeoff, the aircraft certainly doesn't lack power. However, with a takeoff weight between 5 and 6 tons (depending on takeoff loadout) the plane is qualifiable as quite heavy.

Housing four 20mm Hispano Mk.V guns, the Tempest has one of the most powerful and fearsome fixed weaponries of any single engined fighter in the game. Not only that, it also has a tremendous ammunition load, so allowing for a very long firing time before running out of ammo.

Probably the most principal asset of the Tempest, and it's bigger strenght, is it's low altitude speed. Fully upgraded is the fastest propeller driven plane of the whole game in 1.33, and even without any upgrade, it's quick enough to run away from most enemies it'll find as long as they are not jets.

Maneouverability:

While most of the british fighters up to this point had one of their main assets in their low speed turning ability, the Tempest is a step away from turnfighting. The wing profile doesn't favor turning as the laminar flow airfoil isn't efficient for low speeds and high angle of attacks. Turntime as a result suffers - and the slower the plane gets, the worse things get.

Control surfaces are pretty good up to medium speeds. Pitch and yaw authority are very good. Roll is not exactly good but is much improved over the Typhoon's. Over 450kph however rollrate takes a serious hit and at high speed dives the plane is really slow in it's answer to roll input. As a result banking into the proper angle before commiting to a dive is capital to ensure succesful BnZ passes on lower enemies, since once the plane has gained momentum and speed, any adjustements in roll are painfully slow to achieve.

Performance:

While the engine of the plane is really powerful, the fighter is pretty heavy. Hence powerloading is not one of the main assets of this plane. While it has a reasonable acceleration and climbrate is not a world beater in this regard so patience and time should be invested at the battle beginning to achieve a proper altitude before entering combat and the fighter should be treated with care not to run out of energy and altitude as it will take some time to regain it.

 Speed, however, is the main asset of this plane. At the most common HB and AB fighting altitudes the Tempest is the fastest plane in the sky. Fully upgraded this hotrod can break the 610kph mark at sea level - something out of the reach of almost everything else that doesn't have a jet engine strapped onto it.

This domination in speed, however, fades away with altitude. The Tempest reigns supreme in top speed up to around 2500-3000m of altitude but the higher it gets the slower it is compared with competition. At 7000m, for instance, a Bf109G10 can easily leave it behind in a protracted level chase, so clearly the better altitudes to extract the biggest advantage out of the Tempest are between sea level and roughly 4000m.

Energy keeping and high speed performance:

Other than top speed, the main asset of the Tempest resides in it's excellent dive&zoom abilities. Weighing around 5.5 tons in a normal fighter configuration, it's pretty heavy for a single engined fighter (is noticeably heavier than a P51D). Adding the laminar flow wing to the equation only gets things better - that wing produces relatively few drag at high speeds so between the excellent momentum keeping product of it's weight, and the low high speed drag of the wing, the plane is simply excellent in energy retention at speeds over 400kph.

Diving ability is out of the scale - the plane simply goes off the charts in diving acceleration, that heavy weight helping it in it's way down like in very few other fighters. Also the wings are not just low drag - they're also really sturdy, so reaching speeds of 850kph IAS in a dive and survive to tell the tale is perfectly feasible, as long as the pullout is done with care and precaution not to overstress the plane.

In high speed zooms and extensions the plane is exactly as fantastic - that low drag at high speeds will make you slow down quite slowly, and that huge weight keeping momentum like, seemingly, forever. The combination of spectacular dive and zoom abilities, linked with it's phenomenal low altitude speed, gives this plane a degree of impunity among it's similar level fighters that is rarely found in War Thunder. A well flown Tempest is nigh uncatchable for any german or japanese plane of a similar and lower level, while remaining an extraordinary threat thanks to it's insane high speed energy retention.

Firepower&Weapons: 

As already covered in the introduction, the Tempest Mk.V sports four Hispano Mk.V cannons with a more than generous ammunition load. The Mk.V is arguably the best 20mm cannon in War Thunder at the moment ,as it mixes the Mk.II hitting power with the high rate of fire of german autocannons - the combination of four of those firing at convergence is nothing short of devastating.

 Speaking of convergences, given the ferocious hitting power of this cannons and their fast travel time and low weapon drop, pretty high convergences can be succesful. A personal recomendation here would be to set them up no farther than 400m, however, given that most of the times the firing range will be under those distances.

Ammo belt choice is pretty much down to preference here as all belts do the job (and do it fast). Given the nature of the plane as a purebreed Boom and Zoomer however, Stealth is highly favored, as it won't alert your prey that he's being fired upon until the first hits start to arrive. And usually those first hits are devastating enough to ensure a single pass kill.

The Tempest can load both bombs and rockets - but is higly discouraged to use them at the game beginning. Once air superiority is ensured ground targets can be focused on. Prior to that - focus on killing enemy fighters and don't drag yourself with dead weight to do that job.

Tactics:

Tactics when using this plane should be restricted to Boom and Zoom. While the Typhoons could outturn most german fighters and the Spitfire did so with ease, the Tempest has trouble turning even against Fw190s, and the 109s will certainly outmaneouver them at medium and slow speeds.

Instead base your flying on high speed tactics. Your energy retention at speeds over 400kph IAS is nothing short of spectacular, your dive and zoom abilities are incredible and while the high speed rollrate is a problem when lining up shots at high speeds, just a few hits of those 20mm cannons can ensure kills in no time. So climb to an altitude before the combat begins, and from there stay fast, dive, zoom, use high speed moves, and never slow down. Nothing will beat you in that turf.

If forced on the defensive or subjected to an attack, use that incredible dive to accelerate down to earth like a screaming eagle, level up when fast enough at low altitude, and from then on just keep on going leaving the helpless guy who thought he had you behind with no chances to catch up. Once he breaks chase you can do a high speed zoom and reversal on the vertical and suddenly the tables will have turned - the former attacker is now on the defensive.

On the offensive just stay fast and quick. Boom and Zoom to your heart content. Never, ever get greedy or try to stick onto another guy's six - you are not a turner and by wasting your energy trying to stick into a permanent position behind the enemy you're giving away your plane's biggest assets. Stay fast. Use energetic conservative ACM. Boom and Zoom. But never - ever - allow yourself to go low and slow. If you do so you're ripe open to be destroyed in seconds as a slow and low Tempest is an easy prey.

CONCLUSSION:

It's easy to guess, after what you've read until now, that this plane is one heck of a fighter. A lot of people misunderstand it as a "more powerful typhoon" when in fact it's not and as a result it lets many players down - the plane is not what they expected it to be. It looks very similar to a Typhoon but it flies very, very different to them.

The main problem here is, as mentioned, players that have gone up through the british ranks in planes that could outturn most of their opposition, and suddenly they find themselves strapped onto a plane that can't turn very well. But that's meaningless because the Tempest has many other qualities that more than make up for that. In fact, just by staying fast (simple rule to follow) the kills come by themselves.

A misunderstood plane by many, but an incredibly powerful one nonetheless - the Hawker Tempest is probably one of the top three piston engined fighters of the whole game at the moment. Use it right and enjoy it for what it is, it'll reward you to no end.




 

For further information, and to see gameplay of the plane flown right, check out my Youtube analysis on the plane