The project

The Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group (HTPG) is a charitable organisation, run entirely by volunteers, and exists to raise the funds required to rebuild Hawker Typhoon MkIb, RB396, as the lasting legacy of all those who played a part in the Typhoon’s history deserve.

RB396 flew over 35 combat sorties against ground targets in ‘Fortress Europe’ and was repaired 18 times in her short four-month life. In total, 666 Typhoon pilots, 56% of all Typhoon pilots, were lost on operations, a higher percentage than losses suffered by Bomber Command. On 1st April 1945, whilst attacking mechanised transports (METs) five miles north-east of Hengelo in the Netherlands, RB396 herself was hit by intense light flak and started to lose height. Her pilot Flight Lieutenant House, skilfully made a forced landing north-west of Denekamp on the Dutch/German border. Flight Lieutenant House evaded capture, managing to return to his Squadron just four days later. RB396 became one of many battlefield relics littering the European theatre.

After the war had passed her by, RB396 was recovered from the battlefield, transitioning through a scrap dealer and then a chemical factory, that proposed making a chemical wash from her rear fuselage. She was eventually saved by Dutch enthusiasts for display in a small museum. In 2012, she was brought back to the UK by one of the founding Trustees of the HTPG. With the securing of a factory inhibited Napier Sabre engine the very real prospect of getting a true WWII veteran flying again became a reality and the HTPG was established in 2016.

Projected costs

The funds required to return this aircraft to flight are considerable.

  • Fuselage monocoque £400,000
  • Cockpit £500,000
  • Engine £750,000
  • Front End £450,000
  • Propeller and hub £500,000
  • Wings inc. undercarriage £1,500,000
  • Tail section, rudder and tail planes £250,000
  • Electrics, pneumatics, flying controls and instrumentation £500,000
  • Final assembly £650,000
  • Total £5,500,000
  • Extras, contingencies and unknowns £1,000,000
  • Total estimated cost £5,500,000 - £6,500,000

The full history of RB396

During the early days of the project, the only history the team were able to confirm was the delivery to 51 Maintenance Unit (RAF Lichfield) on 23rd November 1944 and the subsequent forced landing on 1st April 1945 by Flight Lieutenant Chris House. With the help of historians, authors, family members and museum archives over the last few years, research has been able to fill in the gaps and complete much of RB396’s history.

Hawker Typhoon RB396 was ordered under contract number 943 which comprised of the following allocated serials: RB192-235, RB248-289, RB303-347, RB361-408, RB423-459, RB474-512.

Pilots

The pilot profiles in this area are of the men and women who flew the Typhoon and the unique perspective they bring.  A number of the pilot’s aircraft have been recovered and will help to make RB396’s return to the skies possible.

Timeline of RB396