T-C, AFAIR, both Wilkinson & Lumsden record the listed Sabre 7 take-off rating of 3,500hp @ +20lbs on ADI..
Other authors also note Sabre dyno-testing regimes such 3,750hp for 100hrs straight, with no limits on fuel/cooling.
That the Sabre came good just when the RAF went jet-bent, is one of the quirks of history, & that the British hadn't been
organised to produced such a well developed mill in good time & useful production numbers for wartime , is an indictment
on their industrial organisation, but I suppose ~5,000 Sabres were better than ~500 Vultures that didn't fly.. for long.
As for 'Pilots Notes', the Spit Mk 14 notes carry advisement re: take-off power settings/tyre stress..
..but I have yet to see a set of P-N's for the Tempest Mk 6 with the changes from the earlier Mk 5, incorporated.
With 800+, Tempests did get the 'lions share' of those V1 cruise missiles downed by aircraft, & of course aircraft
could be vectored onto the missiles, whereas AAA had to be sited within range of the flight track.
Tempest pilots remarked on the ability of the Sabre to cruise at high power-settings/speed & thus be in both a better
position to usefully intercept V1's, & later over the continent, contend with the faster German aircraft.
The Tempest also carried the RAF 4 X 20mm cannon fit ( deemed a standard for new fighters, since 1940) but this was a
bit weighty in practice for most Spits to cope with ( & 6 X 0.50" HMG's would be even heavier, & less effective).
None of the turbo-charged, or R-2800 radial powered fighters available in Britian in 1944 had the speed at low-level to
be effective for V1 pursuits, & even the Griffon Spitfires had mainbearing issues with + 25lb boost settings.
Bob Spurdle was CO of 80 Sqd flying Tempests in 1944 ( replacing "dainty" Spits), but he was very lucky to have survived
the mid-air disintegration of Spitfire P7364 which he was diving in hard pursuit of a Bf 109 during the BoB, back in 1940.
- Login or Register
No account yet? Sign up
