EJ750, W/Cdr John B. Wray, CO of No. 122 Wing, B.80 Volkel, the Netherlands, December 1944

W/Cdr John Wray was an experienced fighter-bomber pilot who flew Beaufighters, Whirlwinds, Hurricanes and Typhoons and after the No. 122 Wing’s commander W/Cdr R. P. Beamont was shot down he assumed his position. Wray’s Tempest EJ750 was marked with the first letters of his full name‚ i.e, JBW, and flying it on November 3 he claimed a Me 262 damaged. After the war however this “damaged” aircraft turned out to have been destroyed. On December 17, 1944, Wray claimed another Me 262 jet kill. Its pilot, Lt. Wolfgang Lübke from II./KG 51 hit a building by the left wingtip and crashed into the nearby river Rhine during the low altitude dogfight. In January 1945, W/Cdr Wray finished his tour of duty as a No. 122 Wing commander and the Tempest EJ750 was re-marked with SA-B code letters indicating that it belonged to No. 486 (RNZAF) Squadron. On February 8 it was lost during the anti-shipping attack when the pilot F/Lt Miller made an emergency landing in the occupied territory.

EJ536, F/Lt Pierre H. Clostermann, No. 56 Squadron, B.80 Volkel, the Netherlands, beginning of April 1945

The well-known French pilot, F/Lt Pierre Henri Clostermann, flew with No. 56 Squadron from March 18 until April 5, 1945. His usual mount was initially a Temperst serial number EJ708 marked US-W, in the end of March it was replaced by a Tempest serial number EJ536 and on the fuselage it again carried the US-W code letters. On April 5, 1945, while at its controls, he damaged two Fw 190D-9s and destroyed four Ju 88Gs on the ground. On the starboard side under the windshield Clostermann had painted 16 crosses, symbols of his current air combat successes (in total 12 confirmed kills and four probables). He finished his combat career flying with No. 3 Squadron with the total score of 14 confirmed kills, four probables and nine enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground.

EJ705, P/O Frank A. Lang, No. 80 Squadron, B.80 Volkel, the Netherlands, December 1944

Right before D-day, the No. 80 Squadron, operating Spitfires Mk.IX, was incorporated into the Great Britain air defenses. In August it was re-equipped with the new Hawker Tempests Mk.V. In the end of September, the unit was transferred to the Continent as a part of the 2nd TAF. Tempest serial number EJ705 was most frequently flown by an Australian pilot P/O Frank Lang. On the starboard side under the windshield his Tempest carried the nose art in the form of a kangaroo holding the Australian flag. Flying this aircraft on January 22, 1945, he destroyed two gliders and in cooperation with other pilots from his unit shot down a Bf 109. Flying EJ705, other pilots from No. 80 Squadron destroyed two Bf 109 and one Fw 190. EJ705 finished its wartime career on March 11, 1945, when it was seriously damaged by an in-flight engine fire.

SN330, S/Ldr Colin H. Macfie, CO of No. 3 Squadron, Wunstorf, Germany, 2nd half of 1947

Tempest serial number SN330 missed the wartime service. In November 1945 it was dispatched to Germany and in January 1946 assigned to the No. 80 Squadron. During the following month it was damaged and returned to the Great Britain for repairs at Hawker company. After the repairs were completed, it was delivered to the No. 3 Squadron sporting the overall coat of the aluminum paint and new, type D cockades. J5-H code letters were painted in the unit’s traditional green color. S/Ldr Colin Hamilton Macafie chose this aircraft as his commander’s plane. In May 1948 the Tempests were replaced by Vampires F.1 and SN330 was returned to the Great Britain for storage. In November 1950 it was sent for the scrap metal.