BUILT

MW423, No. 33 Sqn, RAF Changi, Singapore, August 1949

No. 33 Squadron was stationed in Germany after the war. From there it was

shipped aboard HMS Ocean to the Far East in early July 1949. The unit operated

in the region until 1970, flying sorties against Communist guerrillas in Malaya

until 1960. It was also the last RAF operational unit to fly Tempests Mk.II. Its pilots

made last sortie with them on June 6, 1951, then started to exchange them for de

Havilland Hornet F.3s.

Originally allocated to No. 26 Sqn, MW423 was transferred

to No. 33 Sqn in April 1949 and was also one of seven early

production Mk.IIs converted to the "full tropical" standard

for the RAF. Interestingly, it featured an escape panel

warning marking on the port side of the fuselage (usually

only seen on the starboard side). The top of the fin was

decorated with the unit's emblem of a deer head and with

the simple motto "Loyalty". It was in use until January 20,

1950, when an undercarriage failure made a “wheels-up”

landing necessary. Although repaired it saw no further

active service.

INFO Eduard - September 2021

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