KITS 11/2023

JN751, W/Cdr Roland P. Beamont, CO of No. 150 Wing, Newchurch,

Great Britain, June – July 1944

During June, the field-applied invasion stripes

on JN751 were replaced with factory-applied

paint at Hawker. This type of paint application

had a positive impact on performance, which was

crucial for achieving maximum speed while in

combat with V-1 flying bombs. Most of Beamont’s

31 V-1 victories were achieved in this aircraft.

JN751 was replaced as his personal aircraft in

September 1944 with a new Series 2 Tempest

Mk.V sporting the code RPB (EJ706). At the end of

September 1944, the entire unit, under Beamont's

command, moved to liberated European territory.

On October 12, Beamont's aircraft was hit by flak

in the radiator, forcing him to make an emergency

landing in enemy territory, where he spent the

rest of the war. During World War II, he achieved

nine enemy aircraft kills and was awarded the

DFC & Bar and DSO & Bar. After the war, Beamont

worked as a test pilot and flew aircraft such as

the Meteor, Vampire, Canberra, Lightning, and the

impressive TSR-2. He retired in August 1979 and

passed away on November 19, 2001.

JN738, No. 486 (RNZAF) Squadron, RAF Station Castle Camp, Great Britain, April 1944

No. 486 Squadron was established on March 7,

1942, at Kirton in Lindsey base, and its personnel

were predominantly New Zealanders. Initially,

it was equipped with Hawker Hurricane aircraft,

but from July 1942, it used Hawker Typhoons.

Due to its excellent performance, it was selected

as the first unit to transition to Tempests Mk.V.

70

INFO Eduard

The new aircraft were received in January and

February 1944, and it became part of the newly

formed No. 150 Wing, also equipped with Tempests.

It was declared fully operational in April 1944.

The camouflage of the new Tempests consisted

of the Day Fighter Scheme colors, with the upper

and side surfaces painted Dark Green and Ocean

Grey, and the lower surfaces in Medium Sea Grey.

During this period, black and white stripes were

added to the lower wing surfaces of Typhoons

and Tempests for better identification of friendly

aircraft.

November 2023