KITS 12/2018

JN763, No. 486 (RNZAF) Squadron, Newchurch, Great Britain, June 1944

Sqn Ldr ‘Johnny’ Iremonger, CO of 486 Sqn selected JN763 as his personal aircraft when it arrived at RAF Castle Camps. It was coded SA-F and carried

a Sqn Ldr’s pennant on the starboard side below the windscreen. Soon after the V-1s starting arriving in SE England a team from the RAE visited RAF

Newchurch to examine ways of increasing their top speeds. JN763 was one of two Tempests loaned to the RAE for trials with increased ‘boost’ and

150-octane fuel. After tests (which revealed that 20 mph could be added to the Tempest’s top speed at 3,000 feet when the higher octane fuel was used

alongside an increase in maximum boost from 9 to 11 lbs per square inch) JN763 was returned to 486 Sqn but was soon replaced by a new ‘F’, EJ577.

After a major over haul by Hawker, also JN763 joined 287 Sqn on ‘A/A Co-op’ duties but was destroyed in fatal crash in November 1945.

INFO Eduard - December 2018

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