Rare World War 2 Aircraft Gets Rebuilt

Hawker Typhoons haven’t flown in decades. In fact, only one complete Typhoon still survives today at the National Air and Space Museum.

Typhoon Legacy Co.

And so, a group from Vancouver Island has decided to rebuild the rare fighter/bomber after acquiring a key component that they think will help them make the aircraft airworthy.

Led by Ian Slater, the group aims to restore Hawker Typhoon SN: JP843 to remind everyone of the sacrifices made by Canadians during WWII. They don’t plan on letting it rot in a museum, too. 

For A Good Cause

According to Slater, the goal is to see it fly, hear the Sabre engine again, and educate people about the sacrifices its crews made during the war.

Finding A Napier Sabre

Four years ago, the team was already searching for the famous 24-cylinder Napier Sabre engine. The only problem was that fewer than 40 were known to exist, and most were recovered from crashes. 

Regardless, the team found a private collector in possession of the said engine. The owner said he would trade it for a functioning Merlin, so they tracked down a Merlin and went to work for three years to refurbish it. 

Now with the Naiper Sabre in hand, Typhoon Legacy Co. now aims to get the engine up and running.