Tempest II MW376 in storage in south-eastern France.

Hawker Tempest II MW376/G-BSHW has been acquired from Seattle, Washington, USA-based Jim Perry by a New Zealand based buyer. It is due to be shipped to Pioneer Aero at Ardmore, New Zealand, for restoration to fly.

One of seven ex-Indian Air Force Tempests recovered in 1979 by Doug Arnold’s Blackbushe-based Warbirds of GB Ltd, its restoration began in 1990 with Windmill Aviation at Spanhoe, Lincolnshire. Two years later work ceased, and in 1996 it was sold to French aircraft collector Phillipe Dennis. Since being acquired by Perry in 2000, MW376 has been stored in the basement of a château near Valence in south-eastern France. None of the ex-Indian Tempest projects has so far been successfully restored to airworthiness.