This beautiful creation is a Hawker tempest Mk.V, the last British piston-engined fighter, and one of the fastest aircraft to ever fly in the Second World War.

Able to shoot down V1 flying bombs as they made their way across the English Channel, the Tempest excelled at low altitude interception, and later evolved to become the carrier-based the Sea Fury.

This example wears the markings used for the 1944 Normandy landings, and was flown by ace Wing Commander Roland ‘Bee’ Beamont, who shot down nine enemy aircraft and thirty-one V1 flying bombs.

Constructed by Juliusz D., the incredible Tempest pictured here includes working landing gear, flaps, and vertical stabiliser, and joins his other spectacular Second World War aircraft including the Supermarine Spitfire and P-51 Mustang.

There’s much more of Juliusz’s beautiful Hawker Tempest to see at his photostream, and you can fly over Northern France in Britain’s last piston-engined fighter via the link above.