27-641: The Hawker Hind was a British light bomber of the inter-war years produced by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force . It was developed from the Hawker Hart day bomber introduced in 1931 . An improved Hawker Hart bomber defined by Specification G.7/34 , was purchased by the RAF as an interim aircraft, while more modern monoplane bombers such as the Fairey Battle were still in development. Structural elements were
54-693: A job with the Commer Car Company , moving to the Mercedes company in January 1912 and then to Austro Daimler . During this time he spent much of his spare time at Brooklands , then the hub of British aviation, and in June 1912 he got a job as a mechanic for the Sopwith Aviation Company . He soon persuaded Sopwith to teach him to fly, and succeeded in making his first solo flight after only three lessons. He
81-622: A mechanic. In 1907, he moved again to become the chauffeur and mechanic for Ernest De Little in Caramut , Western Victoria . In 1910 he travelled to Diggers Rest , north-west of Melbourne, to see the first public demonstrations of powered flight made in Australia, and decided to go to England to become involved in aviation, arriving in May 1911. On 14 November 1917, Hawker married Muriel Alice Peaty at St Peter's Church, Ealing . In England, Hawker obtained
108-720: A mixture of steel and duralumin with the wings being fabric covered; the main differences compared to the earlier Hart was a new powerplant, (the Rolls-Royce Kestrel V) and the inclusion of refinements from the earlier derivatives such as the cut-down rear cockpit developed for the Demon . The prototype ( Serial number K2915 ) was constructed very rapidly due to Hawker's development work for other proposals and made its first flight on 12 September 1934. A variety of changes were subsequently incorporated ("ram's horn" exhaust manifolds, Fairey-Reed metal propeller and engine improvements) with
135-536: A £1,000 consolation prize in the Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Waterplane Race on 25 August 1913. In 1914, Harry Hawker returned to Australia to demonstrate the advanced Sopwith Tabloid , which he had helped design. A wild crowd nearly wrecked the plane on one occasion, and he further damaged it during stunt flying. On his return to England, he continued designing and testing aircraft with Sopwith throughout
162-401: The 125 , whose original design dated back to de Havilland days) under the "Hawker" name. This was the result of purchasing British Aerospace 's product line in 1993. The name was also used by Hawker Beechcraft after Raytheon's business jet interests (Hawker and Beechcraft ) were acquired by investors and merged. The first Hawker design was the unbuilt Hawker Humpback of December 1920. This
189-553: The Aerial Derby . "Medical examination led physicians to believe that Hawker had suffered a haemorrhage and that he had tried to get back down on the ground." Fire in the air and spinal tuberculosis were considered contributing factors to his death. "The king sent a message of condolence, asserting 'The nation had lost one of its most distinguished airmen.'" Hawker is buried in St Pauls' Church, Hook , Chessington , Surrey . He
216-498: The "Hawker" name as part of Hawker Siddeley Aircraft, which from 1955 was a division of Hawker Siddeley Group . In 1963, the "Hawker" brand name was dropped, along with those of the sister companies; the Hawker P.1127 was the last aircraft to carry the brand name. The Hawker legacy was maintained by the American company Raytheon , which produced business jets (including some derived from
243-684: The Afghan government in two batches. After being retired in 1956, two airframes were donated to the United Kingdom in 1967-68. A further two airframes were donated to the National Aeronautical Collection in 1975 by the Afghan president. Data from The British Bomber since 1914 General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Hawker Aircraft Hawker Aircraft Limited
270-781: The Fairey Battle and Bristol Blenheim , with many of the Auxiliary Air Force squadrons changing their role to fighter or maritime patrol units. At the outbreak of the Second World War , 613 Squadron retained the Hind for army co-operation before re-equipping with the Hart derivative, the Hawker Hector , in November 1939. The Hind found a new career in 1938 as a training aircraft, representing
297-647: The First World War. After the war, together with navigator Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve , he attempted to win the Daily Mail £10,000 prize for the first flight across the Atlantic in "72 consecutive hours". On 18 May 1919, they set off from Mount Pearl , Newfoundland , in the Sopwith Atlantic biplane. After fourteen and a half hours of flight, the engine overheated and they were forced to change course to intercept
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#1732851933614324-554: The Germans and Italians. Iranian Hinds were used briefly against Allied forces during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran . Imperial Iranian Air Force bases were occupied by the Allies and their aircraft were destroyed or dismantled by the invading British. Hawker Hind aircraft were also used by the Afghan government to suppress the tribal revolts of 1944–1947 . In 1937-39, 28 Hinds were sold to
351-829: The Second World War, the Hawker Siddeley company was one of the United Kingdom's most important aviation concerns, producing numerous designs including the famous Hawker Hurricane fighter plane that, along with the Supermarine Spitfire , was instrumental in winning the Battle of Britain . During the battle, Hawker Hurricanes in service outnumbered all other British fighters combined, and were responsible for shooting down 55 per cent of all enemy aircraft destroyed. Source: Hannah (1982) Harry Hawker Harry George Hawker , MBE , AFC (22 January 1889 – 12 July 1921)
378-592: The company was renamed Hawker Aircraft Limited , and it took advantage of the Great Depression and a strong financial position to purchase the Gloster Aircraft Company in 1934. The next year, it merged with the engine and automotive company Armstrong Siddeley and its subsidiary, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft , to form Hawker Siddeley Aircraft . This group also encompassed A. V. Roe and Company (Avro). The company continued to produce designs under
405-468: The first production Hind ( K4636 ) flown on 4 September 1935. The Hind went into service in November 1935 and eventually equipped 20 RAF bomber squadrons. A number were also sold to foreign customers including Afghanistan , the Republic of Ireland , Latvia , Persia (Iran), Portugal , South Africa , Switzerland , and Yugoslavia . By 1937 , the Hind was being phased out of front line service, replaced by
432-522: The next step up from basic training on Tiger Moths . It continued in use as an intermediate trainer during the war. Hind trainers were also operated by Canada and New Zealand . In 1941, Hinds flew operations in their original role as light bombers against Axis forces. South African Hinds were employed against Italian forces in Kenya during the East African Campaign and Yugoslav Hinds were used against
459-644: The ship that had rescued him and Grieve. The Atlantic was found afloat and recovered by the US steamer Lake Charleville . The wheels from the undercarriage, jettisoned soon after takeoff were later recovered by local fishermen and later donated to the Rooms Provincial Museum in St John's . One wheel is currently on display at Admiralty House Communications Museum in Mount Pearl . In September 1920, Sopwith Aviation
486-467: The shipping lanes, where they were able to locate a passing freighter, the Danish Mary . The Mary did not have a functioning radio, so that it was not until six days later, when the steamer reached Butt of Lewis , Scotland , that word was received that they were safe. Hawker and Grieve were awarded a consolation prize of £ 5,000 by the Daily Mail . Hawker later named his second daughter Mary after
513-532: Was a British aircraft manufacturer that was responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history. Hawker had its roots in the aftermath of the First World War , which resulted in the bankruptcy of the Sopwith Aviation Company . Sopwith test pilot Harry Hawker and three others, including Thomas Sopwith , bought the assets of Sopwith and formed H.G. Hawker Engineering in 1920. In 1933,
540-493: Was a major advance in aviation safety. Having established his name as an aviator, he became chief test pilot for Tom Sopwith . At Sopwiths in 1916, Hawker had the personal use of a small aircraft, the Sopwith Bee . He was also a regular competitor in motor car and motorcycle races at Brooklands before and after the First World War . Among his competitive achievements were a number of altitude records set in June 1913 He also won
567-461: Was an Australian aviation pioneer. He was the chief test pilot for Sopwith and was also involved in the design of many of their aircraft. After the First World War , he co-founded Hawker Aircraft , the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft. He died on 12 July 1921 when the aircraft he was to fly in the Aerial Derby crashed in a park at Burnt Oak , Edgware , not far from Hendon Aerodrome . Hawker
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#1732851933614594-584: Was awarded his Royal Aero Club pilot's licence, No. 297, in September 1912 and shortly afterwards, on 24 October, he won the Michelin Cup for flight endurance with a flight lasting 8 hr 23 min. He also appears to have been the first person to perform an intentional spin and recovery, demonstrating in 1914 one method (though generally not the one used today) to return to level flight from this unusual attitude. Because spins had killed several pilots, this
621-640: Was born on 22 January 1889 at Moorabbin , Victoria in Australia , the second son of George Hawker, a blacksmith , and Mary Ann Gilliard Anderson. He attended Moorabbin Primary School. As an 11-year-old, he worked at the Melbourne garage of Hall & Warden, helping to build engines for five shillings a week, moving on to the Tarrant Motor & Engineering Co , helping make Tarrant cars, where he qualified as
648-452: Was liquidated because of fears the government would examine the wartime aircraft production contracts of companies like Sopwith and impose a crippling retrospective tax liability on them. Harry Hawker, Tom Sopwith, Fred Sigrist, and Bill Eyre then formed a new company, each contributing £5,000. To avoid any possible claims against the new company for the wartime contracts of the old company, they chose to call it H.G. Hawker Engineering. (It
675-504: Was renamed Hawker Aircraft in 1933.) As Tom Sopwith put it: to avoid any muddle if we had gone on building aeroplanes and called them Sopwiths—there was bound to be a muddle somewhere—we called the company the Hawker Company. I didn't mind. He was largely responsible for our growth during the war. Hawker was killed on 12 July 1921 when his Nieuport Goshawk crashed while he was climbing away from Hendon Aerodrome while practising for
702-567: Was soon followed by the Hawker Duiker , the first prototype, which flew in July 1923. In the interwar years , Hawker produced a successful line of bombers and fighters for the Royal Air Force , the product of Sydney Camm (later Sir Sydney) and his team. These included the Hawker Hind and the Hawker Hart , which became the most produced UK aeroplane in the years before the Second World War. During
729-571: Was survived by his wife, Muriel, and two daughters. In 1978, he was honoured with a postage stamp depicting his portrait issued by Australia Post . In addition five hundred commemorative First Day Covers were printed, many of which were purchased by the families of children attending the Moorabbin School. In 1989, Moorabbin Airport at Mentone in Australia was renamed "Moorabbin (Harry Hawker) Airport" In 2007, Kingston University London named
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