Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

that was responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history.

History

Hawker had its roots in the aftermath of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, which resulted in the bankruptcy of the Sopwith Aviation Company. Sopwith test pilot Harry Hawker and three others, including

Thomas Sopwith Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Hon FRAeS (18 January 1888 – 27 January 1989) was a British aviation pioneer, businessman and yachtsman. Early life Sopwith was born in Kensington, London, on 18 ...

, bought the assets of Sopwith and formed H. G. Hawker Engineering in 1920. In 1933, the company was renamed Hawker Aircraft Limited, and it took advantage of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and a strong financial position to purchase the Gloster Aircraft Company in 1934. The next year, it merged with the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

and automotive company

Armstrong Siddeley Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines. The company was created following t ...

and its subsidiary,

Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company, or Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, was a British list of aircraft manufacturers, aircraft manufacturer. History Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft was established as the Aerial Department of the Armstrong ...

, to form Hawker Siddeley Aircraft. This group also encompassed A. V. Roe and Company (Avro). The company continued to produce designs under 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 Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...

, which produced

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...

s (including some derived from the

125 125 may refer to: *125 (number), a natural number *AD 125, a year in the 2nd century AD *125 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *125 (dinghy), a two person intermediate sailing dinghy *125 (New Jersey bus), a New Jersey Transit bus route *125 Liberatr ...

, whose original design dated back to de Havilland days) under the "Hawker" name. This was the result of purchasing

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

's product line in 1993. The name was also used by Hawker Beechcraft after Raytheon's business jet interests (Hawker and

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and Military aircraft, military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacture ...

) were acquired by investors and merged.

Products

The first Hawker design was the unbuilt Hawker Humpback of December 1920. This 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 Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, the product of Sydney Camm (later Sir Sydney) and his team. These included the Hawker Hind and the

Hawker Hart The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircraf ...

, which became the most produced UK aeroplane in the years before the Second World War. During 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 The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

fighter plane that, along with the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

, was instrumental in winning the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

. 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.

Aircraft

* Hawker Duiker 1923 ''prototype'' – first original design by Hawker, 1 aircraft built, J6918 * Hawker Woodcock 1923 * Hawker Cygnet 1924 * Hawker Hedgehog 1924 ''prototype'' * Hawker Horsley 1925 * Hawker Heron 1925 * Hawker Hornbill 1925 * Hawker Danecock 1925 * Hawker Harrier 1927 ''prototype'' * Hawker Hawfinch 1927 *

1928 * Hawker F.20/27 1928 ''prototype'' * Hawker Hoopoe 1928 * Hawker Tomtit 1928 * Hawker Hornet 1929 * Hawker Osprey 1929 * Hawker Nimrod 1930 * Hawker Fury 1931 * Hawker Audax 1931 - army cooperation derivative of Hart * Hawker Dantorp 1932- biplane bomber developed from Horsley for Royal Danish Navy * Hawker Demon 1933 - fighter developed from Hart *Hawker Hardy 1933 - general purpose aircraft variant of Hart * Hawker P.V.3 1934 prototype * Hawker Hind 1934 - developed from Hart * Hawker P.V.4 1934 prototype * Hawker Hartbeest 1935 *

1935 * Hawker Sea Hurricane * Hawker Hector 1936 - army cooperation aircraft developed from Hind, used Napier Dagger engine * Hawker Henley 1937 * Hawker Hotspur 1938 * Hawker Tornado 1939 *

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor aircraft, interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems we ...

1940 *

Hawker Tempest The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to a ...

1942 *Hawker F.2/43 Fury 1943 prototype * Hawker Sea Fury 1944 * Hawker P.1040 1947 prototype leading to Sea Hawk * Hawker Sea Hawk 1947 * Hawker P.1052 1948 prototype * Hawker P.1072 1950 prototype *Hawker P.1078 ''prototype'' * Hawker P.1081 1950 prototype *

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

1951 * Hawker P.1127 1960 experimental V/STOL aircraft

Projects

''Source: Hannah (1982)'' *Hawker P.1000 *Hawker P.1004 *Hawker P.1005 - high speed unarmed bomber, to be powered by two

Napier Sabre The Napier Sabre is a British H engine, H-24-cylinder, coolant, liquid-cooled, sleeve valve, piston aircraft engine, aero engine, designed by Frank Halford, Major Frank Halford and built by D. Napier & Son during World War II. The engine evolv ...

engines, to Specification B11/41 *Hawker P.1007 *Hawker P.1008 *Hawker P.1014 *Hawker P.1017 *Hawker P.1021 *Hawker P.1025 *Hawker P.1027 *Hawker P.1028 *Hawker P.1029 *Hawker P.1030 *Hawker P.1031 *Hawker P.1037 *Hawker P.1140 Sea Hawk *Hawker P.1041 *Hawker P.1044 *Hawker P.1146 Swept delta wing idea for P1040 *Hawker P.1048 Straight wing twin engine (like Me 262) *Hawker P.1049 *Hawker P.1050 *Hawker P.1051 *Hawker P.1052 Swept wing Sea Hawk prototye *Hawker P.1056 Night fighter variant of P1048 *Hawker P.1053 *Hawker P.1054 *Hawker P.1055 *Hawker P.1056 *Hawker P.1057 Swept wing idea *Hawker P.1058 *Hawker P.1061 dual engine straight wing *Hawker P.1062 swept wing derivative of P1040 *Hawker P.1063 *Hawker P.1064 swept wing idea with high tailplane *Hawker P.1065 swept wing with rocket boost *Hawker P.1067 idea for swept wing with Avon engine Hunter prototype *Hawker P.1069 *Hawker P.1070 *Hawker P.1071 *Hawker P.1072 Version Sea Hawk with rocket *Hawker P.1073 *Hawker P.1077 *Hawker P.1079 *Hawker P.1081 Second prototype derived from P1052 *Hawker P.1082 *Hawker P.1084 *Hawker P.1083 4th prototype Hunter *Hawker P.1085 *Hawker P.1088 *Hawker P.1089 *Hawker P.1090 drawing for Gyron engined Hunter *Hawker P.1091 drawing for tail less delta Hunter *Hawker P.1092 *Hawker P.1093 drawing for supersonic delta *Hawker P.1096 *Hawker P.1098 *Hawker P.1099 Avon engined Hunter *Hawker P.1100 drawing for thin wing Hunter *Hawker P.1101 Dual seat hunter *Hawker P.1103 1950s interceptor project *Hawker P.1104 *Hawker P.1106 *Hawker P.1107 *Hawker P.1108 *Hawker P.1109 Hunter variant *Hawker P.1121 late 1950s supersonic fighter project evolved from P1103 *Hawker P.1124 Drawing Mach 2 target aircraft *Hawker P.1125 *Hawker P.1126 VTOL double delta wing fighterFlight, 16 Dec 1960, p.944 *Hawker P.1128 Drawing for Executive jet version of Hunter *Hawker P.1129 *Hawker P.1131 *Hawker P.1132 *Hawker P.1134 *Hawker P.1136 *Hawker P.1137 *Hawker P.1139 *Hawker P.1141 *Hawker P.1143 *Hawker P.1149 *Hawker P.1152 *Hawker P.1154 1960s design for a supersonic VTOL *Hawker P.1182 Hawk trainer *Hawker P.1214 1980s X wing VTOL design *Hawker P.1216 1980s swept wing VTOL design of P1214

Key people

* Harry Hawker *

Aircraft designers and engineers

* Sydney Camm * Roy Chaplin * Robert Lickley * Richard Walker

Chief test pilots

* George Bulman * Bill Humble * Wimpy Wade *

Neville Duke Neville Frederick Duke, (11 January 1922 – 7 April 2007) was a British test pilot and fighter ace of the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of 27 enemy aircraft. After the war, Duke was acknowledged as one of the world's f ...

* Bill Bedford

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *. * *. *.

External links

Hawker
– British Aircraft Directory {{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom Hawker Siddeley Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1920 Manufacturing companies based in London History of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames 1920 establishments in England Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1963 1963 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1963 British companies established in 1920