Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer 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, 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, 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 aircraft engine and automotive company Armstrong Siddeley and its subsidiary, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, to form Hawker Siddeley Aircraft. This group also encompassed Avro (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. 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 (including some derived from 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.
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 period, 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 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.
Aircraft
Projects
Source: Hannah (1982)[Donald Hannah, Flypast Reference Library Hawker, Key Publishing 1982]
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Hawker P.1000
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Hawker P.1004
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Hawker P.1005 - high speed unarmed bomber, to be powered by two Napier Sabre engines, to Specification B11/41
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Hawker P.1007
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Hawker P.1008
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Hawker P.1014
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Hawker P.1017
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Hawker P.1021
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Hawker P.1025
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Hawker P.1027
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Hawker P.1028
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Hawker P.1029
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Hawker P.1030
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Hawker P.1031
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Hawker P.1037
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Hawker P.1140 Sea Hawk
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Hawker P.1041
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Hawker P.1044
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Hawker P.1146 Swept delta wing idea for P1040
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Hawker P.1048 Straight wing twin engine (like Me 262)
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Hawker P.1049
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Hawker P.1050
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Hawker P.1051
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Hawker P.1052 Swept wing Sea Hawk prototye
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Hawker P.1056 Night fighter variant of P1048
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Hawker P.1053
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Hawker P.1054
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Hawker P.1055
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Hawker P.1056
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Hawker P.1057 Swept wing idea
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Hawker P.1058
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Hawker P.1061 dual engine straight wing
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Hawker P.1062 swept wing derivative of P1040
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Hawker P.1063
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Hawker P.1064 swept wing idea with high tailplane
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Hawker P.1065 swept wing with rocket boost
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Hawker P.1067 idea for swept wing with Avon engine Hunter prototype
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Hawker P.1069
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Hawker P.1070
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Hawker P.1071
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Hawker P.1072 Version Sea Hawk with rocket
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Hawker P.1073
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Hawker P.1077
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Hawker P.1079
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Hawker P.1081 Second prototype derived from P1052
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Hawker P.1082
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Hawker P.1084
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Hawker P.1083 4th prototype Hunter
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Hawker P.1085
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Hawker P.1088
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Hawker P.1089
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Hawker P.1090 drawing for Gyron engined Hunter
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Hawker P.1091 drawing for tail less delta Hunter
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Hawker P.1092
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Hawker P.1093 drawing for supersonic delta
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Hawker P.1096
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Hawker P.1098
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Hawker P.1099 Avon engined Hunter
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Hawker P.1100 drawing for thin wing Hunter
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Hawker P.1101 Dual seat hunter
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Hawker P.1103 1950s interceptor project
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Hawker P.1104
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Hawker P.1106
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Hawker P.1107
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Hawker P.1108
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Hawker P.1109 Hunter variant
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Hawker P.1121 late 1950s supersonic fighter project evolved from P1103
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Hawker P.1124 Drawing Mach 2 target aircraft
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Hawker P.1125
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Hawker P.1126 VTOL double delta wing fighter
[Mike Pryce - Beyond the Harrier - Kingston V/Stol Projects 1957-1988][Flight, 16 Dec 1960, p.944]
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Hawker P.1128 Drawing for Executive jet version of Hunter
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Hawker P.1129
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Hawker P.1131
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Hawker P.1132
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Hawker P.1134
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Hawker P.1136
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Hawker P.1137
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Hawker P.1139
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Hawker P.1141
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Hawker P.1143
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Hawker P.1149
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Hawker P.1152
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Hawker P.1154 1960s design for a supersonic VTOL
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Hawker P.1182 Hawk trainer
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Hawker P.1214 1980s X wing VTOL design
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Hawker P.1216 1980s swept wing VTOL design of P1214
Key people
Aircraft designers and engineers
Chief test pilots
See also
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Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
Citations
Bibliography
External links
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Hawker – British Aircraft Directory
