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We have lift-off.Flight has been achieved
On a wind-swepet beach in North carolina in 1903 a powered glider rose off the ground and flew for 12 seconds covering a distance of 120 feet. Kitty Hawk wouldnever be the sae again. The two bike-making brothers had kicked off the race with their short powered flight to build faster and more capable machines,that would evetually change the course of warsand even make or break a country. -
Sopwith Tabloid
Originally designed as a sports plane to compete in the Schneider cup, the Tabloid was adapted for military use. Named because of its small size the Tabloid was Sopwith's first proper plane which was put into mass production. It saw limited service in the war, owing to its small 100hp rotary engine and the fact that it was soon overwhelmed by the flood of new planes into the field. -
Period: to
World War I
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Sopwith Strutter
The Strutter was a multi-role British biplane of the First World War. It was the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun.This mean that it can fire through the propeller of the aircrft, essentially turning the plane into one big machine gun. it was ousted out by newer aircraft due to it being lightly built and its structure not being strong enough to stand up to ardous war servie on the front. -
Sopwith Pup
Entering service in the autumn of 1916 the Pup was a single seater biplane fighter. It had good manoeuverability and excellent flying characteristics and was very successful. It also had a sychronised machine gun but it used the sopwith-kauper synchroniser which was superior to the older and unreliable variant used on the strutter. The greatest air ace of the first world war once said" We saw at once that the enemy aeroplane was superior to ours". -
Sopwith Triplane
Nicknamed the "Tripe", when introduced it had immeadiate success because it was very agile, with effective, well-harmonised controls. Its excellent rate of climb and high ceiling also gave it an obvious advantage over the rival Albatross D.III. Although superior to the pup in terms of technology and speed the Triplane was withdrawn from service because it was very difficult to repair, had a reputation for structural weakness aswell as being lightly armed in comparison to contemporary Albatross. -
Sopwith Camel
The most successful allied fighter of the first world war. This ingle seat fighter had a short-coupled fuselage, a heavy and powerful rotary engine and twin synchronised machine guns. Although not as easy to control as theTriplane was superior in almost every other way. Along with the SE.5, the Camel helped maintain allied aerial dominance well into 1918. -
Sopwith Snipe
Coming into service to late to make a large difference the Snipe was not a fast aircraft when compared to other aircraft, but its excellent climb and manoeuverability made it a good rival to the latesst Albatross's.The last example were not retired from service until 1926. It rose above the Camel as it was easier to control and had a larger engine which developed 230hp. -
Sopwith Salamander
The Salamander was a British ground attack craft. It was an evolution of the Snipe but had an armoured fuselage and fuel system to protect the planes vital components from ground fire. The Salamander was tested at Brooklands and put into operation quickly due to the RFC's insitence of a "trench busting" aircraft. With no doubt, the Salamander was a superior aircraft to the Snipe but a series of manafacturing mistakes led to its quick abandonment by Sopwith. -
Hawker Hart
The Hart mark the first plane by the re-named company. IT is a two-seater light bomber which was very prominent in the inter-war period. It was also the first bomber with an all metal construction. It was far superior to the wood and fabric first world war planes as it was all-metal so it was far stronger and would not catch fire as easily. Also ,with its larger engine the Hart could maintain a speed of 176 mph, meaning it could outrun all first world war fighters. -
Hawker Hurricane
The Hurricane accounted for over 60% of the RAF's air victories in World War II, and it served in all the major theatres of battle in the war. It was immensely versatile and was the RAF's first monoplane which is shown by its staggerring speed of 322mph. It was also the first aircraft in service with the RAF that had an engine with over 1000hp. THE Hurricane marked a huge step forward in aircraft manafacturing and design. Although made of wood and fabric the plane was still very strong. -
Period: to
World War II
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Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was one of the first planes assigned to 'close air support' and proved potent at it. It had a top speed of over 400mph--40 mph faster than the Spitfire. It was also armed with 12 browning machine guns. After two malfunction were solved the Typhoon became the most effective allied plane against the fw190's. After the fitting of rockets to the plane it became effective against tanks aswell as troops. Its amazing speed was the reason for its supremacy over the Hurricane. -
Hawker Tempest
The Tempest was the improved derivative of the Typhoon and was the most powerful aircraft of the war. Using the latest drag laminar flow wings developed in America the Tempest achieved speeds of over 430mph. Its most common use was to destroy doodlebugs or Vergeltungswaffe 1. Its speed allowed it to catch up with the missle and its armament of 4 Hispano cannons, 8 rockets and 2 500lbs bombs allowed it to destroy t in mid-air with ease. -
Hawker Sea Fury
The end of the propeller-driven era is at its end. This is one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built. It was even successful against the MiG-15 jet of the 50s.It was better than the Tempest because its fuselage was fully monocoque with a higher cockpit and better visibility. It could reach a speed of over 485mph. It was highly successful in Korea and even in Cuba against American jets. -
Hawker Sea Hawk
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Hawker Hunter
The Hunter was a manoeverable fighter aircraft of the 1950's adn was so successful it was exported to 21 countries. It is also still in service with one airforce. The first prototype broke the world air speed record and a formation of 22 broke the record for most simultaneous loop the loops. The Hunters armament was formidable and proved this in Serbia where it was the primary UN interceptor craft. -
Hawker Siddeley P.1127
THe p.1127 was the prototype for the Harrier, which was th efirst V/STOL jet fighter-bomber. It used a Pegasus vectored-thrust engine. The Pegasus vectored-thrust directablefan jet was a result of the decision to combine the Bristol Engine Company's Olympus and Orpheus jet engines. -
Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1
See Hawker Siddeley p.1127 -
Hawker Siddeley Harrier II
The Harrier was the first and most successsful V/STOL plane in the world. The second generation Harrier is extensively modified as it uses composite in its fuselage, providing significant weight reduction and increased payload or range. The Harrier was forced out of service in late 2010 by financial constraints. We are awaiting Hawker's next jet .
