The Development History of Early Hawker Aircraft - From the Duiker to the Harrier

In today's video we take a look at the some of the first aircraft developed by Hawker, which was formed from the ashes of the defunct Sopwith Aircraft company. Though not all of these early aircraft could be called successful, they set Hawker on the path that would lead them to greatness.

This video covers the Duiker, Woodcock, Cygnet, Hedgehog, Hornbill, Heron, Horsley, Hawfinch, and Harrier.

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Producing these videos is a hobby of mine. I have a passion for history, and personally own a large collection of books, journals and other texts, and endeavor to do as much research as possible. However if there are any mistakes, please don't hesitate to reach out and correct anything :)

Sources:

Mason.F.K (1991). Hawker Aircraft since 1920.
Mason.F.K (1992). The British Fighter since 1912.
Mason.F.K (1994). The British Bomber since 1914.

[RexsHangar]

F.A.Q Section

Q: Do you take aircraft requests?
A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:)

Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others?
A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both.

Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos?
A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :)

Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators?
A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible.

Feel free to leave you questions below - I may not be able to answer all of them, but I will keep my eyes open :)

[perrydowd]

This is a brilliant idea. We get a lot of vids concentrating on a single plane. This complements that perfectly. 👍👍👍👍👍

[dennismason]

Bloody fantastic. These early Hawkers have, up to now, received very little love in YT. Every model comes closer and closer to you-know-what. Thank you.

[Hiznogood]

Oh, a 40 minutes long video? We’re truly blessed! Thanks Rex!

[jontisdall]

Really enjoyed the longer format. Brilliantly researched and very well presented. Thank you.

[tomarmstrong]

Sitting at home, recovering from a sore throat and cold I saw 'Rex's Hangar' and remembering an earlier posting, I pressed the play button. Thank you Mr Rex for an absolute first class presentation. You are to be complemented on your research and totally absorbing video.. The designers, builders, pilots of these wonderful old machines will all be long gone by now. It is to your credit that they come across as real life vibrant individuals with drive and ambition. I was able to stop feeling sorry for myself with the thought of their fortitude and drive to achieve milestone in our nation's aviation history.

[lesliereissner]

This was a very interesting video that clearly took considerable research and the effort is appreciated. I love the names of British warplanes: Duiker, Hornbill, Hedgehog, Partridge--compared to the fearsome names given to Royal Navy ships, the airplane manufacuters were not striking terror into anyone. Hawker was to make good, however, with the Fury, Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest, etc, although the Hoopoe and Tomtit are still to come! And the scale of that Horsley is surprising--it is so well-proportioned that the people pictured with it look like photoshopped midgets.

[kellybreen]

This was a great video. I knew from a Chaz Bower book purchased 40 years ago that the Horsley was big but so well proportioned that it looked smaller than it was. 27 minutes in I was reminded of that fact, then you mentioned it a minute later.
I think you are on to something here. 1920-1934 aircraft had extremely short service lives. Now once selected, a design will serve 40 years or more.
That is like a Sopwith Camel being front line till the mid 60s.
Mind boggling really.

[Sacto]

The best thing about Hawker: the arrival of one Sydney Camm, a plane designer that should be ranked up there with Jack Northrop and Clarance “Kelly” Johnson.

[jjohnsonTX]

Excellent.
You move right along, covering essential details, strengths & weaknesses, disposition, then move on.
Keep it up.
You're doing fine.

[Dr_Jebus]

Love this new format. Really interesting learning about the teething problems of these famous companies

[GARDENER]

Excellent presentation. Looking forward to the future ones in a similar vein.

[timgosling]

Ah, the joy of someone on Youtube having done actual research! Nice to see the first appearance of the 'Camm Tail' on the Heron (not to be confused with the 'Kamm tail' seen on sports cars). That distinctive leading edge remained evident through Fury, Hart, Hind, Hurricane, Fury (again), Hunter and even Kestrel and Harrier (again).

[fenman]

A well researched and thoughtful video on a impressive list of prototypes.

[flemmingaaberg]

I just can't conceive how much time, effort and research you put into these videos - totally in awe. Love all your videos and this one dealing with a sweep across a manufacturer was a great idea too.

[m.i.andersen]

I do not think your thorough, serious and very interesting videos can get too long :) Thank you!

[BrassLock]

I enjoyed your comprehensive description of the aircraft against the backdrop of the Air Ministry Specifications. The sequence of different models clearly illustrates the design struggles that Hawkers faced during those years with superb photographs.

[stevegrace]

I lived in Chessington Surrey for a few years and always used to walk past a small Church and graveyard on my way to the local shops. I always wondered about a large headstone dedicated to Mr Hawker there. Now I know who he was. Thankyou so much.

[deltavee]

Full marks all around, Rex! This format strings together a number of aircraft that would otherwise just be names of models produced by the manufacturer.
Your usual thorough research and the plethora of period photos make the entire longer format a real pleasure to watch, with much pausing and eyeing of various designs on the part of this viewer.
I am truly looking forward to the others of this ilk.
You are building a go-to library for future generations of aircraft enthusiasts and you have every right to be proud of your work.

Thank you from E. Ontario.

[rob]

Thanks for your help in the war Sopwith, here's a massive bill.