some of kingston’s amazing contributions to aviation progress … · hawker tempest 1944 downs...
TRANSCRIPT
Some of Kingston’s amazing contributions
to aviation progress since 1912
In 1910, 21 year old Tommy Sopwith teaches himself to fly, breaks records and wins prizes
In 1912, he starts the Sopwith School of Aviation at Brooklands airfield
Engineer Fred Sigrist builds them a better aircraft and the Admiralty buy it
Sopwith Aviation buys the Roller Skating Rink in Kingston upon Thames as their factory
Guided by test pilot Harry Hawker, a succession of world class aircraft will be designed and built in Kingston and flown from Brooklands
Sopwith Bat Boat 1913
First British flying boat
World’s first practical amphibian - land and water
Sopwith “Circuit of Britain” floatplane 1913
Harry Hawker flies 1,000 miles around the coast
Sopwith Tabloid, 1914 Schneider Trophy winner
First British aircraft to win a major international air race
Sopwith Tabloid 1914
First aircraft to destroy a Zeppelin airship
Sopwith Schneider and Baby floatplanes 1914 to 1918
Operated from ship and shore on submarine and Zeppelin patrols
Sopwith 11/2 Strutter 1916
First two-gun two-seat tractor fighter has synchronised forward firing gun
Sopwith Pup 1916
World’s first fixed-gun single-seat fighter
Sopwith Pup 1916 and 1917
First aircraft to land on a moving ship
Sopwith Triplane 1916
First triplane fighter, dominant over France early 1917
Sopwith Camel 1917
Most successful allied fighter in the First World War
Sopwith Dolphin 1918
World’s first four-gun fighter
Sopwith Snipe 1918
“Best fighter in the First World War”
RAF’s standard front-line fighter to 1925
Sopwith designed 60% of the single-seat aircraft built for the British Services in the First World War
By 1918 Sopwith Aviation employ 3,000 people in Kingston and have built 3,000 aircraft
18,000 Sopwith designed aircraft are built in total
Sopwith Atlantic 1919
Harry Hawker and co-pilot almost achieve the first trans-Atlantic flight
Sopwith Cuckoo 1918
First British torpedo ’plane to operate from aircraft carriers
In 1920, with very few orders, Sopwith Aviation is forced into voluntary liquidation
Having paid all creditors, they re-start as the much smaller H.G.Hawker Engineering Co.
Hawker Engineering sells some new designs but really expands once Sydney Camm becomes Chief Designer
Hawker Cygnet 1924, Sydney Camm’s first design
Very light aircraft, highly successful in competitions and races
Hawker Hart light bomber 1928
Easy-to-build, light, rugged steel tube construction
Faster than the RAF’s best fighters
Hawker Fury fighter 1931
First 200mph aircraft in RAF service
At times in the 1930s over 80% of RAF aircraft are Sydney Camm designed powerful Hawker biplanes
Hawker Hurricane 1937
First 300mph aircraft in RAF service
Their first 8-gun fighter and first with retractable undercarriage
Hawker sheds at Brooklands are
rebuilt and extended for the Hurricane
By 1939, assembly & flight testing is
also underway in Hawker’s new factory
at Langley, Bucks.
Aircraft design, prototype build
and component manufacture always
remains in Kingston
Hawker Hurricane 1940
Most successful fighter in the Battle of Britain
Over 14,000 Hawker Hurricanes are built
Most widely used and successful allied fighter in WWII
Hawker Typhoon 1942
First 400mph aircraft in RAF service
Hawker Tempest 1944
Downs more V1 flying bombs than any other type
Hawker Sea Fury 1947
Amongst the world’s fastest piston-engined aircraft
Hawker Sea Hawk 1948
Royal Navy buy 420, more than any other jet aircraft type
In 1948 Hawker acquire a large Factory on Richmond Road in Ham, North Kingston
By 1958 an impressive design office fronts the factory
Langley work moves back to Kingston with Dunsfold in Surrey for final assembly and flight testing
1951 Hawker Hunter 1951
“Super Priority” for RAF & NATO – almost 2,000 built
Hawker Hunter achieves 727mph in 1953, a world record
Hawker P1127 1961 & Kestrel 1964
Unique vertical take-off and landing fixed-wing aircraft
Harrier 1969
World’s first operational VTOL aircraft wins air race between New York and London city centres
Kingston-built Harriers are sold to the US Marine Corps
First foreign military aircraft bought by the USA since 1918
Hawker Siddeley Sea Harrier 1979
Crucial to success in the Falklands conflict
BAe/McDonnell Douglas Harrier II 1983
Second generation Harriers for US Marines, RAF, Spain and Italy
British Forces use Harriers for 41 years
Crucial in peace-keeping & most other campaigns
Hawker Siddeley Hawk 1971
Last all-British aircraft into RAF service
Remaining operational until at least 2015
BAe/McDonnell Douglas Goshawk 1988
Navalised Hawk trainer, operated by the US Navy
BAe Hawks continue to operate around the world
Nearly 1,000 built so far, including some single seaters
45,000 Kingston designed aircraft have been built
From 1912 to 1992,
thousands of people work with determination and skill
to design, build and sell
world-class aircraft
As a legacy, aeronautical engineers are still being trained
at Kingston College and Kingston University
The RAF have always had Kingston aircraft in service
Compiled by members of the Hawker Association
for the Kingston Aviation Centenary Project
Photographs courtesy of
BAe Systems, from private collections and via the Brooklands Museum