Hawker Hoopoe

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Hoopoe
HawkerHoopoe.JPG
Hawker Hoopoe, N237.
RolePrototype naval fighter
National originUnited Kingdom
Manufacturer H G Hawker Engineering Company Ltd.
First flight1928
StatusScrapped 1932
Number built1

The Hawker Hoopoe was a British prototype naval fighter aircraft designed and built in 1927 by Hawker Aircraft.

Contents

Service trials found the aircraft to be unsatisfactory, and it was superseded by the same company's Nimrod design.

Design and development

Named after the bird of the same name, the Hoopoe was a private venture design proposal to meet Specification N.21/26, although the aircraft did not follow the specification closely. The Hoopoe was a single-seater biplane with an open cockpit and fixed undercarriage. Floats were also later tested. [1]

The wings' redesign changed the layout from a two-bay biplane to a single-bay configuration. Three engine types were fitted during the short trial period. Two variants of the Bristol Mercury were later replaced by an Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar and Panther, which increased performance.

Trials at Felixstowe in 1929 with floats fitted showed that the Mercury powerplant severely underpowered the aircraft, requiring the change to the Jaguar engine. Service interest in the type had waned by autumn 1930, although the single prototype continued in development, flying with Armstrong Siddeley and the Royal Aircraft Establishment until 1932, when the Hoopoe was scrapped.

Hoopoe in 1929 with uncowled Mercury engine and two-bay wings Hawker Hoopoe side.jpg
Hoopoe in 1929 with uncowled Mercury engine and two-bay wings
Hoopoe in 1929 with double Townend ring around the Panther engine and single-bay wings Hawker Hoopoe (front quarter).jpg
Hoopoe in 1929 with double Townend ring around the Panther engine and single-bay wings

Specifications (Hoopoe - Single bay wings, Panther III)

Data from [2]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

Notes

  1. Mason 1991, p.187.
  2. Mason 1991, p.190.

Bibliography

  • Mason, Francis K. Hawker Aircraft since 1920. London: Putnam, 1991. ISBN   0-85177-839-9