Hawker Hart Mk.II
RAF Single-Engine Two-Seat Tail-Dragger Light-Bomber Biplane, UK

Archive Photos 1

Hawker Hart Mk.II (G-ABMR/J9941) on display (c.1994) at the Royal Air Force Museum London, Hendon Aerodrome, London, England

Overview 2

The Hawker Hart was a British two-seater biplane light bomber of the Royal Air Force (RAF), which had a prominent role during the RAF’s inter-war period. The Hart> was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and built by Hawker Aircraft. It spawned several variants, including a naval version.

Design and Development 2

In 1926, the Air Ministry stated a requirement for a two-seat high-performance light day-bomber, to be of all-metal construction and with a maximum speed of 160 mph (258 km/h). Designs were tendered by Hawker, Avro and de Havilland. Fairey, who had sold a squadron’s worth of its wooden Fox bomber in 1925, was not at first invited to tender to the specification, and was only sent a copy of the specification after protesting to the Chief of the Air Staff, Hugh Trenchard.

Hawker’s design was a single-bay biplane powered by a Rolls-Royce F.XI water-cooled V12 engine (the engine that later became known as the Rolls-Royce Kestrel). It had, as the specification required, a metal structure, with a fuselage structure of steel-tube covered by aluminum panels and fabric, with the wings having steel spars and duralumin ribs, covered in fabric. The crew of two sat in individual tandem cockpits, with the pilot sitting under the wing trailing edge, and operating a single .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun mounted on the portside of the cockpit. The observer sat behind the pilot, and was armed with a single Lewis gun on a ring mount, while for bomb-aiming, he lay prone under the pilots seat. Up to 520 pounds (240 kg) of bombs could be carried under the aircraft’s wings.

The prototype Hart (J9052), first flew in June 1928, being delivered to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at RAF Martlesham Heath on 8 September. It Demonstrated good performance and handling, reaching 176 mph (283 km/h) in level flight and 282 mph (454 km/h) in a vertical dive. The competition culminated in the choice of the Hawker Hart in April 1929. The de Havilland Hound was rejected due to handling problems during landing and because of its part-wooden primary structure. While the Avro Antelope Demonstrated similar performance and good handling, the Hart was preferred as it was far cheaper to maintain, a vital aspect to a program during defense budget constraints that the British armed forces faced during the 1920s. The Fairey Fox IIM (which despite the name was effectively an all-new aircraft), delayed by Fairey’s late start on the design compared to the other competitors, only flew for the first time on 25 October 1929, long after the Hart had been selected.

A total of 992 aircraft were built as Harts. It became the most widely used light bomber of its time and the design would prove to be a successful one with a number of derivatives, including the Hawker Hind and Hector, being made. There were a number of Hart variants made, though only slight alterations were made. The Hart India was a tropicalized version of the aircraft; the Hart Special was a tropicalized Hawker Audux, a Hart variant, with desert equipment; a specialised Hart Trainer was also built which dispensed with the gunners ring. Vickers built 114 of the latter model at Weybridge between 1931 and June 1936.

The production Hart day bomber had a single 525 hp (390 kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel IB 12-cylinder V-type engine; a speed of 184 mph (296 km/h) and a range of 470 mi (757 km). It was faster than most contemporary fighters, an astonishing achievement considering it was a light bomber, and had high maneuverability, making the Hart one of the most effective biplane bombers ever produced for the Royal Air Force. In particular, it was faster than the Bristol Bulldog, which had recently entered service as the RAF’s front line fighter. This disparity in performance led the RAF to gradually replace the Bulldog with the Hawker Fury.

Demand was such that production was spread out among a wide selection of aircraft companies. Of the 962 built in the United Kingdom, Hawker produced 234, Armstrong Whitworth 456, Gloster 46, Vickers 226, and 42 were produced in Sweden under licence by ASJA who built 18, Götaverken who built 3, and the Central Workshops of the Air Force (CVM) who built 21. In total, 1,004 Hartss were produced.

Operational History 2

The Hart entered service with No. 33 Squadron RAF in February 1930, replacing the larger and slower Hawker Horsley. No. 12 Squadron replaced its Foxes with Harts in January 1931, with a further two British-based Hart light bomber squadrons forming during 1931.

Hawker Harts were deployed to the Middle East during the Abyssinia Crisis of 1935-1936. The Hart saw extensive and successful service on the North-West Frontier, British India during the inter-war period. Four Hawker Harts from the Swedish Air Force saw action as dive bombers during the 1939-1940 Winter War as part of a Swedish volunteer squadron, designated F19, fighting on the Finnish side. Though obsolete compared to the United Kingdom’s opposition at the start of the Second World War, the Hart continued in service, mainly performing in the communications and training roles until being declared obsolete in 1943.

The Hart proved to be a successful export, seeing service with the Royal Egyptian Air Force, Royal Indian Air Force, South African Air Force, Estonian Air Force, Southern Rhodesia, Sweden (where it was designated B4) and Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Swedish Air Force General Bjorn Bjuggren wrote in his memoirs how his squadron developed dive-bombing techniques in the mid-1930s for their B4’s. When the Hawker engineers found out, they issued a formal objection, saying that the aircraft had not been designed for that purpose; however, Swedish pilots proved that the aircraft was up to that task and dispelled their concern.

Variants 2

Hawker Hart

Hawker Audux

The Hawker Audux was a Hart variant, designed for the army co-operation role, seeing much service in the British Empire. The first Audux flew in late 1931, and eventually, over 700 Auduxes were produced (including export). The Audux was very similar to the Hart, though had some modifications, including a hook to pick up messages. The Audux was armed with a single .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis light machine gun and a .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun. The Audux was powered by a version of the Kestrel engine and had a maximum speed of 170 mph (274 km/h). A number of variants of the Audux were produced, including the Audux India, a tropicalised version of the Audux for service in India; the Audux Singapore for service there.

The Audux saw service with other air forces, including the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Indian Air Force, the South African Air Force, the Royal Egyptian Air Force, the Royal Iraqi Air Force, the Imperial Iranian Air Force, the Straits Settlements and the Southern Rhodesian Air Force. The Audux saw limited service during the Second World War, seeing service in Africa on the Kenya-Abyssinia border, the latter of which had been occupied by Italy. The Audux also saw service in Iraq, at RAF Habbaniya, west of Baghdad, after the uprising there, the Anglo-Iraqi War; influenced by Axis forces, but the Audux ended its service by 1945. A derivative of the Audux, the Hawker Hartebees, a light bomber, was built for the South African Air Force with modifications made from the Audux. Sixty-five of these aircraft were built, the majority in South Africa. The aircraft saw action in East Africa during clashes against Italy who occupied Abyssinia.

A.V.Roe and Co. built 287 Auduxes as part of the RAF expansion scheme during 1935-1937. These did not warrant an Avro type number, but between 1937 and 1938 Avro built 24 modernized Audux aircraft for the Egyptian government, powered by 750 hp (560 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Panter VIA radials. Acknowledging the amount of redesign work done, these were designated the Avro Type 674.

Hawker Demon

The Hawker Demon was a fighter variant of the Hart light bomber. It was developed as when the Hart entered service, it was virtually uninterceptable by the RAF’s fighters, which was demonstrated in air defense exercises where they were sometimes instructed to restrict their height and speed in order to give the RAF’s Siskins and Bulldogs a chance. While the Hawker Fury offered better performance, it was expensive and was only available in small numbers, so when a fighter version of the Hart was suggested, the Air Ministry selected the type as an interim fighter until higher performance dedicated fighters could be bought in larger numbers. The new fighter variant added a second Vickers machine gun, while the coaming of the rear cockpit was angled to give a better field of fire, and a supercharged Kestrel IS engine was fitted. Evaluation of an initial batch of six aircraft, known as Hart Fighters by one flight of 23 Squadron during 1931 was successful, and larger orders followed for the fighter Hart, now known as the Hawker Demon. First Flight on February 10, 1933.

A total of 305 Hawker Demons were built including 232 for the RAF. The Demon were powered by varying types of the Kestrel engine. It had an armament of a single rear .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun with two .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns in the nose. Large numbers of the type were fitted with a hydraulically powered turret in the rear, which had been tested on the Hawker Hart. The Demon was also sold to the Royal Australian Air Force. It saw only brief second line operations during the Second World War.

Production of the Demon was by Hawker and by Boulton Paul Aircraft, Norwich.

Hawker Hardy

The Hawker Hardy was a general-purpose variant of the Hawker Hart tropicalised to meet Air Ministry Specification G.23/33 as a Wapiti replacement in Iraq. The prototype was a production Hart which was modified with a modified radiator, a message pick-up hook, water containers and a desert survival kit. The prototype first flew on 7 September 1934, and the first production aircraft were delivered to 30 Squadron in January 1935. The Hardy saw some service during the Second World War, in Africa and the Middle East; the Hardys performing a number of operations against Italian-occupied Abyssinia as well as other areas of Africa. The Hardy also saw service with Southern Rhodesia. The last operational sortie by a Hardy was on 9 May 1941 and most of the survivors were scrapped, although some continued in service as communications aircraft. On 14 May 1941, the Belgian Colonial authorities obtained a Hawker Hardy from the South African Air Force. Painted in Belgian colors, the machine was used for observation missions, but unfortunately overturned while landing at Gambela airfield on 26 May 1941, effectively writing off the aircraft.

Hawker Hind

The Hawker Hind was a derivative of the Hart and was intended to replace it. The Hawker Hector was a variant of the Hind and was used in the army co-operation role. It saw only limited service during the Second World War with the Royal Air Force. Hectors were also sold to Ireland.

Hawker Osprey

The Hawker Osprey was the navalized carrier-borne version of the Hart, performing in the fighter and reconnaissance roles. The Osprey had a single Rolls-Royce Kestrel II engine, and had a max speed of 168 mph (270 km/h). Its armament consisted of a single forward .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun and one .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun. The Osprey joined the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) in 1932, with just over 100 being built, and ended its career in 1944 after serving as a trainer for FAA pilots during her career in the Second World War. By December 1936, Ospreys were being deployed by 701 Squadron based at RAF Kalafrana in the anti-submarine and anti-piracy role. The Osprey was also sold to the Swedish Air Force being used on the seaplane cruiser HMS Gotland, which carried six Ospreys. Ospreys were also sold to the air forces of Portugal and the Spanish Republican Air Force.

Operators 3

Hawker Hart

Hawker Audax

Hawker Demon

Hawker Hardy

Hawker Hartebees

Hawker Osprey

Specifications (Hawker Hart) 4

Type

Structure

Manufacturers

Power Plant

Dimensions

Undercarriage

Weights (Bombers)

Weights (Trainers)

Performance (RAF Bombers)

Performance (RAF Trainers)

Armament

Specifications (Hart day bomber) 2

General Characteristics

Performance

Armament

References

  1. Shupek, John. Photos, copyright © 1994 Skytamer Images. All Rights Reserved
  2. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Hawker Hart
  3. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Operators of Hawker Hart and variants
  4. Mason, Francis K. Hawker Aircraft Since 1920 (3rd revised edition). London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1991. ISBN 1-55750-351-6. pages

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