Budgen, Christopher Hawker's Naval Fighters

Camel to Sea Harrier

In 1912, Tom Sopwith transitioned from running a flying school to aircraft manufacturing, using his nautical interests to develop designs that were purchased by the British Royal Navy. The outbreak of the First World War solidified the reputation of the Sopwith Aviation Company, whose aircraft, such as the Sopwith Camel, were widely used on ships of the time. After the war, cancellations of government contracts forced Sopwith Aviation into liquidation. However, a new company was quickly established: the H.G. Hawker Engineering Company, named after Sopwith's test pilot, Harry Hawker. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Hawker produced aircraft that continued to be purchased by the Royal Navy and used on the early aircraft carriers as well as the fleet's larger ships. With the outbreak of the Second World War, the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm was utterly unprepared for combat, possessing mainly biplanes and slow monoplanes to counter modern German fighters and bombers. As an interim solution, Hawker further developed the Hurricane into the Sea Hurricane. Later, Hawker developed advanced piston-engined fighter aircraft such as the Fury and its naval counterpart, the Sea Fury, which saw service in the Korean War and the Suez Crisis of 1956. The Sea Fury was superseded by Hawker's first jet aircraft, the Sea Hawk, which marked the Fleet Air Arm's transition to the jet age. The Sea Hawk also served the Indian Navy in its conflicts with Pakistan. Hawker's successful Hunter, although primarily intended for the RAF, was used by the Royal Navy for land-based operations. Hawker's next design, the groundbreaking Harrier, was ordered as the Sea Harrier; it saw service in the Falklands War and later in the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and Iraq. From its earliest days, the Hawker Aircraft Company delivered successful aircraft designs to the Royal Navy and many navies abroada feat few other companies have been able to match.