Harry Hawker

Harry Hawker

Harry George Hawker MBE, AFC, (January 22, 1889 – July 12, 1921) was an Australian aviation pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aircraft, the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft, including the Fury, Sea Fury, Hurricane, Hunter and Harrier.

Early life

Hawker was born in Moorabbin, Victoria"The Automobile" September 2007 Harry Hawker - Automobilist. author Bruce Lindsay] . As a 11-year-old he worked at the Melbourne garage of Hall & Warden helping to build engines for five shillings a week, moving on to the Tarrant Motor & Engineering Co helping make Tarrant cars where he qualified as a mechanic. In 1907 he moved again to become the chauffeur and mechanic for Ernest De Little in Caramut, Western Victoria before going to England in 1912. Here he joined the Commer Car Company and then the Sopwith Aviation Company in late 1912. He became immersed in aviation, began instructing novice flyers, and managed hangars at Brooklands aerodrome, the hub of British aviation. Having established his name as an aviator he became chief test pilot for Tom Sopwith who was already recognised as the originator of many fine aircraft. At Sopwiths, in 1915, Hawker had the personal use of a small aircraft, the further development of which led to the Sopwith Pup. He was also a regular competitor in the car races at Brooklands.

Return to Australia

In 1914 Harry Hawker returned to Australia to demonstrate the advanced Sopwith Tabloid which he had earlier helped design. A wild crowd nearly wrecked the plane on one occasion and he further damaged it during stunt flying, so he went back to England, where he remained throughout the Great War, designing and testing production aircraft with Sopwith.

Post-war life

After the war, together with navigator Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve he attempted to become the first to achieve a non-stop flight across the Atlantic. On May 18 1919 they set off from Mount Pearl in a Sopwith Atlantic biplane named "Atlantic". After fourteen and a half hours of flight the engine overheated and they were forced to crash land in the ocean, fortunately within sight of a passing freighter, the Danish "Mary". It wasn't until six days later when the boat reached Europe that word was received that they were safe. He won the Daily Mail prize of 5000 pounds, however. The wheels from the undercarriage, jettisoned soon after takeoff were later recovered by local fishermen and can be seen in the Newfoundland Museum in St John's.

In September 1920 Sopwith Aviation was liquidated because of fears the government would examine the wartime aircraft production contracts of companies like Sopwith and impose a crippling retrospective tax liability on them.

A new beginning

Harry Hawker, Tom Sopwith, Fred Sigist, and Bill Eyre then formed a new company, each contributing 5,000 pounds. To avoid any possible claims against the new company for the wartime contracts of the old company, they chose to call it H.G. Hawker Engineering. (It was renamed Hawker Aircraft in 1933.) As Tom Sopwith put it: "to avoid any muddle if we had gone on building aeroplanes and called them Sopwiths—there was bound to be a muddle somewhere—we called the company the Hawker Company. I didn't mind. He was largely responsible for our growth during the war."

Death

Hawker was killed in 1921 when his experimental aircraft crashed while practicing for an airshow. He had spinal tuberculosis and that plus a fire in the air were considered contributing factors.

Hawker is buried in St Pauls' Church, Chessington, Surrey (facing in the direction of the Ace of Spades roundabout, towards Surbiton).

In memoriam

In 1989 Moorabbin Airport at Mentone in Australia was renamed "Moorabbin (Harry Hawker) Airport".

References

* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090236b.htm?hilite=hawker Australian Dictionary of Biography: Harry Hawker]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Harry Hawker — Harry George Hawker (* 22. Januar 1889 in Moorabbin; † 12. Juli 1921) war ein australischer Luftfahrtpionier. Er war Pilot und Mitbegründer der Firma Hawker Aviation. Hawker kam 1912 nach England und entschied sich an der jungen Luftfahrt teil zu …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Harry George Hawker — Harry Hawker Harry George Hawker (* 22. Januar 1889 in Moorabbin; † 12. Juli 1921) war ein australischer Luftfahrtpionier. Er war Pilot und Mitbegründer der Firma Hawker Aviation. Hawker kam 1912 nach England und entschied sich an der jungen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hawker Aircraft Ltd. — Hawker Hurricane Die Firma Hawker Aircraft Ltd. war ein britischer Flugzeughersteller, dessen Jagdmaschinen wie die Hawker Hurricane und die Hawker Typhoon im Zweiten Weltkrieg Berühmtheit erlangten. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hawker Aircraft — Limited Rechtsform Aktiengesellschaft Gründung 1920 Auflösung 1963 Sitz Kingston, Großbritannien Branche …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hawker — may refer to: * Hawker (dragonfly), a family of dragonflies in North America and Europe * Hawker (trade), a single food stall or the occupation * Hawker centre, an Asian open air market of food stalls * Hawker Aircraft, a British aircraft… …   Wikipedia

  • Hawker — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Elizabeth Hawker (* 1976), britische Extremsportlerin Harry Hawker (1889–1921), australischer Flugpionier Lanoe Hawker (1890–1916), britischer Militärpilot Robert Stephen Hawker (1803–1975), britischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hawker Siddeley — Group Limited Tipo Pública Género Fabricante de aeronaves Predecesor Conjunto de las compañías Hawker Aircraft, British Aircraft Corporation y Scottish Aviation …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hawker — Siddeley Hawker Siddeley Aircraft est un constructeur aéronautique anglais fondé en 1935 en tant que holding des sociétés Hawker Aircraft (initialement fondée par Harry Hawker en 1912), Gloster Aircraft, Armstrong Whitworth et Armstrong Siddeley… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Hawker-siddeley — Aircraft est un constructeur aéronautique anglais fondé en 1935 en tant que holding des sociétés Hawker Aircraft (initialement fondée par Harry Hawker en 1912), Gloster Aircraft, Armstrong Whitworth et Armstrong Siddeley Motors. Ce constructeur… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Hawker Aircraft — Infobox Defunct Company company name = Hawker Aircraft Limited company logo = fate = Merged into Hawker Siddeley Group successor = Hawker Siddeley foundation = 1920 (as H G Hawker Engineering) defunct = 1963 location = Kingston; Langley;… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”