Hawker Sea Hawk

The P.1040 prototype ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]), sometimes called the Hawker N.7/46 after the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] flew on 2 September 1947, piloted by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

Teething problems including airframe vibrations and tail buffeting led to a redesign of the rear jetpipe fairings and the addition of a bullet fairing on the tail.

Other minor issues including high stick forces and windshield distortion were addressed while a long takeoff run was
attributed to the low powered Nene 1 that had been not rated for its full power settings.

A fully navalised prototype, VP413 equipped with folding wings, catapult spools and full armament did not fly until 31 August 1948.

A third prototype which flew in 1949 incorporated a number of modifications from the second prototype, including the fitting of a longer arrester hook when a number of "[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]" were experienced in the dummy deck trials.

After the longer hook was incorporated, the modification was carried though the remaining production runs.

The first carrier trials occurred aboard the fleet aircraft carrier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] that same year. VP401, the first prototype continued in the flight test programme and before being retired, was involved in two significant events.

On 1 August 1949, the Royal Navy entered VP401 in the National Air Races, winning the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Challenge Cup Race, beating a Vampire 3 and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The prototype was later converted into the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] with the addition of an auxiliary rocket engine, becoming the first British rocket-powered aircraft.

After a few flights were made in 1950, the rocket engine blew up during a test and although repaired, the airframe was scrapped.

Sea Hawk

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The third prototype joined a specially-prepared Vampire Mk 21 in testing the feasibility of operating without an undercarriage utilizing a[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Flying from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], VP413 successfully completed both catapult launches and "rubber sheet" deck landings, with the undercarriage remaining retracted throughout the flights.

Although the system was proved, the project was abandoned in 1950 when more powerful engines precluded the need to radically adapt the design to the concept of combat aircraft without undercarriages.

Over 100 of the aircraft, named Sea Hawk, were subsequently ordered by the Royal Navy.

The first production Sea Hawk F1 was WF143, which flew on 14 November 1951 with 39 ft (12 m) wingspan and a tailplane of increased area.

Unlike its rival, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (the first jet to enter service with the FAA), the Sea Hawk had a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] rather than a tail-wheel, making it easier to land on carriers.

It was a fairly conventional design however, while other contemporary aircraft, e.g. the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], had adopted swept wings, the Sea Hawk had straight wings.

Swept wing versions ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) were built and experience gained with the latter was instrumental in developing the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] design.

The Sea Hawk was still a reliable and elegant aeroplane though its cautious design meant it would only have a brief career before being superseded by more advanced aircraft.

Operational history

The first production Sea Hawk was the F 1, which first flew in 1951, entered service two years later with 806 Squadron, first based at Brawdy, then transferred to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Just over 30 were actually built by Hawker. At that time, Hawker was also producing the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] for the RAF and so production and further development of the Sea Hawk was switched to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], part of the Hawker group.

The F 1 was armed with four 20 mm (.79 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] cannons. It was powered by a single 5,000 lbf (22 kN) thrust [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 101 turbojet.

The F 1 had a maximum speed of 599 mph (964 km/h) at sea level and a range of 800 mi (1,287 km) on internal fuel.

The second fighter variant was the F 2 which introduced power-boosted aileron controls as well as other modifications, including to its structure.

The next variant of the Sea Hawk was developed into a fighter-bomber, the FB 3 - Fighter-Bomber Mark 3 -(over 100 built) and differed only slightly from its predecessors.

Its structure was strengthened to allow it to carry a wide array of equipment and weaponry.

Its new armament consisted of two 500 lb (227 kg) bombs and 16 unguided rockets.

The fourth Sea Hawk was a fighter ground-attack variant, the FGA 4, with increased weapons capability.

The fifth Sea Hawk was a fighter-bomber variant, the FB 5, basically FB 3 and FGA 4s re-engined with the new Rolls-Royce Nene 103.

The final Sea Hawk was a fighter ground-attack variant, FGA 6, and was exactly the same as its immediate predecessor, though they were new builds rather than re-engined, with just under 90 built.

All Sea Hawks were in service by the mid-1950s and eventually over 500 were built.

Although Australia and Canada both initially expressed interest in the Sea Hawk, to the extent that examples were tested by each country's naval forces, the first export version was the Sea Hawk Mk 50, a ground-attack variant for the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]; 22 aircraft were in service between 1957 to 1964.
The next export variant was the Sea Hawk Mk 100, a strike fighter variant for the German [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], the Navy of West Germany.

The final German export version was the Sea Hawk Mk 101, a night fighter, reconnaissance variant for the Bundesmarine.

The Sea Hawk served into the mid-1960s, until its replacement by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
The last export customer was India who ordered a mix of 24 new-build Sea Hawks and 12 refurbished ex-FAA Mk 6s in 1959, following up with 30 additional airframes reconstructed from West German stocks, among others.

Combat record


The Sea Hawk, as part of the Fleet Air Arm, saw extensive service during the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], initiated by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s nationalisation of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The United Kingdom, France and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] took part in the campaign, with the Anglo-French invasion being known as [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], beginning on 31 October 1956.

Six Sea Hawk squadrons took part: two were aboard the fleet carrier HMS Eagle, and two each aboard the light fleet carriers [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The Sea Hawks were used for ground-attack, in which they excelled, causing immense damage to a variety of Egyptian targets.

The military aspect of the Suez Campaign was a success, unlike the political disaster.

All Allied forces were eventually withdrawn by 1957.

HMS Eagle

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The Sea Hawk was a successful export aircraft. In the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], it served aboard the Dutch aircraft carrier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], ex-[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], including decolonization operations guarding against Indonesian threats in the area.

From 1959 on they were equipped with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] significantly enhancing and extending their air to air combat capabilities.

In 1964, the Sea Hawks that served on her were moved ashore when the NATO mission profile was changed to all ASW aircraft. When Karel Doorman was sold to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] they were quickly taken out of service.

In Indian Navy service (beginning in 1960), Sea Hawks were used aboard the aircraft carrier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], ex-HMS Hercules and saw service during the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The latter war saw Sea Hawks being used by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]; these aircraft scored nearly a dozen "kills", mainly of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ships and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (present day [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) without losing an aircraft in the war.

Aided by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] aircraft, the Sea Hawks emerged unscathed, achieving the highest [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] for any aircraft in the entire war.

The Sea Hawk was withdrawn from Indian Navy service in 1983, being replaced by the far more capable [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Retirement

The Sea Hawks in Fleet Air Arm service began phasing out from first line service in 1958, the year the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] entered service, both of which would eventually replace the Sea Hawk.

The last first line Sea Hawk squadron disbanded at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in December 1960, ending a very brief career for the Sea Hawk.

Most Sea Hawks in second line service were withdrawn by the mid-1960s.

The last operational Royal Navy Sea Hawks were the "black" Fleet Requirements Unit at Hurn that retired the type in 1969.

Variants


P.1040

Prototype, three built, one converted into the rocket-powered P.1072.

P 1052

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Sea Hawk F1

Production fighters powered by a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Mk 101 engine; 95 built (35 by Hawker Aircraft at Kingston upon-Thames, the remainder and all subsequent production by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft at Baginton, Coventry)