Hawker Hoopoe

Hoopoe
	Hawker Hoopoe, N237.
Role	Prototype naval fighter
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	H G Hawker Engineering Company Ltd.
First flight	1928
Status	Scrapped 1932
Number built	1

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

Service trials found the aircraft to be unsatisfactory, and it was superseded by the same company's Nimrod design.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

Redesign of the wings 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 with an increase in performance.

Trials at Felixstowe in 1929 with floats fitted showed that the aircraft was severely underpowered with the Mercury powerplant, 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

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

Crew: 1
Length: 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Wingspan: 33 ft 2 in (10.11 m)
Wing area: 288.5 sq ft (26.80 m²)
Empty weight: 2,785 lb (1,263 kg)
Gross weight: 3,910 lb (1,774 kg)
Fuel capacity: 55 imp gal (66 US gal; 250 L)
Powerplant: 1 × Armstrong Siddeley Panther III 14-cylinder radial engine, 560 hp (420 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 196.5 mph (316.2 km/h, 170.8 kn) at 12,500 ft (3,800 m)
Service ceiling: 23,600 ft (7,200 m)
Time to altitude: 6 min 40 s to 10,000 ft (3,000 m)

Armament

Guns: 2x 0.303 in (7.7mm) machine guns

References

Notes

^ Mason 1991, p.187.
^ Mason 1991, p.190.

Bibliography

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

External links

Flightglobal archive - Hawker Hoopoe, 1931

[1] Mason 1991, p.187.

[2] Mason 1991, p.190.

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[2]