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Hawker Woodcock
The Hawker Woodcock was a British single-seat fighter built by the Hawker Engineering Company as the first fighter to be produced by Hawker Engineering (the successor to Sopwith Aviation). It was used by the RAF as a night fighter in the 1920s.
Contents
Design and development
The Hawker Woodcock was designed as a night fighter in 1922. The chief designer was Captain Thomson, but after the prototype was built, W.G. Carter took over as chief designer at the H.G. Hawker Engineering Company. The prototype was first flown with a 358 hp (267 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar engine in March 1923 with F.P. Raynham at the controls. It featured a two-bay wing with the inner struts at about ⅓ span.
The prototype was rejected because of lack of manoeuvrability as well as suffering from a serious wing flutter and ineffective rudder control. Consequently, Carter changed the design, reducing the wing by 2 ft (.61 m) and making it a single-bay type. The powerplant was changed to a 380 hp (283 kW) Bristol Jupiter engine. The modified design was designated the Woodcock Mk II, first flying in July 1923. A number of accidents were suffered and the design was progressively strengthened until the structural weakness had been cured.
The Woodcock was armed with two .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns, synchronised to fire through the propeller disk. The guns were mounted externally on each side of the fuselage, just below the edge of the cockpit.
Operational history
The first orders for the Woodcock were placed at the end of 1924, entering service in May 1925. A total of 64 aircraft were built. This total includes the two prototypes and one aircraft used for demonstration purposes. Once the aircraft's early structural problems were solved, the Woodcock proved popular with its pilots. It was replaced by the Gloster Gamecock in 1928. However, some Woodcocks were still flying in 1936.[1]
Variants
- Woodcock Mk I
- Single-seat night fighter prototype.
- Woodcock Mk II
- Single-seat night fighter for the RAF.
- Hawker Danecock
- Single-seat fighter aircraft for Denmark. Three aircraft were built.
- L.B II Dankok
- Single-seat fighter aircraft for the Danish Army Air Service, and the Danish Naval Air Service. A total of 12 were built under licence in Denmark.
Operators
Specifications (Woodcock Mk II)
Data from The British Fighter since 1912[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 25 ft 7 in (7.80 m)
- Wingspan: 34 ft 8 in (10.57 m)
- Height: 9 ft (2.74 m)
- Wing area: 356 ft² (33.1 m²)
- Empty weight: 2,014 lb (915 kg)
- Loaded weight: 2,979 lb (1,354 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Bristol Jupiter IV 9-cylinder radial engine, 425 hp (317 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 123 kn (141 mph, 227 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 90 kn (103 mph[3], 166 km/h)
- Range: 243 nmi (280 mi, 451 km)
- Service ceiling: 20,550 ft (6,270 m)
- Wing loading: 8.37 lb/ft² (40.9 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.143 hp/lb (0.234 kW/kg)
- Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 8 min 20 sec
Armament
See also
Related lists
Lists relating to aviation | |
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919, Volume 1, 2nd Edition. London: Putnam, 1973. ISBN 0-370-10006-9.
- Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
- Mason, Francis K. Hawker Aircraft since 1920. London: Putnam, 1991. ISBN 0-85177-839-9.
External links
Template:Hawker Aircraft aircraft
Lists relating to aviation | |
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
| This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hawker Woodcock". |
