Harry Hawker
Encyclopedia
Harry George Hawker MBE
, AFC
, (22 January 1889 – 12 July 1921) was an Australia
n aviation
pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aircraft
, the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft.
, Australia
. As an 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. He soon learned to fly at Brooklands
, 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 Sopwith
, 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 motor car and motorcycle races at Brooklands before and after the First World War
. Among his competitive achievements were winning the Michelin Trophy for flight endurance (October 1912: 8 hours 23 minutes) and an altitude record (1914: 12,900 feet).
, which he had 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 First World War, designing and testing production aircraft with Sopwith.
£10,000 prize
for the first flight across the Atlantic
in "72 consecutive hours". On 18 May 1919, they set off from Mount Pearl
, Newfoundland
, in the Sopwith Atlantic
biplane. After fourteen and a half hours of flight, the engine overheated and they were forced to change course to intercept the shipping lanes, where they were able to locate a passing freighter, the Danish Mary. The Mary did not have a functioning radio, so that it was not until six days later, when the steamer reached Butt of Lewis
, Scotland
, that word was received that they were safe. Hawker and Grieve were awarded a consolation prize of £
5,000 by the Daily Mail
.
The Atlantic was found afloat and recovered by the US steamer Lake Charleville. 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.
Harry Hawker, Tom Sopwith, Fred Sigrist, and Bill Eyre then formed a new company, each contributing £5,000. 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:
crashed while he was climbing out from Hendon Aerodrome
while practicing for an airshow. "Medical examination led physicians to believe that Hawker had suffered a haemorrage and that he had tried to get back down on the ground." Fire in the air and spinal tuberculosis
were considered contributing factors to his death.
"The king sent a message of condolence, asserting 'The nation had lost one of its most distinguished airmen.'"
Hawker is buried in St Pauls' Church, Chessington
, Surrey
(facing in the direction of the Ace of Spades roundabout, towards Surbiton
).
depicting his portrait issued by Australia Post
http://www.australianstamp.com/images/large/0012110.jpg.
In 1989, Moorabbin Airport
at Mentone
in Australia was renamed "Moorabbin (Harry Hawker) Airport".
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, AFC
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
, (22 January 1889 – 12 July 1921) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aircraft
Hawker Aircraft
Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history.-History:...
, the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft.
Early life
Hawker was born in Moorabbin, VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. As an 11-year-old, he worked at the Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
garage of Hall & Warden, helping to build engines for five shillings
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1912. Here he joined the Commer Car Company
Commer
Commer became known in later years as a maker of vans for the British Post Office—particularly the Commer FC which was introduced in 1960 with many body styles, including a 1500 cc van. After engine and interior upgrades it was renamed the PB in 1967 and the SpaceVan in 1974...
and then the Sopwith Aviation Company
Sopwith Aviation Company
The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Flying Corps and later Royal Air Force in the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel...
in late 1912.
He became immersed in aviation. He soon learned to fly at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
, 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
Thomas Sopwith
Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS was an English aviation pioneer and yachtsman.-Early life:...
, who was already recognised as the originator of many fine aircraft. At Sopwith
Sopwith Aviation Company
The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Flying Corps and later Royal Air Force in the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel...
, in 1915, Hawker had the personal use of a small aircraft, the further development of which led to the Sopwith Pup
Sopwith Pup
The Sopwith Pup was a British single seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good maneuverability, the aircraft proved very...
. He was also a regular competitor in motor car and motorcycle races at Brooklands before and after the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Among his competitive achievements were winning the Michelin Trophy for flight endurance (October 1912: 8 hours 23 minutes) and an altitude record (1914: 12,900 feet).
Brief return to Australia
In 1914, Harry Hawker returned to Australia to demonstrate the advanced Sopwith TabloidSopwith Tabloid
|-See also:-References:* Bruce, J.M. "". Flight. 8 November 1957. pp. 733–736.* Bruce, J.M. "". Flight. 15 November 1957. pp. 765–766.* Bruce, J.M. "". Flight. 29 November 1957. pp. 845–848....
, which he had 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 First World War, designing and testing production aircraft with Sopwith.
Attempt at first transatlantic flight
After the war, together with navigator Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve, he attempted to win the Daily MailDaily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
£10,000 prize
Daily Mail aviation prizes
Between 1907 and 1925 the Daily Mail newspaper, initially on the initiative of its proprietor Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, awarded numerous prizes for achievements in aviation. The newspaper would stipulate the amount of a prize for the first aviators to perform a particular task in...
for the first flight across the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in "72 consecutive hours". On 18 May 1919, they set off from Mount Pearl
Mount Pearl
Mount Pearl is the second largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The city is located southwest of St. John's, on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. Mount Pearl is part of the St...
, Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, in the Sopwith Atlantic
Sopwith Atlantic
|-See also:-References:*"". Flight, 5 April 1913. p. 393.*"". Flight, 21 November 1918. p. 1316.*"". Flight, 10 April 1919. pp. 476–480.*"". Flight, 17 April 1919, pp. 503–505....
biplane. After fourteen and a half hours of flight, the engine overheated and they were forced to change course to intercept the shipping lanes, where they were able to locate a passing freighter, the Danish Mary. The Mary did not have a functioning radio, so that it was not until six days later, when the steamer reached Butt of Lewis
Butt of Lewis
The Butt of Lewis is the most northerly point of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The headland, which lies in the North Atlantic, is frequently battered by heavy swells and storms.-Lighthouse:...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, that word was received that they were safe. Hawker and Grieve were awarded a consolation prize of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
5,000 by the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
.
The Atlantic was found afloat and recovered by the US steamer Lake Charleville. 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.
A new beginning
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.Harry Hawker, Tom Sopwith, Fred Sigrist, and Bill Eyre then formed a new company, each contributing £5,000. 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
Hawker Aircraft
Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history.-History:...
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 on 12 July 1921 when the Nieuport GoshawkNieuport Nighthawk
The Nieuport Nighthawk was a British fighter aircraft developed by the Nieuport & General Aircraft company for the Royal Air Force towards the end of the First World War. Although ordered into production before the aircraft first flew, it did not enter large scale service with the RAF owing to...
crashed while he was climbing out from Hendon Aerodrome
Hendon Aerodrome
Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in Hendon, north London, England that, between 1908 and 1968, was an important centre for aviation.It was situated in Colindale, seven miles north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became "the Charing Cross of the UK's international air routes", but for the...
while practicing for an airshow. "Medical examination led physicians to believe that Hawker had suffered a haemorrage and that he had tried to get back down on the ground." Fire in the air and spinal tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
were considered contributing factors to his death.
"The king sent a message of condolence, asserting 'The nation had lost one of its most distinguished airmen.'"
Hawker is buried in St Pauls' Church, Chessington
Chessington
Chessington is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, England. The Hogsmill river runs through it. Neighbouring settlements include: Tolworth, Ewell, Surbiton, Claygate, Epsom, Oxshott, Leatherhead, Esher, Kingston upon Thames and Worcester Park.-History:Its name...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
(facing in the direction of the Ace of Spades roundabout, towards Surbiton
Surbiton
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
).
Honours
In 1978, he was honoured with a postage stampPostage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
depicting his portrait issued by Australia Post
Australia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
http://www.australianstamp.com/images/large/0012110.jpg.
In 1989, Moorabbin Airport
Moorabbin Airport
Moorabbin Airport is a general aviation airport for light aircraft located in Mentone, Victoria, Australia. The airport grounds are treated as their own suburb, designated the postcode 3194. The airport opened in December 1949. Originally the intent was to name the airport "Mentone" but this was...
at Mentone
Mentone, Victoria
Mentone is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston...
in Australia was renamed "Moorabbin (Harry Hawker) Airport".