AEE]O MODESIEB

fhe nart prototrp. shos labric wh*l cov.6, difier€nt ensin. .owling at itl B.@k- lands tet 'drohe. Note ra.. track bankins in backaround. Bottod photo shows fuselase s..tionat re.r .o.kpit

Famous No. 23 by G.A.G. COX

Jusr as the fortunes of the De Havilland comoanv mav the Fury a year later, this was /art€l than be arlributedto lhe successof lhe Morh. sri wis thi any single-seatfighter, beating the Bulldog by 12 miles Hawker aircraft company established as one of the per hour, and was highly manoeuvrable,even with its great British firms On the prosperity brought by the 500 lb. bomb load. More than 500 Harts we.e built bv Hart. This great aircraft, in company with the Fury several contractors,and it equipped 20 squadrons was the subject of unprecedentedorders in the early includingthe famousNo. 12, which was th€ only Lrnir 'thirties. in fact in 1933-4 Hawkers delivered to the lo fly the Fairey Fox and has ever since used rhd fox's servicesmore machines than had any other company head as its emblem. since the war, and had eight types in production. In The }lart's potentialities as a fighter soon became the following year no fewer than seventeen Royal Air apparent, for as early as May 1931 an experimental Force squadrons flew Hawker types and there were more flight of"I lart Fighters"was attached to No.23 squadron. Hawker machinesin use by the Fleet Air Arm than any thenflying Bulldogs. ldenrical with the prototypeJgg:.1, other make. Such were the qualities of the Fury, Hart thesefighlers had a cutawayrear cockpir ro inclinethe and their deivatives in their heyday. L€wis gun ring and rherefore improve rhe field of fire, These two famous aeroplaneshad much in common. a long exhaust pipe on each side, and rnany minoi They were powered by the sameengine-the new Rolls changesbut retained the single lorward firing Vickers Royc€ Kestrel; the construction techniquewas the same gun. The experimentwas a success,and the type put into in both cases,the fuselagebeing a ste€l tube structure production under the new name Demon, with two with all boltedor rivetedjoints borh weremajor com- synchronised guns. Thus was revived the two-seat ponents of strength and emcieocy fighter classificationwhich had lain dormant since the during the years preceding the expansion of 1935. Of demise of the Bristol Fighter. Early Demons mounted the two craft the Hart was the earlier by about a year, the 485 h.p. Kestrel IIS engine,but this waslater replaced being designedto Spec. 12/26 and being first delivered by the 580 h.p. Kestrel V and again by the 640 h.p. to 33 squadrcn in 1930. Just as the Fury competed KestreM. with the II in acceptancetrials, so was In 1935 production of Demons was transferred to the Hart chosenin preferenceto the Fairey Fox II after the new Boulton Paul factory at Wolverhampton, where comparallve rcsts, 106 machineswere built, many of them with the Frazer The Hart's performancewas such an improvemeDton Nash hydraulicturret with ils peculiar"lobsrer back" that ofprevious aircraft in its classificationthat it became shield tor the gunner. The first airframe to be adapled the outstanding airqaft of its day. Until the a(ival of to take the turret was J9933, by this time approaching veteran status. Altogether 190 Demons were produced, bringing the total of Harts and Demons to around the 700 mark. This took no account of the multitude of variants which followed. The second adaptation of the trusty HaIt was an Army Co-operation version designed to specification 7/Jl. rheprorotype flying rhe same year. Named Audax, it was very similarto the Hart. rerainingthe horizontal gun mounting but carrying a messagehook attached to the spreader bar of the undercarriage and Demon type exhaust pipes. Production of ihe Audax continued unlil 1937.when 510 had been built. Wirh so many Hart type aeroplanes reaching the squadrons therc arose the inevitable need for a trainer version. The needwas supplied by Vickers and Armstrong Whitworth who betv/eenthem built more than 400 machines.They (continued on page 92) (ro inucd[rom page 89) IAW(ER QUARTET-Ihe Denon protorrpe,19933 (compire wirh ltrng.r had a normal cockpit with windscre€nfor the instructor. uooF phoba..ph) shows tons.rhaqsBr tik. rho5e on .he facirt Audrr K3079 ol4 Squadro. which di3pl.rr in msiEe hook n6r behlrd th. and all but the earliestbalches had long exhaustpipes under6rriag.. Aolton letr ir a fully arhed Ha?t. GonDtete with rcaching down below the lower leading bomb., and for compari$n, Hinds ol40 Squdron yith th. edge as on ihe ..r.m! ist.d re. Osprey. The last version of the Hart trainer was fitted .o.kDit .nd horn" .I''.uit' for the btown botor. aAe.oo . r. with a tailwheel.Trainers were doped yellow overall but tho.oc.aph, retained the polished aluminium-covilings. They were exhausts.Designed from the outset to have a tailwheel, used by many Flying Training Schools all over the its rcar cockpit was lhe sameas the Demon's,and it country and were well liked for their good haldling had slighllyfatter ryres than all othersexcepr rhe Hardv. qualitiesand aerobaticperformance. There were of course many internal diffeiences whiih Work on the Fleet Air Arm version, the Osprey, was madethe Hind a superioraeroplane lo the Hart, but it canied on in parallel with production of Royal Air would be interesringlo comparelhis biplanewirh light Force types. The Harl prototype, J9052 was converted bomber developmenlsabroad al lhat time. The final in l930ro meetnaval requirements and was the forerunner Hart variant was the Hind Trainer, similar to the bomber of I l0 seaborne6ghter-reconnaissance aircraft. Although in most respectsbut with an instructor's cockpit instead very similar to lhe land-based lypes, the Osprey w-as oI a gunner'sposruon, extensivelychanged. It had a redesignedfin and rudder, Although obsoleteby contemporary standards,some low swept exhaustsand folding wings. lr could be fitted o[ these biplanes were pressedinto service during the with either wheels or floats and becauseof the extra early years of the second war, and there are rccords of weighl of equipment it carried. was appreciably slower such servic€as late as 1941. wilh a ma\imum sDeedof 176m.D.h- Today one examplestill exists,mainuined in flyins In l9l5 thereweie issuedto Royal Air Force squadrons conditionby its makers.This, rhe llth Droducliontiari. two more Hart adaptations.The Hardy was a general- was at one.time silver with purpose the civilian registratiod aircraft iniended for use in the Middle East, G-ABMR. Liter dopeddark bluewith gold relistration Like a Hart with Demon-typeexhausts and low-pressure letters. it was used as a single-seatracing machine. "doughnut" tyres for operations from rough desert Today it is again with grounds, silver se ice markings and the landing the Hardy carried a great amouot of historicalserial J9931. lt is a greatpity rhar tpart from extm equipment for its diverse duties, bringiDg its minor differencesin the covering(the deletion of remov- loaded weight up to 4,971 Ib. Even with a 585 h.p. ablepanels) and enginetype. the gun lroughshave been KesrrelX irs maximumspe€d was only 164m.p,h. The tarred over ancl the wtng roundels are the wrong sile. Hind wasa day bomberreplacement for the Hafl, With Nevertheless,every avaiation enthusiast will be gladlened a fully superchargedKestrel V giving 640 h.p. it was by the sight of rhis fine old aeroplanerestoied to its only 2 m.p.h. faster than the earlier machine because former glory. They are all too few. additional equipment brought the loaded weight up to 5,298Ib. The Hind too. had ils disringuishingfeatures. The wrikr Nish6 to fant.! hir sinccr. rhaak, to the Hawkcr An ratt cohpany and it paai.ulat to Mr. BiU B.dfor,llor thcit klnd hat, ia It was the only one of the family to have"ra-m s hom" th. pr.nara on ot this a j.le, KEY TO DRAWING AND S(ETCHPAGE l. Radiator {ully €x!€nded 15. Two vi(kerr suns on K2905, therc- 2. Radiaior lully re(racted fore srarbotd panels as po MerNlp.nels both side3on Pijm'n8 pumP 3. on Demon 16 Red tailpl:ne ro K 2905 lrr' 4. Ply, rhen frbric coverins aroun.l t7. Sotidbta(k..t2.. J34. Startine3witch Booi oressure 5. K2905 has red Un. Soladron b.dse tB. Oit tank 135. is red cros5 of Lorraine outlined in t9. Taittrim wheet 136. Brake pedal while, also gold $own. XLI in 20. Thro.lle and mitu.e conlrols I 3T Radialor reffactine wheel 21. Per.ol co.(, aa,n rank 18. Serr ad,usrinr tever 6, K 2905m:rkirs3shown on Hart 22, llas.elo sw'rch 39, Pyrenc tjra eitinsJishe. 7. No liehrson Ha.r 21. Al' ,10. -er€r r.orntina tuli foiv (ters sun! 8, Sprinetlap tostep hole3 24. A.S.l. 4t. perrot .o;t;Derat,n?,od' 9, R!dder rab on Dehon only 25, Turn .nd bank ,nd'.aLor I a2, D-ai. Dtu! 10, Trailinsaerial lcad-ou! tube 26. O'l pre5r-'e 41. Vrriabte Venetia- brind shud€r! 17, R.P.l1. I 41. Etr$iccord to ral,a!o, (ou1!.rbatar(e 28, PeLrolrank 1,t5. Warer dra'n biDe l3- PiloCsheadres! on tubular mounti.s 29. Radi.tor remperatlre i46. UniveisatcoJDtinss 14. Number oI oil cooler elemenGvlriet 10, Oil remperar-re 47, H.^aRo-at ho;ey@hb a over 31, Radrrto' rerra.r'on indi(ator ,18.Fabria Seam tine!

: AEE]O February,1960 93 M@DELIEE]

A*,'Arr HA9T d,"/ FUPY reBarr,?ar

M FUny @

n2l lr(f 29

i9 _33