Hawker Hotspur
Hawker · United Kingdom · first flew 1938 · fighter
The Hawker Hotspur was a two-seat turret fighter developed between the wars for the Royal Air Force. It was designed to Air Ministry Specification F.9/35.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 10.02 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Boulton Paul powered dorsal turret behind the cockpit
- Hurricane outer wing panels
- Single Rolls-Royce Merlin II in the nose
A low-wing single-engined monoplane derived from the Henley, powered by a 1,030 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin II.
Specifications
- The Hawker Hotspur has a length of 10.02 m (33 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 12.34 m (40 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 510 km/h (317 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was developed from the Hawker Henley, using standard Hurricane outer wing panels. The single prototype, K8309, first flew at Brooklands on 14 June 1938 with a wooden mock-up of the turret and ballast in place of armament.
Variants
Only one prototype was built. The planned armament was four 0.303 in Browning machine guns in a Boulton Paul dorsal turret plus one Vickers gun in the front fuselage.
Where you'll see it
The production order was cancelled because Hawker was committed to Hurricane production. The prototype was used at the RAE Farnborough from 1939 to 1942 to test flap and dive brake configurations, then scrapped after a gear-up landing.
Related aircraft
- Hawker Hurricane Mk II
- Hawker Hurricane Mk IIB
- Typhoon
- Hawker Hurricane
- Avia B-135
- Avia B.35
- Blackburn Roc
- Bloch MB.152 C1
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