HAWKER HORSLEY

The 'Hawker Horsley' was designed in 1925 as a medium day bomber. It was the last all wooden aircraft built by Hawkers.
The bomber was to originally to Specification 26/23 but the British Air Ministry altered the requirements for its payload and extended the specification to include the carriage of a torpedo. The first prototype was flown by "George" P.S.W. Bulman in 1925 and was powered by a Rolls Royce Condor III engine (665 hp). An initial order of twenty aircraft was placed, and it is believed that a mixed metal & wood structure was introduced in this batch. The first aircraft were delivered to No 11 (Bomber) Squadron of the Royal Air Force in January 1927 and the Horsleys remained in service until 1935. A total of 134 Horsleys were built, including six aircraft for the Greek Naval Air Service.

Contents

Description

Operators

Specification (Horsley II)

Reference

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Description

The Horsley was a large single-engined biplane. It had a crew of two. The structure was originally all wood, but before production was complete an all-metal structure was introduced, made in what became the famous Hawker system of metal construction. Unofficially the three methods of construction were designated; 'Horsley Mk I' for the all wooden, 'Horsley Mk II' for the mixed material, and Horsley III for the all-metal aircraft. Some aircraft were fitted with floats. A number of different marks of engines were used, mainly Rolls Royce Condors or Buzzards, and Armstrong Siddeley Leopards. The Horsley was much used as a flying test-bed for other engines. Some of the notable prototypes fitted were; the Napier Lion, the Rolls-Royce PV.12 and early vesions of the Merlin, and the Junkers Jumo. The payload included two 550 lb bombs, one 1,500 lb bomb or a torpedo weighing 2,800 lb. Two aircraft, powered by Leopard II engines were sold to the Danish Government, but these aircraft were known as 'Hawker Dantorp' and had a slightly different fuselage.

Operators

★ : Marinens Flyvevæsen

★ : Greek Naval Air Service

★ : Royal Air Force

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★ No. 11 Squadron RAF

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★ No. 25 Squadron RAF

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★ No. 33 Squadron RAF

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★ No. 36 Squadron RAF

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★ No. 100 Squadron RAF

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★ No. 504 Squadron RAF

Specification (Horsley II)

Reference

★ British Aircraft Directory 8 February 2007

★ British Aircraft of WWII 8 February 2007

★ ''Hawker Aircraft since 1920'' by Francis K Mason, Putnam, London 1961

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