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Sopwith Aviation Company founded
The sopwith Aviation company was founded in Kingston Upon Thames by Thomas 'Tommy' Sopwith. This company produced many important planes. -
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History of Kingston Aviation
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The Sopwith tabloid
The Sopwith tabloid was one of the first biplanes created by the Sopwith aviation company.
Strengths:
+ It was very manouverable in the air
+ It had aluminium on the front of the plane, which made it strong
+ As it was made of wood and fabric, it was very light. Weaknesses:
- It had no built in firepower
- It would have been light but very flimsy
- It could only reach 92mph, which was a lot slower than its main rival, the Fokker Dr1, which could reach 115mph. -
The Sopwith Schneider
The Sopwith Schneider was a floatplane It had two wooden floats on the bottom. It was a variation of the Sopwith Tabloid.
Strengths:
+ Unlike the Batboat, the floats were not as large, so the plane was lighter.
+It was so fast on water that it won the Schneider cup in Monaco in 1914, hence the name.
+ It could also perform in battle,
Weaknesses:
- Fragile. it could easily be shot down.
- It could not fight very well on water.
- Was easily spottable. -
The Sopwith Camel
The Sowith camel was one of the most important WW1 fighter biplanes.
Strengths:
+ It had two machine guns
+ It was very fast, as it could could travel at 118mph, which was faster than its main rival, the Fokker Dr1
+ Could carry 4 20lb fuselage bombs Weaknesess
- It was tail heavy, which made it hard to manoeuvre.
- The machine guns were behind the propellors, which meant it was at risk of shooting off its own propellors.
-The Fokker Dr1 could climb 2x as high in 1/2 as long -
Hawker Engineering Company founded
Harry Hawker bought the assets of the (nearly bankrupt) Sopwith Aviation Company, to become the Hawker Aircraft company. -
The Hawker Hornbill
The Hawker Hornbill was one of the first planes built with streamlining in mind.
Strengths:
+The pointed nose on the front made it more streamlined and quicker.
+It was so fast, it could travel at 187mph
Weaknesses:
- It was unstable
-It had radiator problems; the engine would overheat very quickly.
-Because of this, the plane was too dangerous and unfortunately had to be kept as a prototype -
The Hawker Hart
The Hawker Hart was Hawker's first plane with a separate gunner on the back.
Strengths:
+ It was fast, and could reach 282mph
+It was constructed entirely out of metal
+ It could carry up to 240kg of bombs Weaknesses - It could not handle very well -
The Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane was the most important plane of WW2.
Strengths:
+ The eight Colt machine guns in the wings made it deadly
+ Could be repaired easily
+ It was very manoeuvrable Weaknesses:
- The guns could not reload quickly
-It was not very responsive -
Hawker Sea Fury
The Hawker Sea Fury was built to go in the navy.
Strengths:
+ It had to withstand extreme weather, so it was well built
+ It was the quickest piston engine plane Hawker ever built
+ It had the same firepower as the Hurricane Weaknesses
- At sea, it was not well manoeuvrable
- It had a large target area -
The Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter was one of the most famous non-propellor planes built by Hawker.
Strengths:
+ It broke the world air speed record; it flew at 727mph
+ It was one of the first planes to be equipped with radar and full flight controls
+ It was equipped with four 30mm RADAR cannons, which fired 150 rounds Weaknesses:
-It was quite conspicuous
-It was not easily repairable -
The Hawker Siddely Harrier
The Hawker Siddeley Harrier was one of the most famous planes ever used in the RAF and in the Falklands Strengths:
+ It could take off from stationary; did not need a runway
+ It was very manouverable
+ It had loads of firepower Weaknesses:
- It had a high accident rate
- It had a time consuming maintencance process
