Hawker Hotspur
This article is about the Hawker Hotspur fighter. For the World War II glider, please see General Aircraft Hotspur. |
Hawker Hotspur (BAE Systems photo) |
The
Hawker Hotspur was a
Hawker Henley redesigned to take a
Boulton-Paul semi-powered four
gun turret. It was designed in response to
Air Ministry Specification F.9/35, which required a powered turret as the sole armament. One prototype aircraft,
K8309, was built in
1937, but completion was delayed until
1938, by which time the rival
Boulton Paul Defiant had already flown. The Hotspur first flew on
14 June 1938. As Hawker's was committed to the production of Henleys and
Hurricanes the project was abandoned. The turret was removed and a cockpit fairing installed, after which the aircraft was used for trials of flap and
dive brake configurations.
General characteristics
* Crew: Two
* Length: 32 ft 10½ in (10.02 m)
*
Wingspan: 40 ft 6 in (12.34 m)
* Height: 13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)
* Empty Weight: 5,800 lb (2,630 kg)
* Loaded Weight: 7,650 lb (3,470 kg)
Performance
* : 316 mph (510 km/h)
*
Service ceiling: 28,000 ft (8,500 m)
Armament
* Planned 4x 0.303 in (7.7 mm)
Browning machine guns in a Boulton-Paul turret. 1 Vickers machine gun in nose
* Mason, FK (1991)
Hawker aircraft since 1920. Putnam Aeronautical Books. ISBN 1557503516
Designation sequenceHawker Hurricane -
Hawker Hector -
Hawker Henley -
Hawker Hotspur -
Hawker Tornado -
Hawker Typhoon -
Hawker TempestRelated development*
Hawker HenleySimilar aircraft*
Boulton Paul Defiant*
Blackburn RocRelated lists*
British Aircraft Directory*
Hawker Hotspur
