The Hawker Sea Hawk was a British single-seat jet fighter of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its origins stemmed from earlier Hawker piston-engined fighters, the Sea Hawk became the company's first jet aircraft.
Following the type's successful acceptance in the RN, the Sea Hawk proved to be a reliable and sturdy workhorse. A considerable number were also produced for the export market, and were operated from aircraft carriers in both Dutch and Indian service. The last operational Sea Hawks, operated by the Indian Navy, were retired in 1983.
The first production Sea Hawk was the F 1, which first flew in 1951, entered service two years later with 806 Squadron, first based at Brawdy, then transferred to the HMS Eagle. Just over 30 were actually built by Hawker. At that time, Hawker was also producing the Hawker Hunter for the RAF and so production and further development of the Sea Hawk was switched to Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, part of the Hawker group. The F 1 was armed with four 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk V cannons. It was powered by a single 5,000 lbf (22 kN) thrust Rolls-Royce Nene 101 turbojet. The F 1 had a maximum speed of 599 mph (964 km/h) at sea level and a range of 800 mi (1,287 km) on internal fuel. The second fighter variant was the F 2 which introduced power-boosted aileron controls as well as other modifications, including to its structure.
The next variant of the Sea Hawk was developed into a fighter-bomber, the FB 3 - Fighter-Bomber Mark 3 -(over 100 built) and differed only slightly from its predecessors. Its structure was strengthened to allow it to carry a wide array of equipment and weaponry. Its new armament consisted of two 500 lb (227 kg) bombs and 16 unguided rockets. The fourth Sea Hawk was a fighter ground-attack variant, the FGA 4, with increased weapons capability. The fifth Sea Hawk was a fighter-bomber variant, the FB 5, basically FB 3 and FGA 4s re-engined with the new Rolls-Royce Nene 103. The final Sea Hawk was a fighter ground-attack variant, FGA 6, and was exactly the same as its immediate predecessor, though they were new builds rather than re-engined, with just under 90 built. All Sea Hawks were in service by the mid-1950s and eventually over 500 were built.
The Sea Hawk, as part of the Fleet Air Arm, saw extensive service during the Suez Crisis, initiated by Egypt's nationalisation of the Suez Canal. The United Kingdom, France and Israel took part in the campaign, with the Anglo-French invasion being known as Operation Musketeer, beginning on 31 October 1956. Six Sea Hawk squadrons took part: two were aboard the fleet carrier HMS Eagle, and two each aboard the light fleet carriers HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark. The Sea Hawks were used for ground-attack, in which they excelled, causing immense damage to a variety of Egyptian targets. The military aspect of the Suez Campaign was a success, unlike the political disaster. All Allied forces were eventually withdrawn by 1957.
General characteristics
Crew: One
Length: 39 ft 8 in (12.09 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m)
Height: 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
Wing area: 278 ft² (25.83 m²)
Empty weight: 9,278 lb (4,208 kg)
Loaded weight: 13,220 lb (5,996 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 16,150 lb (7,325 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Nene 103 turbojet, 5,200 lbf (23.1 kN)
Performance
Maximum speed: 600 mph (965 km/h)
Range: 480 mi (770 km)
Service ceiling: 44,500 ft (13,564 m)
Rate of climb: 5,700 ft/min (29.0 m/s)
Wing loading: 48 lb/ft² (232 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.38
Armament
Guns: 4 × 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk V cannons (200 rpg)
Hardpoints: 6 underwing and provisions to carry combinations of:
Rockets: 20 × "60 lb" (27 kg) unguided rockets or 16 × 5 in (127 mm) unguided rockets
Bombs: 4 × 500 lb (227 kg) bombs
Other: or 2 × 90 Imp gal (410 l) drop tanks
Videos
Classic Aircraft Naval Fighters (first half Sea Hawk, second half Sea Vixen)
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Sea Hawks of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm-HMS Eagle 1950s
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Sea Hawk and Sea Fury of the Royal Navy Historic Flight (PlanesTV)
[youtube]AK1E5u6HatA[/youtube]
Methinks this is an error as the dials will then not show up so I will be painting the area behind the dial film white.
