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Sopwith Aviation Company Founded
The company was founded in Kingston upon Thames by Thomas Octave Murdoch (Tommy, later Sir Thomas) Sopwith in June 1912, when Sopwith was only 24 years old. The company's first factory premises opened that December in a recently closed roller skating rink in Canbury Park Road near Kingston Railway Station in South West London. -
Sopwith Tabloid wins Schneider Trophy
Sopwith's first major success was the fast and compact (hence the name) Tabloid, a float-equipped version of this aircraft won the Schneider Trophy in 1914. -
Sopwith Camel Invented
The Sopwith Camel's first flight was in late 1916. With a top speed of 118 mph the Sopwith Camel then went on to be one of the most known planes of WWI.The Sopwith Camel was fast and could carry a lot of artillery including twin Vickers machine guns and even a 20lb fuselage bomb. -
Hawker Aircraft Limited Founded
Hawker Aircraft Limited (later called Hawker Siddeley Group) was set up close by to Sopwith Aviation Company, in Kingston. The company built many famous planes throughout both world wars and have had many achievments including the Hawker Harrier Jump Jet and the original Hawker Harrier. -
First Hawker Aircraft Built
The first of all the HAwker aircraft was the Hawker Duiker which was used for reconnaissance after World War One. The Duiker had an all-wood structure. The wing had a slight sweep-back, which gave rise to instability at all speeds, and even caused the separation of the wing from the rear struts. The fin was rather small and was typical of Sopwith design in shape. The first flight took place in July 1923. Only one aircraft was built. -
Hawker Harrier Invented
The Harrier was a two seat biplane with single bay wings powered by a geared Bristol Jupiter VIII radial engine. It was armed with one .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun and one .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun carrying a maximum of 1,000 lb (454 kg) of bombs. -
Last Hawker Aircraft Limited Plane Prototype
The last able-flying plane made by Hawker before it became defunct in 1963 was the P.1127 (or the Kestrel) which had been made to test out static engine testing. Testing began in July 1960 and by the end of the year the aircraft had achieved both vertical take-off and horizontal flight. The test program also explored the possibility of use upon aircraft carriers, landing on HMS Ark Royal in 1963. The first three aircraft crashed during testing, one at the 1963 Paris Air Show. -
(Hawker Siddeley) Harrier Jump Jet Invented
The first VTOL (Vertical TakeOff and Landing) aircraft to be put into military use. This is the second Harrier after the Hawker Harrier built in February 1927.
