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Period: to
KIngston aviation
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Sopwith Tabloid first flown
The Sopwith Pup first flew in November 1913 and was introduced in 1914. The Pup was a seaplane and very innovative for its time. When the newly made Sopwith company took the Tabloid to the Schneider Trophy in Monaco it beat all of the other aircraft for speed reaching 90 mph! It was the fastest seaplane around and a great start for the Sopwith company -
Sopwith Pup first flown
The Sopwith Pup was one of the first fighter aircraft flown in world war one. It was also the first light aircraft to have a fixed machine gun mounted on the front. This gave it a crucial advantage in the air and made it a good fighter. It was also the first aircraft to be flown from an air craft carrier and was also able to land on an aircraft carrier. This made it able to fly from the water and help out ships from above as well as being able to transport. It also had a top speed of 180km/h -
Sopwith Camel first flown
The Sopwith Camel was regarded to be one of the best aircraft in World War one. It had twin Vickers machine guns and could carry two 50 pound bombs giving it the ability to attack troops from the ground as well as other fighters in the air. It also was fairly fast with a top speed of 115 mph and a maximum height of 21,000. In the period that the Camels were produced 5, 490 were made and they shot down 1294 enemy aircraft -
Sopwith Become Hawker
In 1920 Tommy Sopwith joined with his test pilot Harry Hawker to create the Hawker aviation company. Hawker went on to produce some of the most famous british aircraft ever made -
Hawker Fury first flown
The Hawker fury was the predecessor to the Hurricane. The Fury was the first ever 200mph aircraft made for the RAF. When first built it was a very good aricraft, but as war loomed closer the Germans had built much better aircraft such as the BF 109. If the Hurricane had not been developed before the outbreak of war than the Fury would be the only RAF aircraft and it had the same technology as the biplanes of WW1. The Fury was very maneuvarable nontheless, but didnt have the speed of the Germans -
Hawker Hurricane first introduced into the RAF
The Hawker Hurricane was a cutting edge aircraft for the RAF and was one of the main contributors to the winning of WW2. The Hurricane is regarded to be the most successful aircraft of WW2 and was the RAF's first 300mph aircraft. It had four MK2 Hispanio cannons and could also carry a large payload of bombs. The design of the Hurricane also allowed it to take many hits and still be easily flyable. The Hurricane was so good that 14,533 of them were produced -
Hawker Typhoon Introduced
The Hawker Typhoon was one of the RAF's best fighter bombers along with the tempest. It had a top speed of over 400mph and was the first RAF aircraft to be able to reach that speed. Like the Hurricane it had 4 hispanio guns, but it could also carry bombs and rockets for ground attacks. The Typhoon was fast, a good fighter and could attack enemy positions as well as supporting ground troops. The Typhoon was a very good all-rounder and as a result 3,317 were made -
Hawker Hunter introduced
The Hawker Hunter is regarded to be one of the best looking aircraft ever built. The Hunter was buit after the end of WW2 as a fighter aircraft in case of nuclear war break out, the Cold war. It was one of the RAF's first jet aircraft and had incredible performance. It could achieve 715 mph easily and broke the sound barrier reaching mach 1. It also had 4 cannons, rockets and bombs to attack enemies as well as up to date radar. The Hunter is so good that the Lebanese air force still uses it now -
Hawker Harrier introduced
The Hawker Harrier was the first successful VTOL aircraft ever built. The Hawker Harrier is the first generation of the Harrier and was the only all-british Harrier. The Harrier is an incredibly innovative aircraft and has the ability, using four powerful exhausts, to take off and land from a small space just like a helicopter and then fly normally at 730mph like a fighter jet, This made it an incredibly good aircraft and it also carried a huge armoury of weapons. Amazing! -
Hawker Siddley Hawk
The Hawker Siddley Hawk was the last all british aircraft ever to go into service in the RAF. The Hawk was very succesful and was used in air forces all across the world. The hawk could achieve around 684mph at alitude and had incredible handling. This handling is probably why it is still in active service today and is the aircraft of choice for the Red arrows display team. Over 1000 of these well armed Hawks were built and they are still being built, but sadly not in Kingston. -
Bae systems Kingston closes down
In 1992 the richmond factory of Bae systems, Hawker siddley, Hawker and Sopwith finally shut down. It was the end of an era of aviation that trully made Britain, and Kingston, Great.
