HAWKER

Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer with a rich history of producing some of the most well-known products in British aviation. The company had its roots in the aftermath of World War I, when the bankrupt Sopwith Aviation Company was bought by Harry Hawker, a Sopwith test pilot, and three others, including Thomas Sopwith. They formed H.G. Hawker Engineering in 1920, which was later renamed Hawker Aircraft Limited in 1933. The company purchased the Gloster Aircraft Company in 1934 and merged with Armstrong Siddeley and its subsidiary, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, to form Hawker Siddeley Aircraft the next year. The “Hawker” legacy continued under the name of Hawker Siddeley Aircraft as part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, and was maintained by the American company Raytheon after it acquired British Aerospace’s product line in 1993. The products produced by Hawker included successful bombers and fighters for the Royal Air Force, including the most produced UK aeroplane before World War II, the Hawker Hart. During World War II, Hawker Siddeley was one of the United Kingdom’s most important aviation concerns, producing numerous designs such as the famous Hawker Hurricane fighter plane.