Harry Hawker's war
Harry Hawker before the First World War was a household name in the Great Briton and Australia, he had already broken numerous records, as well as techniques of flying aircraft that would save numerous lives in the future. But after Harry's return to England in 1914 after his visit to Australia, it was not long before war broke out with Germany.
Sopwith and Hawker’s main competitors[u1] in the pre-war period were Bristol, Avro and De Havilland aircraft companies. However a world war brought new competition and new competitors onto the scene. Harry Hawker had already been known for innovation and technical genius and is country boy from rural[u2] Victoria and a well-known Melbourne motor mechanic, he was now up against the geniuses of German aviation.
First was Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, personal friend of the Kaiser and inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airship. The Zeppelin raids[u3] [u4] on London and Britain were damaging the morale of the British public, something had to be done quickly to remedy the unprotected skies of the cities and towns of the UK. Problem being the altitude the airships could attain which was out of the range of most aircraft of the day.
Harry in his pre-war wreck of breaking period managed to get a prototype Sopwith aircraft over 11,000 feet and to get the attacking airships Sopwith aircraft now had to get to that altitude on a regular basis. The first airship shot down over the England was not a Zeppelin but a Shultz and Landz [u5] airship built of timber.
It was not long after this success that more zeppelins were destroyed on their attack runs, leading to larger and higher flying airships. Eventually airship attacks petered out and were taken over by long-distance bombers mainly Gothas and Giants, the last the Zeppelin [u6] attack was on 6 August 1918. But by this time the airships could climb to over 20,000 feet making the crewmen’s life at terrifying freezing world.
The most direct threat an opponent to Tom Sopwith and Harry Hawker was Anthony Fokker. Hawker was born in Java to a very well off Dutch family, but found fame as the designer of fighter aircraft for the Germans. The power and manoeuvrability of Fokker's aircraft were the favourites of pilots like Baron von Richthofen and his flying Circus[u7] . Fokker had also developed a method of shooting through the propeller in time with the rotation.
Harry's good friend Harry Kauper [u8] using two Vickers machine guns interrupted the firing when the propeller was in the way, giving the same effect. Hawker also on delivering aircraft to the front line would talk to the pilots flying Sopwith's planes, taking their ideas and advice back to the workshop at Kingston on Thames and with Fred Sigret [u9] managed to keep ahead of Fokker's design.
It would be nice to think that during this period Harry Hawker met Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm and Bert Hinkler (who he already knew) and Sir John Monash. But as far as I'm aware there are no records of Harry having a meeting any of these other famous pilots or general Monash.
In the final stages of the First World War in the battle of Amiens and the Hindenburg line, fighter aircraft built by Sopwith and designed by Harry Hawker, were essentially in the creeping barrage combining ground troops, shelling, tanks and aircraft. These two battles coordinated by Lt General Sir John Monash began the end of the war[u10] . Tom Sopwith and Harry Hawker were knighted (MBE) for their efforts during the war in the contribution to save the lives of British, French, Canadian, American and Australian pilots[u11] .
Due to the incredible debt the British government went on a program to retrieve most of the costs of the war on companies that profited from the war. Of course one of those being the Sopwith aircraft company, forcing Tom Sopwith to liquidate the company and with Harry Hawker and Fred Sigret started HG Hawker engineering. But in the end a country boy from Victoria one over two of the great names of aviation.
All these companies operated out of [u1] the Brooklands racecourse.
One of the four Harry's born in Hawthorn worked at the Tarrant garrage with Hawker.
In 1900 Moorabbin [u2] was still a rural community the next large town was Cheltenham.
The first bombing of Britain, [u3] Dover 21st of December 1914 by seaplane. Forth bombing of Britain was the 19th and 20th of January 1915 on Yarmouth and east Anglia, 23 bombs dropped, for killed 16 injured.
Fire over England H.G. Castle
[u4]In a military capacity, the tabloid is chiefly famous for the attack on the Zeppelin sheds at Dusseldorf. Flying from Antwerp, Flying from Antwerp Flight Lieutenant RLG Martin destroyed the new Zeppelin Z IX bombing from a height of 600 feet this was the first German airship to be destroyed by a British aircraft.
December 1961 Aero modeller.
[u5]SL11 was shot down by Lt William leefe Robinson of the 39th Squadron RFC. Third of September 1916 12,000 feet South East of woolwich.
Fire over England H.G. Castle
[u6]Norfolk, no bombs and no fatalities.
Fire over England H.G. Castle
[u7]The name came from the colourful designs the pilots use to intimidate and draw the attax from the French and British pilots.
[u8]Kauper was Harry Hawker's mechanic on his return visit to Australia in 1914.
[u9]Fred hired Hawker in 1912, a partner with Sopwith and Hawker and a director of HG Hawker. Managing director of parts subsidiary to Hawker.
[u10]John Monash, the outsider that won a war.
[u11]All these nations air services use Sopwith aircraft in their squadrons.
Harry Hawker before the First World War was a household name in the Great Briton and Australia, he had already broken numerous records, as well as techniques of flying aircraft that would save numerous lives in the future. But after Harry's return to England in 1914 after his visit to Australia, it was not long before war broke out with Germany.
Sopwith and Hawker’s main competitors[u1] in the pre-war period were Bristol, Avro and De Havilland aircraft companies. However a world war brought new competition and new competitors onto the scene. Harry Hawker had already been known for innovation and technical genius and is country boy from rural[u2] Victoria and a well-known Melbourne motor mechanic, he was now up against the geniuses of German aviation.
First was Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, personal friend of the Kaiser and inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airship. The Zeppelin raids[u3] [u4] on London and Britain were damaging the morale of the British public, something had to be done quickly to remedy the unprotected skies of the cities and towns of the UK. Problem being the altitude the airships could attain which was out of the range of most aircraft of the day.
Harry in his pre-war wreck of breaking period managed to get a prototype Sopwith aircraft over 11,000 feet and to get the attacking airships Sopwith aircraft now had to get to that altitude on a regular basis. The first airship shot down over the England was not a Zeppelin but a Shultz and Landz [u5] airship built of timber.
It was not long after this success that more zeppelins were destroyed on their attack runs, leading to larger and higher flying airships. Eventually airship attacks petered out and were taken over by long-distance bombers mainly Gothas and Giants, the last the Zeppelin [u6] attack was on 6 August 1918. But by this time the airships could climb to over 20,000 feet making the crewmen’s life at terrifying freezing world.
The most direct threat an opponent to Tom Sopwith and Harry Hawker was Anthony Fokker. Hawker was born in Java to a very well off Dutch family, but found fame as the designer of fighter aircraft for the Germans. The power and manoeuvrability of Fokker's aircraft were the favourites of pilots like Baron von Richthofen and his flying Circus[u7] . Fokker had also developed a method of shooting through the propeller in time with the rotation.
Harry's good friend Harry Kauper [u8] using two Vickers machine guns interrupted the firing when the propeller was in the way, giving the same effect. Hawker also on delivering aircraft to the front line would talk to the pilots flying Sopwith's planes, taking their ideas and advice back to the workshop at Kingston on Thames and with Fred Sigret [u9] managed to keep ahead of Fokker's design.
It would be nice to think that during this period Harry Hawker met Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm and Bert Hinkler (who he already knew) and Sir John Monash. But as far as I'm aware there are no records of Harry having a meeting any of these other famous pilots or general Monash.
In the final stages of the First World War in the battle of Amiens and the Hindenburg line, fighter aircraft built by Sopwith and designed by Harry Hawker, were essentially in the creeping barrage combining ground troops, shelling, tanks and aircraft. These two battles coordinated by Lt General Sir John Monash began the end of the war[u10] . Tom Sopwith and Harry Hawker were knighted (MBE) for their efforts during the war in the contribution to save the lives of British, French, Canadian, American and Australian pilots[u11] .
Due to the incredible debt the British government went on a program to retrieve most of the costs of the war on companies that profited from the war. Of course one of those being the Sopwith aircraft company, forcing Tom Sopwith to liquidate the company and with Harry Hawker and Fred Sigret started HG Hawker engineering. But in the end a country boy from Victoria one over two of the great names of aviation.
All these companies operated out of [u1] the Brooklands racecourse.
One of the four Harry's born in Hawthorn worked at the Tarrant garrage with Hawker.
In 1900 Moorabbin [u2] was still a rural community the next large town was Cheltenham.
The first bombing of Britain, [u3] Dover 21st of December 1914 by seaplane. Forth bombing of Britain was the 19th and 20th of January 1915 on Yarmouth and east Anglia, 23 bombs dropped, for killed 16 injured.
Fire over England H.G. Castle
[u4]In a military capacity, the tabloid is chiefly famous for the attack on the Zeppelin sheds at Dusseldorf. Flying from Antwerp, Flying from Antwerp Flight Lieutenant RLG Martin destroyed the new Zeppelin Z IX bombing from a height of 600 feet this was the first German airship to be destroyed by a British aircraft.
December 1961 Aero modeller.
[u5]SL11 was shot down by Lt William leefe Robinson of the 39th Squadron RFC. Third of September 1916 12,000 feet South East of woolwich.
Fire over England H.G. Castle
[u6]Norfolk, no bombs and no fatalities.
Fire over England H.G. Castle
[u7]The name came from the colourful designs the pilots use to intimidate and draw the attax from the French and British pilots.
[u8]Kauper was Harry Hawker's mechanic on his return visit to Australia in 1914.
[u9]Fred hired Hawker in 1912, a partner with Sopwith and Hawker and a director of HG Hawker. Managing director of parts subsidiary to Hawker.
[u10]John Monash, the outsider that won a war.
[u11]All these nations air services use Sopwith aircraft in their squadrons.