Horsley

The Hawker Horsley was a single‑engine, two‑seat biplane bomber developed for the Royal Air Force in the early 1920s. Conceived by Hawker Aircraft under the direction of designer Sydney Camm, the type first flew on 8 May 1925 and entered service in 1926 as the RAF’s primary heavy bomber until the arrival of the Vickers Virginia. Powered initially by a 750 hp Rolls‑Royce Condor water‑cooled V12, later models received the more reliable 620 hp Napier Lion IX, giving the aircraft a top speed of about 130 mph and a service ceiling of roughly 15,000 ft. Its wooden wing structure and fabric‑covered fuselage were combined with a robust steel tube frame, allowing a payload of up to 1,500 lb of bombs and a range of 600 mi. The Horsley’s versatile design also supported experimental roles, including the first British attempts at aerial torpedo dropping and early tests of radio navigation. Although only 142 were built, the aircraft demonstrated the feasibility of strategic bombing for the RAF and provided valuable experience that fed directly into later Hawker designs such as the Hart and the famous Hurricane fighter. Its legacy lies in bridging World War I biplane concepts to the more modern, all‑metal monoplanes that dominated the later 1930s.

Hawker Aircraft

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