Osprey

The Hawker Osprey was a single‑engine, carrier‑capable biplane developed in the late 1920s by Hawker Aircraft as a naval version of the successful Hart light bomber. First flying in 1927, it entered service with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm in 1929 and was later exported to several overseas operators, including the Argentine Naval Aviation and the Royal Australian Air Force. Powered by a Rolls‑Royce Kestrel V‑12 delivering roughly 600 hp, the Osprey featured a sturdy mixed‑construction airframe, equal‑span wings with a slight stagger, and a distinctive tall, semi‑enclosed cockpit that gave the pilot good visibility during carrier operations. It could be equipped with either fixed forward‑firing .303‑in machine guns and a rear defensive gun, or carry up to 500 lb of bombs for reconnaissance and light attack missions. The aircraft’s robust design allowed it to operate from the limited deck space of early carriers and from dreadnought‑type warships equipped with catapults. Though quickly outclassed by monoplane designs in the mid‑1930s, the Osprey demonstrated the viability of carrier‑borne fighter‑reconnaissance aircraft and contributed valuable experience that shaped later Hawker naval types such as the Sea Fury.

Hawker Aircraft

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Design & Classification