Harry Hawker
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Harry George Hawker,
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
, AFC (22 January 1889 – 12 July 1921) was an Australian
aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
pioneer. He was the chief test pilot for Sopwith and was also involved in the design of many of their aircraft. After the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he co-founded
Hawker Aircraft Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that was responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history. History Hawker had its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, which resulted in the bank ...
, the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft. He died on 12 July 1921 when the aircraft he was to fly in the
Aerial Derby The Aerial Derby was an air race in the United Kingdom sponsored by the '' Daily Mail'' in which the competitors flew a circuit around London. It was first held in 1912, with subsequent races in 1913 and 1914. Suspended during the First World Wa ...
crashed in a park at
Burnt Oak Burnt Oak is a suburb of London, England, located northwest of Charing Cross. It lies to the west of the M1 motorway between Edgware and Colindale, located predominantly in the London Borough of Barnet, with parts comprising the London Boroughs ...
,
Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...
, not far from
Hendon Aerodrome Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in London, England, that was an important centre for aviation from 1908 to 1968. It was situated in Colindale, north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became a central hub of civil aviation ("the Charing Cros ...
.


Early life

Hawker was born on 22 January 1889 at
Moorabbin Moorabbin is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Moorabbin recorded a population of 6,287 at the . Most of the ea ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, the second son of George Hawker, a
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
, and Mary Ann Gilliard Anderson.''The Automobile'' September 2007 Harry Hawker - Automobilist. author Bruce Lindsay He attended Moorabbin Primary School. As an 11-year-old, he worked at the
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
garage of Hall & Warden, helping to build engines for five shillings a week, moving on to the Tarrant Motor & Engineering Co, helping make Tarrant cars, where he qualified as a mechanic. In 1907, he moved again to become the chauffeur and mechanic for Ernest De Little in
Caramut Caramut is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia on the Hamilton Highway. It is in the Shire of Moyne local government area and the federal Division of Wannon. The name "Caramut" is believed to be derived from the Aborigi ...
,
Western Victoria Western Victoria is a wine grape growing zone in the southwestern part of the state of Victoria in Australia. It extends approximately from the South Australia border to Ballarat and from Horsham to the coast. It includes the defined wine regio ...
. In 1910 he travelled to
Diggers Rest Diggers Rest (formerly Diggers' Rest) is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Hume and Melton local government areas. Diggers Rest recorded a population o ...
, north-west of Melbourne, to see the first public demonstrations of powered flight made in Australia, and decided to go to
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to become involved in aviation, arriving in May 1911. On 14 November 1917, Hawker married Muriel Alice Peaty at St Peter's Church, Ealing.


Aviation career

In England, Hawker obtained a job with the Commer Car Company, moving to the Mercedes company in January 1912 and then to
Austro Daimler Austro-Daimler was an Austro-Hungarian automaker company, from 1899 until 1934. It was a subsidiary of the German ''Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft'' (DMG) until 1909. Early history In 1890, Eduard Bierenz was appointed as Austrian retailer. The ...
. During this time he spent much of his spare time at
Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
, then the hub of British aviation, and in June 1912 he got a job as a mechanic for the
Sopwith Aviation Company The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force during the First World War, most famously ...
. He soon persuaded Sopwith to teach him to fly, and succeeded in making his first solo flight after only three lessons. He was awarded his Royal Aero Club pilot's licence, No. 297, in September 1912 and shortly afterwards, on 24 October, he won the
Michelin Cup The Michelin Cup refers to a number of competitions sponsored by the French tyre manufacturer Michelin for long distance flight made in aeroplanes. The first Michelin prize was announced in March 1908. The principal prize, to be awarded annually ...
for flight endurance with a flight lasting 8 hr 23 min. He also appears to have been the first person to perform an intentional
spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
and recovery, demonstrating in 1914 one method (though generally not the one used today) to return to level flight from this unusual attitude. Because spins had killed several pilots, this was a major advance in aviation safety. Having established his name as an aviator, he became chief test pilot for Tom Sopwith. At Sopwiths in 1916, Hawker had the personal use of a small aircraft, the
Sopwith Bee The Sopwith Bee was a small biplane built in 1916 as a personal aircraft for Harry Hawker, Sopwith's chief test pilot. History The Bee was a single-bay biplane powered by a Gnome Omega rotary engine, intended for use by Hawker as a runabout ...
. He was also a regular competitor in motor car and motorcycle races at Brooklands before and after the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Among his competitive achievements were a number of altitude records set in June 1913 He also won a £1,000 consolation prize in the ''Daily Mail'' Circuit of Britain Waterplane Race on 25 August 1913.


Brief return to Australia

In 1914, Harry Hawker returned to Australia to demonstrate the advanced
Sopwith Tabloid The Sopwith Tabloid and Sopwith Schneider (floatplane) were British biplanes, originally designed as sports aircraft and later adapted for military use. They were among the first successful types to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The ...
, which he had helped design. A wild crowd nearly wrecked the plane on one occasion, and he further damaged it during stunt flying. On his return to England, he continued designing and testing aircraft with Sopwith throughout the First World War.


Attempt at first transatlantic flight

After the war, together with navigator
Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve Kenneth is an English language, English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and ''Cináed (disambiguation), Cináed''. The modern Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic form of ''C ...
, he attempted to win the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' £10,000 prize for the first flight across the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
in "72 consecutive hours". On 18 May 1919, they set off from Mount Pearl,
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, in the
Sopwith Atlantic The Sopwith Atlantic was an experimental British long-range aircraft of 1919. It was a single-engined biplane that was designed and built to be the first aeroplane to cross the Atlantic Ocean non-stop. It took off on an attempt to cross the A ...
biplane. After fourteen and a half hours of flight, the engine overheated and they were forced to change course to intercept the shipping lanes, where they were able to locate a passing freighter, the Danish ''Mary''.''Flight'' magazine global archive

"When we were about 12½ hours on our way the circulation system was still giving trouble, and we realised we could not go on using up our motor power. Then it was that we reached the fateful decision to play for safety. We changed course, and began to fly diagonally across the main shipping route for about 2½ hours, when, to our great relief, we sighted the Danish steamer, which proved to be the tramp Mary.
We at once sent up our Verey light distress signals. These were answered promptly, and then we flew on about two miles and landed in the water ahead of the steamer."
The ''Mary'' did not have a functioning radio, so that it was not until six days later, when the steamer reached
Butt of Lewis The Butt of Lewis ( gd, Rubha Robhanais) is the most northerly point of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The headland, which lies in the North Atlantic, is frequently battered by heavy swells and storms and is marked by the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, that word was received that they were safe.''Flight'' magazine global archive: Text of signals between Lloyd's Thurso station and the ''Mary''

"The official news was made known by the following message from Lloyd's :— May 25.—No. 1.
Lloyd's signal station at Butt of Lewis telegraphs this morning as follows :—
Danish steamer Mary passing eastwards signalled following :—'Saved hands Sopwith aeroplane.'
Station signalled:—'Is it Hawker?'
Steamer replied:—'Yes.'
Note.—The Danish steamer Mary left New Orleans 28 April for Horsens (Denmark)."
Hawker and Grieve were awarded a consolation prize of £5,000 by the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
''.''Flight'' magazine global archive: "The Transatlantic flight: Hawker and Grieve retrieved"
/ref> Hawker later named his second daughter Mary after the ship that had rescued him and Grieve. The ''Atlantic'' was found afloat and recovered by the US steamer ''Lake Charleville''. The wheels from the undercarriage, jettisoned soon after takeoff were later recovered by local fishermen and later donated to the Rooms Provincial Museum in St John's. One wheel is currently on display at Admiralty House Communications Museum in Mount Pearl.


A new beginning

In September 1920, Sopwith Aviation was liquidated because of fears the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
would examine the wartime aircraft production contracts of companies like Sopwith and impose a crippling retrospective tax liability on them. Harry Hawker, Tom Sopwith, Fred Sigrist, and Bill Eyre then formed a new company, each contributing £5,000. To avoid any possible claims against the new company for the wartime contracts of the old company, they chose to call it H.G. Hawker Engineering. (It was renamed
Hawker Aircraft Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that was responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history. History Hawker had its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, which resulted in the bank ...
in 1933.) As Tom Sopwith put it:
to avoid any muddle if we had gone on building aeroplanes and called them Sopwiths—there was bound to be a muddle somewhere—we called the company the Hawker Company. I didn't mind. He was largely responsible for our growth during the war.


Death

Hawker was killed on 12 July 1921 when his Nieuport Goshawk crashed while he was climbing away from
Hendon Aerodrome Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in London, England, that was an important centre for aviation from 1908 to 1968. It was situated in Colindale, north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became a central hub of civil aviation ("the Charing Cros ...
while practising for the
Aerial Derby The Aerial Derby was an air race in the United Kingdom sponsored by the '' Daily Mail'' in which the competitors flew a circuit around London. It was first held in 1912, with subsequent races in 1913 and 1914. Suspended during the First World Wa ...
.Baker, David, "Flight and Flying: A Chronology", Facts On File, Inc., New York, New York, 1994, Library of Congress card number 92-31491, , page 139. "Medical examination led physicians to believe that Hawker had suffered a haemorrage and that he had tried to get back down on the ground." Fire in the air and
spinal tuberculosis Pott disease is tuberculosis of the spine, usually due to haematogenous spread from other sites, often the lungs. The lower thoracic and upper lumbar vertebrae areas of the spine are most often affected. It causes a kind of tuberculous arthriti ...
were considered contributing factors to his death. "The king sent a message of condolence, asserting 'The nation had lost one of its most distinguished airmen.'" Hawker is buried in St Pauls' Church,
Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
,
Chessington Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. Th ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. He was survived by his wife, Muriel, and two daughters.


Honours

In 1978, he was honoured with a
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
depicting his portrait issued by
Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post o ...
. In addition five hundred commemorative First Day Covers were printed, many of which were purchased by the families of children attending the Moorabbin School. In 1989,
Moorabbin Airport Moorabbin (Harry Hawker) Airport is a mostly general aviation airport for light aircraft located in between the southern Melbourne suburbs of Heatherton, Cheltenham, Dingley Village and Mentone. It also receives commercial airline service. T ...
at Mentone in Australia was renamed "Moorabbin (Harry Hawker) Airport" In 2007,
Kingston University London Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded in 1 ...
named the extension to their Roehampton Vale Campus the "Hawker Wing".


Notes


References

* * * Hawker, Muriel. (1922) ''H. G. Hawker, airman: his life and work'', London: Hutchinson & Co.
* Harry Hawker Pioneer Aviator Society Hom
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawker, Harry George 1889 births 1921 deaths Australian aerospace engineers Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Australian aviation record holders Aviators from Melbourne Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1921 People from Moorabbin, Victoria