Hawker Nimrod

The Hawker Nimrod was a British carrier-based, single-engine, single-seat biplane fighter built by Hawker in the early 1930s. Specification N.21/26 sought a successor to the Fairey Flycatcher, and after the radial-engined Hawker Hoopoe proved promising, Sydney Camm, convinced by his Hawker Fury, designed a naval fighter with an inline Rolls-Royce Kestrel. Air Ministry Specification 16/30 was written around it, and it flew under the name Norn in early 1930 before receiving a production contract and being renamed Nimrod; it replaced the Flycatcher in 1932. It could also fly as a floatplane, and a swept-wing development led to the Nimrod II. Two were built for Denmark, whose navy also built ten under licence. Two Nimrods survive in airworthy condition at Duxford, both having served with No. 802 Squadron.