Hawker Hawfinch

The Hawker Hawfinch was a British single-engined biplane fighter of the 1920s, designed in 1925 as a replacement for the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin and the Gloster Gamecock. It entered the competition for Specification F9/26, which drew nine designs of which five were built, and first flew in March 1927. It was a two-bay staggered biplane built with Hawker's patented metal tube and fishplate structure under fabric, and it was the first all-metal fighter Hawker built. It was powered by a Bristol Jupiter engine and armed with two synchronised Vickers machine guns. The Bristol Bulldog and the Hawfinch were judged the best entries, but the contract went to the Bulldog because it was slightly faster and easier to maintain. The only prototype was then used for experiments, including single-bay wings and twin floats.