Hawker Hornbill

The Hawker Hornbill was a single-seat biplane fighter prototype, the last Hawker military aircraft designed under George Carter. Hawker proposed it in 1924 around the Rolls-Royce Condor engine, and the Air Ministry ordered one prototype under Specification 7/24, which left out many usual requirements in the hope of higher performance. It first flew in July 1925. The Condor installation gave trouble with over-cooling and overheating, handling at speed was poor, the cockpit was cramped and the ceiling fell well short of the 29,000 ft required, so the Air Staff judged it unsuitable as an interceptor and it never entered RAF service. The single aircraft was passed to the Royal Aircraft Establishment as a testbed for leading-edge slats and stability work, and it made its last flight on 18 May 1933.