Hawker Nimrod

Hawker Nimrod
Type:	Fighter plane
Design country:	United Kingdom
Manufacturer:	Hawker Aircraft
First flight:	1930
Commissioning:	1933
Production time:	1932-1935
Number of pieces:	92 + 10

The Hawker Nimrod was a carrier-based, single-seat fighter and very similar to the Hawker Fury . She was used in two squadrons with two-seater Hawker Osprey from 1933 to 1939. A third used the type from 1934 to 1936 in addition to the Osprey and a fourth squadron received both Hawker types at short notice when it was re-installed in 1938, in anticipation of modern machines. Some machines were still used in training units until 1942.
Ten machines were built under license in Denmark.

Fighter aircraft for the naval air force

In 1930 the most modern fighter aircraft of the British Navy Air Force was the Fairey Flycatcher, which emerged from tender 6/22 . It is true that a replacement was sought in 1926 with the tender N.21 / 26 . The prototypes presented by four manufacturers were not considered suitable in 1928 and a production order was not placed. The prototype Hawker Hoopoe was rated as perhaps suitable , although the machine with radial engine was not developed for this tender. Since the Flycatcher was considered completely out of date in every respect, a replacement was always urgent. Hawkers chief designer, Sydney Camm , after his experience with the Hawker Fury, considered the preference for machines with an air-cooled radial engine to be obsolete and developed a machine with a water-cooled Rolls-Royce F.9MS-V 12-in-line engine, which was later named Kestrel IIMS . Before its prototype was ready, the Ministry of Aviation wrote a requirement 16/30 tailored to this draft and the machine took off on its maiden flight in 1930 under the name Hawker Norn . Another prototype was ordered and a production order was placed, but the name was changed to Nimrod .

The Nimrod was much like the Fury : it was a single-seat biplane with an open cockpit, it had a fixed landing gear, and its weapons fired through the propeller circle. It had straight wings of uniform depth with a rounded tip and a slightly larger wingspan (10.23 m instead of 9.14 m). The upper and lower wings had different wingspan and were offset relatively far in order to offer the pilot a good view down ahead. Upper and lower wings were connected with a pair of N-struts that sloped outward. The upper wing was connected to the fuselage by struts. The strung wings had metal spars and plywood ribs.
The hull of the Nimrod had a lattice frame made of steel and aluminum tubes, surrounded by stringers that fixed the oval shape of the hull. In the area of ​​the engine, the outer lining of the fuselage consisted of aluminum sheets, the rest of the fuselage was covered with fabric. The rear wings with the oars were mounted on the back of the fuselage. The highest point of the fuselage was at the cockpit, which lay between the rear ends of the wings. The two machine guns were mounted between the cockpit and the engine on the top of the fuselage and shot through the propeller circle with an interrupter gear to prevent damage to the propeller blades.
The Nimrod had a conventional fixed landing gear, the damper legs of which were connected to the hull at right angles. The radiator of the aircraft was attached to the fuselage between the struts. At the stern the machine had a spur.

A float landing gear was available for the Nimrod with two single-stage floats, which were connected to the hull by N-supports. The swimmers reduced the top speed by 76 km / h.

After further tests in 1930 the prototype was sent with the HMS Eagle to Buenos Aires as part of the "British Empire Trade Exhibition" there in March 1931. Further tests followed in Martlesham Heath near Woodbridge (Suffolk) and the first production order for 35 machines followed which the first flew on October 31, 1931. In 1932 another 19 machines were ordered.

The Navy Air Force , then still part of the Royal Air Force , received two versions:

Nimrod I

equipped with a 477 PS (356 kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIMS ; 57 machines built.

Nimrod II

Prototype in March 1933, changed, slightly swept wing position, powered by 525 PS (391 kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIS or VF; (27?) 30 machines delivered from September 1934.

The Nimrod I received a disguised headrest for the pilots during their service time in order to reduce the stress caused by catapult launches. From the second production batch onwards, the machines were equipped with a catch hook for the brake cables on the carrier decks.
The first of these machines was given slightly swept wings for test purposes, as they were then used in series in the Nimrod II . It was also the first machine with a more powerful Kestrel II engine.
The Nimrod II received in addition to the modified wing position also slightly enlarged tail surfaces, which improved the flight characteristics particularly in the use of floats. Versions of the Kestrel II and finally the Kestrel V were installed as more powerful engines. The intention to make the metal parts of the fuselage and wing construction of the Nimrod II in stainless steel was only realized in three machines.

Used by the British Fleet Air Force

Even before a production order was placed, the prototype was sent to Buenos Aires on the HMS Eagle . She was part of an additional swarm on board the carrier, which was to demonstrate new British aircraft types at the "British Empire Trade Exhibition" held abroad for the first time in March 1931. The exhibition unit also included a Hawker Osprey , a Fairey Seal , and a Blackburn Ripon . The exhibition was opened by the Prince of Wales , whose De Havilland DH.80 Puss Moth was also transported on the carrier.

The first series Nimrod came to Flight 408 in October 1932 , which resulted in the 802 season . Also the flights No.s 402 and 409 received Nimrod s before the Fleet Air Arm were flights organized on the carriers in squadrons. In April 1933 squadrons 802 ( HMS Glorious ) and 800 ( HMS Courageous ) had nine single-seater Nimrod and three Hawker Ospreys each , which served as reconnaissance and navigation machines. In 1934 the mixed squadron 801 ( HMS Furious ) with 3 Nimrod and six Osprey planes was added, but it was converted into a pure Osprey squadron in autumn 1936 .
On November 21, 1938, the 803 squadron for the HMS Ark Royal was reorganized with three Nimrod 's and six Osprey 's, the latter being replaced by Blackburn Skua monoplane before the end of the year , while the Nimrod's 1939 were replaced by Blackburn Roc fighter planes were replaced before the squadron went to the new carrier.
The two original Nimrod squadrons 800 and 802 were converted in 1939. The 800 squadron had also had Skua monoplane inflow in October and gave up their last Nimrod in January 1939. This squadron, stationed in Worthy Down, near Winchester ( Hampshire ), was also intended for the Ark Royal . As the last operational squadron with Nimrod s, the 802 squadron deployed in the Mediterranean on the Glorious exchanged all available machines for twelve Sea Gladiators at the Dekheila airfield near Alexandria in May 1939 . After the Nimrod had been deployed on the British porters, some of these machines could also be found in three school relays . In 1942 the FAA eliminated the last Nimrod.

production

The Hawker Nimrod was built in series by Hawkers, Kingston.

Approval of the Hawker Hind by the RAF:

version	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	total
Mk.I	12	26th	19th			57
Mk.II				15th	13	28
total	12	26th	19th	15th	13	85

Assignments to other nations

A Danish Nimrod in stain camouflage

Only four Nimrods were exported:

Danish Nimrod

Hawker built two machines with the straight wings of the Nimrod I in 1934 , which were powered by 535 hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIIS engines; they were model aircraft for the planned license production. One of the machines had faired wheels.

Nimrodderne (LB V)

ten machines for the Danish Navy built from 1934 under license at the Orlogsværftet in Copenhagen ; were able to carry four light bombs, initially as a 2nd air flotilla in Ringsted , from 1936 stationed in Avnø between Naestved and Vordingborg , in April 1940 Messerschmitt Bf 110 flew over the area during the attack on Denmark , but did not attack the hangars in which the nine remained Machines were shut down, the outdated machines were to be replaced by Macchi MC.200 , but Denmark was occupied before the contract was signed and the whereabouts of the Nimrods is unknown

Japanese Nimrod AXH1

a single Hawker Nimrod I was sold to the Japanese Navy Air Force for testing in 1934

Portuguese Nimrod

a single Hawker Nimrod I was sold to Portugal for testing

Nimrod I;

S1581 , G-BWWK belongs to the Fighter Collection. It is the fourth series machine of the type Mk. I, which was built in the first series delivery at the end of 1931.

Nimrod II;

K3661 , G-BURZ belongs to the Historic Aircraft Collection. It is the penultimate Nimrod built in 1934 for the FAA .

Technical specifications

Parameter	Nimrod I	Nimrod II
crew	1
length	8.09 m
span	10.23 m
height	3.00 m
Wing area		27.96 m²
Empty mass	1190 kg	1411 kg
Takeoff mass	1583 kg	1841 kg
Top speed	290 km / h	311 km / h
Service ceiling		8534 m
Range	520 km	488 km
Engine	a 12-cylinder V-engine Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIS; 477 hp	a Kestrel V; 525 hp
Armament	2 fixed machine guns

Preserved copies

The still airworthy Nimrod II K3661

Two Nimrods survived, are still airworthy and both are stationed at the Duxford Aerodrome , Cambridgeshire , at the Imperial War Museum . Both represent machines of the 802 squadron .

See also

• List of aircraft types

literature

• Peter Lewis: The British Fighter since 1912. Sixty-seven Years of Design and Development. 4th edition. Putnam, London 1979, ISBN 0-370-10049-2 .
• Francis K. Mason: Hawker Aircraft since 1920. 3rd, revised edition. Putnam, London 1991, ISBN 0-85177-839-9 .
• Ray Sturtivant: The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. Air-Britain, Tonbridge 1984, ISBN 0-85130-120-7 .

Web links

Commons : Hawker Nimrod  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Fleet Air Arm Archive
• Hawker Nimrod (French)
• Hawker Nimrod (Russian)
• Hawker Nimrod kit
• Danish Nimrod
• G-BURZ
• Pictures of the G-BURZ
• Images of the G-BWWK
• G-BURZ

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lewis, The British Fighter since 1912, pp. 183-190
      Fairey Flycatcher Mk.II, Vickers Type 123/141 , Gloster Gnatsnapper Mk.I / Mk.II, Armstrong Whitworth AW16
2. ↑ Lewis, pp. 187f.
3. ^ Lewis, p. 205.
4. ↑ Empire Trade Exhibition (PDF; 322 kB)
5. ↑ Sturtivant: The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm , p. 467
6. ↑ Sturtivant, p. 167ff., P. 155ff.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Sturtivant, pp. 161, 164.
8. ↑ Sturtivant, p. 172.
9. ↑ Sturtivant, S. 167th
10. ↑ Halley, James J .: The K File. The Royal Air Force of the 1930s, Tunbridge Wells, 1995, pp. 283 ff .; Air Britain: Aeromilitaria, The S-Series, 1980/4, p. 101
11. ↑ History of the Danish naval aviators ( Memento of the original from October 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ^ History of the S 1581
13. ^ ^{A b} Mason: Hawker Aircraft since 1920 , p. 399.
14. ↑ History of the G-BURZ ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.