During the 1930's the RAF and Fleet
Air Arm were equipped with a number of elegant Silver
biplanes, there were mostly outdated by the beginning of the
Second World War and the advent of the monoplane fighter. Only
a handful of these aircraft survive, so seeing three together
is a real treat!
This image
shows a trio of Hawker Biplanes in formation, the Hawker Demon
leads two Hawker Nimrods. The Hawker Nimrod was the Naval
equivalent of the Hawker Fury. Incredibly the remains of two
Nimrods were found in a scarp-yard in West London during the
1970s, they were donated to the RAF Museum, who eventually
passed them on for restoration to flight. S1581 is now
operated by the Fighter Collection, K3661 is operated by the
Historic Aircraft Collection. Both remaining Nimrods are based
at IWM Duxford.
The Hawker
Demon was a two-seater fighter version of the Hart. When the
Hawker Hart trainer entered RAF service it was noted that it’s
performance outclassed that of the current single-seat
fighters such as the Bristol Bulldog. A super-charged kestrel
engine and two Vickers machine guns were fitted, and the Demon
was born. Over 300 Demon’s were built some remaining in
service during the Battle of Britain, mostly as target-tugs
for training purposes.
K8203 is
operated by Demon Displays limited from Old Warden,
Bedfordshire. It was built by Boulton-Paul in 1937 and served
with the RAF later that year. After a 70-year break in flying,
K8203 took to the skies once more in 2009. It is the only
Demon in the UK, but one other is on display in Australia
where the Demon also served. |
