Silver Biplanes

During the 1930's the RAF and Fleet Air Arm were equipped with a number of elegant Silver biplanes, there were mostly outdated by the beginning of the Second World War and the advent of the monoplane fighter.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.