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Hawker Hotspur

1938 WORLD WAR 2 X-PLANE

History of Hawker Tottenham

In 1935, prior to WW2 (1939-1945), the Air Ministry developed the F.9/35 specification for a new, state-of-the-art "Turmjager" with a rotating machine gun Turret as its main weapon. The model would replace the outdated line of Hawker Demon biplanes in service at the time, prompting Hawker Legends and its legendary designer Sidney Cam to develop the Spurs around this requirement.

However, the aircraft was by no means a success, and only one airworthy prototype was completed before work on the project was completed. The contract instead fell to rival Bolton Paul and his "Rebels" (described in detail elsewhere on this page).

Hotspur appeared at the same time that Hawke was developing its classic single-seat, single-engine monoplane, the Hawke Hurricane. The turret fighter form also employs the engine as the main propulsion system, but sits side by side with the two crew members, with the rear gunner in a separate turret housing above the rear ridge of the aircraft. The turret was built by Boulton Paul, who also mounted it on his equally classic Defiant.

The Hotspur adopts the look of a hurricane, with relatively clean lines and a traditional layout, but it's a direct descendant of the company's other flying product, the Hawker "Henley," and won't be a target tugboat example until 2020.

The Boulton Paul Defiant was developed to the same specifications and was more successful (over 1,000 produced) than the Hotspur (single prototype), which had a long and uneventful development process. By 1936 work had begun and the first flight in prototype form was recorded on June 14, 1938 (a second contract prototype was eventually cancelled).

In contrast, the Defiant made its maiden flight on August 11, 1937, giving competing designs a considerable lead.

The Hawker Hotspur has an overall length of 32.9 feet, a wingspan of 40.5 feet and a height of 31.9 feet. The curb weight is 5,800 pounds and the MTOW is 7,650 pounds, and power comes from a single 1,030-horsepower Rolls-Royce Merlin II V-12 inline piston engine driving a three-blade propeller unit in the nose.

The tested top speed reached 316 mph, and it could reach a service cap of 28,000 feet.

Regarding the proposed weapon, the envisioned powered turret carries 4 x 7.7mm Browning machine guns, operated by the rear gunner. The pilot fired from a 7.7mm Vickers machine gun on the nose, but the gun was fixed to fire only forward. Hotspur has no built-in bomb-carrying capability.

The Hotspur was little more than an incomplete fighter prototype, and even the company's interest waned once Hawke fully committed to the much-needed Hurricane fighter of the war (and the subsequent Battle of Britain). On Hotspur's final flight, during a glide test, the engine failed to restart and the pilot successfully landed his plane. Although repairable, Hotspur was not salvaged but scrapped. Before its demise, Tottenham's Bolton Paul turret was completely removed and the rear position revised to give a more traditional look to better test other components.

It was used in this form to evaluate various dive brakes and flaps over Farnborough until 1942.