Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Two-seat light training biplane

Power Plant:

One 112 kw (150 hp) Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose five-cylinder air-cooled radial engine

Specifications:

History:

The Hawker Tomtit was designed to replace the Avro 504N as a training aircraft, and was built with an all-metal airframe. Designed by Sydney Camm (later Sir, designer of the Hawker Hurricane), it was a two-seat fabric-covered biplane with Frise ailerons on the lower mainplane and Handley Page automatic wing slots. One innovation was the Reid and Sigrist blind flying panel, which enabled the aircraft to be used for instrument instruction. The prototype, powered by a 112 kw (150 hp) Mongoose IIIC radial engine, was first flown at Brooklands in Surrey by P W S Bulman in November 1928, and was later exhibited at the Olympia Aero Show, London, in July 1929. An order was placed for ten machines for the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Despite its good performance and handling, it was only built in small numbers, a total of 25 aircraft being supplied to the RAF. However, an order was received for six further aircraft, two for the Canadian Department of National Defence in January 1930, and four for the New Zealand Permanent Air Force (NZPAF). The Canadian machines differed in having the 116 kw (155 hp) Mongoose IIIA engine.

The type was also offered on the civil market with the 86 kw (115 hp) Cirrus Hermes I four-cylinder in-line engine and five were built for private owners. One of these G-AALL (c/n 9) with the Mongoose IIIA engine was entered in the July 1930 King’s Cup Race and averaged 190.5 km/h (118.4 mph) over the 1,207 km (750 miles) course. Another G-ABOD (c/n 55) was fitted with the 112 kw (150 hp) Wolseley AR.2 nine-cylinder radial engine. Other Wolseley engines were also tested, including the 168 kw (225 hp) Aries and the 127 kw (170 hp) Aquarius.

The four Tomtits supplied to the NZPAF were delivered to Lyttleton, near Christchurch, by sea on 24 February 1931 and were assembled at Wigram the following month. They then spent their working life as advanced trainers. The first was flown by Sqdn Ldr J L Finday on 10 March 1931. During the early period of their service they flew without markings, but eventually construction numbers were painted on the fins to serve as serials. Their role was to give further instruction to club pilots before going on to Bristol Fighters and Gloster Grebes; and to provide refresher training for members of the NZ Territorial Airforce, or NZPAF, which later became the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in February 1934. They were regularly seen at air displays, the last being on Anzac Day, 25 April 1939, over Christchurch.

In 1936 Tomtit Serial 50 flew to Auckland, and on another occasion flew to Wellington. At the beginning of World War II the type was retired to be used at Technical Training Centres at Otahuhu, Hutt, Addington, and Hillside. Serial 50 became INST 10, 51 INST 8, 52 INST 11, and 53 INST 13. Serial 50 was later transferred to RNZAF Rongotai in August 1940; 52 went to RNZAF Wairarapa at the same time; and 53 went to the Air Training Corps at Murchison in 1943.  Sadly all were scrapped in 1943.

One example of the Tomtit has survived. This aircraft G-AFTA / K1786) has had a number of famous owners over the years, including British test pilots Alex Henshaw and Neville Duke, also being owned by Hawker Aircraft for many years before being handed over to the Shuttleworth Trust at Old Warden where it has been kept airworthy.