Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Two-seat light touring and training aircraft

Power Plant:

One 97 kw (130 hp) de Havilland Gipsy Major four-cylinder in-line inverted air-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

Following the success of the Miles Hawk series, and due to the limited availability of the Cirrus III engine, Miles decided to redesign the Hawk as the Hawk Major with a Gipsy Major engine, this unit being readily available. The prototype (G-ACTD c/n 36), designated the M.2F Hawk Major, flew for the first time in 1934 and the type became quite popular for racing, with three examples known as the Hawk Speed Six, and 120 examples of the Hawk and Hawk Major series being built. One example in the Kings Cup Race averaged 237.82 km/h (147.78 mph).

The Hawk Major was built by Phillips & Powis Aircraft Ltd of Reading in Berkshire, United Kingdom. The models M.2F, M.2H, M.2M, M.2P and M.2R all had the Gipsy Major engine; whereas the M.2E had a 149 kw (200 hp) Gipsy Six; the M.2L had the Gipsy Six 1F; the M.2S had a 112 kw (150 hp) Blackburn Cirrus Major; and the M.2U had the 149 kw (200 hp) Gipsy Six R high compression engine, this model achieving a maximum speed of 298 km/h (185 mph). In November 1934 the M.2H appeared, this having the addition of a trailing-edge flap. The majority of aircraft built in the series were the M.2F or M.2H.

Two M.2H Hawk Majors were registered in New Zealand. The first ZK-AFK (c/n 144) was originally built for H Mehta & Co in India (as VT-AGH) and was later shipped to New Zealand. The second M.2H ZK-ADJ (c/n 119 – ex G-ACXU) was flown by Sqdn Ldr M MacGregor and Mr H Walker in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race from Mildenhall to Melbourne, finishing 5th in the handicap section and averaging 169 km/h (105 mph).

One M.2P, formerly VP-KBT, was flown from the United Kingdom to Nairobi, Kenya in November 1935, returning in August the following year. It eventually was exported also to New Zealand ZK-AFJ (c/n 251) by sea and began operations with the Manawatu Aero Club. In August 1937 it was operating with the Canterbury Aero Club at Christchurch. During World War II it was impressed by the RNZAF as NZ589 but was broken up at Rongotai in July 1943.

The next example in this region was an M.2P ZK-AFL (c/n 220 – ex G-ADLO), originally owned by Airwork Ltd of Heston, which operated with the Marlborough Aero Club from May 1937. It was impressed by the RNZAF on 5 October 1939 as NZ588 but did not survive the war.

An M.2F also was imported to New Zealand, becoming ZK-AFM (c/n 147 – ex G-ADCI) and being registered to the Western Federated Flying Club at New Plymouth, later going, in December 1938, to the Wanganui Aero Club. It was impressed by the RNZAF on 10 October 1939 as NZ587 but on 18 November that year it suffered an engine failure and was wrecked when it force landed at Kent Road, New Plymouth.

Examples of the M.2F series imported to Australia included VH-ACC (c/n 123 – ex G-ACYZ) registered in December 1938. It was impressed by the RAAF as A37-4 on 19 November 1940 for communications work and later returned to the civil register. It survived until 6 December 1968 when it was sold in Canada and became CF-AUV, later becomng C-FAUV.  In 2020 it was shipped to the United Kingdom to be restored by Aero Antiques of Durley in Hampshire.

The next machine was VH-AAH (c/n 124, ex VT-AFT, G-AEFS) which was imported in March 1937 and crashed at Leura Station in Queensland on 8 June 1938. A further M.2F was VH-UGQ (c/n 212) imported for H U Sheperdson of Darwin, NT in May 1936. It crashed on take-off at Groote Eylandt, NT on 22 November 1936 and was struck off the register. Its final demise occurred on 28 June 1939 when it was destroyed in a hangar fire at Archerfield, QLD.