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The first jet-fighter design by Sir Sidney Camm, the Sea Hawk made its first flight on the 2nd of September 1947 as the P.1040. The Fleet Air Arm ordered 151 Sea Hawks initially, of which Hawker built only 35. The rest were built by Armstrong-Whitworth in Coventry. The F.2 model followed the F.1, featuring powered ailerons. Next came the FB.3, with underwing racks to carry bombs or mines. 116 FB.Mk3s were produced, & were later converted to FB.Mk5/ FGA.Mk6 standard with a powerful Rolls Royce Nene 103 engine. The FB.Mk3s saw some action in the 1956 Suez campaign, & several FB.Mk3s performed with the ‘Red Devils’ aerobatic team. The FGA.Mk6 was the final production version of the Sea Hawk to serve with the Fleet Air Arm. The FGA.Mk6 stayed in service with the RN until 1960, & several were refurbished & sold to the Indian Navy in 1959. The Sea Hawk’s agility as a fighter was recognised by several other countries, & the Mk.50 & Mk.100 export versions were ordered, 22 Mk.50s going to the Royal Netherlands Navy to serve on the aircraft carrier Karel Doorman, & several to India. The Royal Netherlands Navy modified their aircraft to carry the AIM-9A Sidewinder. The Mk.100 was ordered by the West German Kriegsmarine, as well as the Mk.101 night-fighter. All of the Kriegsmarine aircraft were based at Schleswig until the mid-1960s, when they were replaced by the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter. |
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