Demon G-BTVE
Year built
1937
Aircraft
Demon I
Base
Old Warden Airfield
Demon G-BTVE took to the air after an 18 year restoration on 23rd June 2009. Painted in the colours of 64 Squadron RAF and with serial number K8203, the Demon is the sole remaining flying example of this important interwar type. One of a batch of 37 built by Bolton Paul Aircraft in Wolverhampton, K8203 was originally assigned to 64 Squadron at Church Fenton before passing to No. 9 Maintenance Unit at RAF Cosford and then to No. 9 Air Observers School (later renamed No. 9 Bombing &Gunnery School) at RAF Penrhos. K8203 was struck off charge in September 1940 but served on as a ground training aid. The aircraft was finally retired properly in 1943. Acquired first by Guy Black and then Demon Displays the Demon was restored by Skysport Engineering and is now based at Old Warden in the United Kingdom.
| Back to Top |
Hawker Demon I
The Hawker Demon was a fighter variant of the Hart light bomber. During air defence exercises the RAF's Siskins and Bulldogs were often unable to intercept the new Hart bombers, which were sometimes instructed to restrict their height and speed in order to give the fighters a chance, which prompted the development of a fighter variant of the Hart. While the Hawker Fury offered better performance, lower production volumes made it more expensive and therefore it remained available only in small numbers, so when a fighter version of the Hart was suggested, the Air Ministry selected the type as an interim fighter until higher-performance fighters could be bought in larger numbers. The new fighter variant added a second Vickers machine gun, while the coaming of the rear cockpit was angled to give a better field of fire, and a supercharged Kestrel IS engine was fitted. Evaluation of an initial batch of six aircraft, known as Hart Fighters by one flight of 23 Squadron during 1931 was successful, and larger orders followed for the fighter Hart, now known as the Hawker Demon. The Demon's first flight was on 10 February 1933. 305 Hawker Demons were built, including 232 for the RAF. The Demon was powered by versions of the Kestrel engine. It had an armament of a single rear .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun with two fixed .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns in the nose. Many were fitted with a hydraulically-powered turret in the rear gunner's position, which had been tested on the Hawker Hart. Demons were also sold to the Royal Australian Air Force. It saw only second-line operations during the Second World War.
Production of the Demon was undertaken by Hawker and by Boulton Paul Aircraft at their Wolverhampton factory, where their last example of 106 to be completed was delivered to the RAF in December 1937.
| Back to Top |
| Back to Top |
