Hawker Nimrod Mk.1 - The Fighter Collection, IWM Duxford

The Fighter Collection's Hawker Nimrod Mk.1,S1581, G-BWWK, making its first display since 2018 in the hands of Peter Kynsey at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford during the 'Best of 2021 Flying Day'.

The Hawker Nimrod was a carrier-based single engine fighter built in the 1930s by Hawker Aircraft Limited , before they became Hawker Siddeley Aircraft in 1935.

A pair of naval aircraft were created as a private venture. These Sydney Camm designed prototypes included the Rolls-Royce Kestrel-powered aircraft, unofficially known as the Hawker Norn and it was this design that was later to become the prototype Hawker Nimrod.
The second aircraft was the radial engine Hawker Hoopoe.

Encouraged by the success of the Hawker Fury biplane, Camm persevered with development of a machine, powered by the cleaner Rolls-Royce F.XIMS engine, later designated the Rolls-Royce Kestrel II MS.

Specification 16/30 was based on Camm’s proposal for a Kestrel-powered naval fighter design. Two airframes were built, one test flown and one for ground tests. Because this was a private venture, they did not carry RAF serials and the flight aircraft was given the company registration HN1.

After testing at Martlesham Heath, a contract was raised to purchase the prototype, which was then modified to the required production standard. At this time, it was issued with a serial number (S1577) and given the official name of Hawker Nimrod.

The aircraft was flown in this form on 14th October 1931.

All Hawker Nimrod aircraft were designed to accept an interchangeable wheeled or float undercarriage and three production batches were ordered for 11, 24 and 19 aircraft (54 in total). These were designated Hawker Nimrod I. One of the three (K2823) was fitted with arrester gear together with slightly swept, upper and lower wings, becoming in effect, the prototype Hawker Nimrod II.

The Hawker Nimrod II entered production in September 1933 with a total of 27 ordered, three of which (K2909 to K2911) made use of a stainless steel structure.

The majority of Hawker Nimrod IIs were initially powered by the Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIS engine, with later aircraft receiving the 608hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel VFP engine, which was also retrofitted to the early machines.

The Hawker Nimrod remained in frontline Fleet Air Arm service until May 1939. A small number of Hawker Nimrods remained in use with Fleet Air Arm Training Units until early 1941.

A limited number of aircraft were exported, these comprising of two for Denmark (Serials 170 and 171) powered by the Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIIS engines, one to Japan where it was designated Hawker AXH and one to Portugal. Ten were manufactured under licence in Denmark as the 'Nimrodderne', built at the Orlogsvaerftet Naval Dockyards.

Full Nimrod production comprised of the prototype, 54 Nimrod Is, 27 Nimrod IIs, 4 export aircraft and 10 licence-built aircraft in Denmark, making a grand total of 106 aircraft.

The first six examples to enter service were with 402 Fleet Fighter Flight aboard HMS Courageous.

The Nimrod never fired her guns in anger, but served well with both the Home and Mediterranean Fleets. The last Nimrods to fly operationally were with 802 Naval Air Squadron (NAS), when they were replaced by Sea Gladiators at Hal Far, Malta, in May 1939. The very last Nimrod in Fleet Air Arm service was Mk.I S1582, which was being used as a hack with 753 NAS undertaking weather checks until she was retired in January 1942.

The Fighter Collection’s Nimrod Mk.I S1581 was the third production aircraft built by Hawkers at their Kingston-upon-Thames facility. S1581 was delivered to 408 Fighter Flight as ‘573’ embarked upon HMS Glorious. The flight became 803 NAS in April 1933 and S1581 remained aboard Glorious until she was written off in early 1938. Subsequently she is believed to have spent a number of years with an air or sea cadet squadron prior to being sold for scrap.

The substantial remains of S1581 were recovered from a scrapyard in West London in the early 1970s and donated to the RAF Museum. The remains passed to Viv Bellamy in the early 1980s to act as a pattern for his Fury replica, but were then purchased in 1994 by Aero Vintage who set about restoring this magnificent machine back to her former glory.

The restoration was complex and demanding but by the autumn of 1999 she was sitting on her undercarriage and the first trial assembly of the whole airframe took place. The following Spring saw the Kestrel V installed and test run for the first time in over 60 years. The first flight took place at Henlow, Bedfordshire, in July 2000 with Flight Lieutenant Charlie Brown at the controls.

She is authentically painted in the colours she wore as ‘573’ when she served with 802 NAS during the 1930s.


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