Hawker Nimrod

Seeking a replacement for the Fairey Flycatcher (which jokingly could be passed by a fly with a top speed of only 133 mph) for fleet operation, the Air Ministry turned to Hawker. The result was the Norn, later to be called the Nimrod, which bore a striking resemblance to the RAF's Fury. The Nimrod became operational in 1932, serving on the HMS Courageous, HMS Furious, and HMS Glorious. The Mk II appeared in 1934, with many of the Mk Is being upgraded to Mk II standard.

The Nimrod was not exported widely. Japan received one plane, Portugal one plane, and Denmark two planes, which were called Nimrodderne. By the advent of WWII, the aircraft was relegated to secondary duties, and retired in 1941.

The Nimrod burns 22.6 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage. The plane has a historical endurance of 1 hour and 40 minutes. A full load of fuel and ammo (excluding bombs) costs $38.

Hawker Nimrod Mk II

Subassemblies: Recon Fighter chassis +2; Recon Fighter wings with Biplane option +2; 2 fixed wheels +0.

Powertrain: 452-kW HP gasoline engine with 452-kW old prop and 90-gallon standard fuel tank [Body].

Occ.: 1 XCS Body

Cargo: 0 Body

Armor F RL B T U

Body: 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C

Wings: 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C

Wheels: 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3

Weaponry:

2xAircraft LMG/.303 Vickers Mk III [Body:F] (500 rounds each).*

4x20-lb. Bombs [Body:U].

*Linked.

Equipment:

Body: Autopilot, navigation instruments, medium radio transmitter and receiver, arrestor hook, 80-lb. hardpoint.

Statistics:

Size: 27'x34'x10' Payload: 0.47 tons Lwt.: 2.03 tons

Volume: 96 Maint.: 86 hours Cost: $5,432

HT: 6. HPs: 30 Body, 100 each Wing, 3 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 196 aAccel: 6 aDecel: 18 aMR: 4.5 aSR: 1

Stall Speed: 51 mph. Take-Off Run: 217 yards. Landing Run: 260 yards.

gSpeed: 239 gAccel: 12 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.5 gSR: 2

Ground Pressure: Very High. 1/8 Off-Road Speed.

Design Notes:

Historical wing area was 301 sf. Chassis and wing weight, cost, and HPs have been doubled to increase design weight. MG load out and fuel capacity are a guess based on historical payload. Design payload was 965 lbs; the historical value has been substituted. Design loaded weight is 1 lb. over the historical. Design aSpeed was 195 mph. Performance calculations were based on historical values for wing area and loaded weight.

Variants:

The Mk I (1932) featured a 356-kW engine.

From the Aerodrome for GURPS