Gloster Sparrowhawk
The Gloster Sparrowhawk was a single-seat fighter aircraft designed and produced during the early 1920s by the British aircraft manufacturer Gloster.
| Sparrowhawk | |
|---|---|
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Gloster Aircraft Company |
| Designer | Henry Folland |
| First flight | 1921 |
| Introduction | 1921 |
| Retired | 1928 |
| Primary user | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Number built | 91 |
| Developed from | Nieuport Nighthawk |
| Variants | Gloster Grouse |
It was developed by aircraft designer Henry Folland, who had recently joined Gloster after the winding up of Nieuport & General; he used the earlier Nieuport Nighthawk fighter as the basis for the new aircraft. The Sparrowhawk was developed as a navalised fighter and trainer aircraft in response to the needs of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which sought to develop its naval air arm with British assistance through the Sempill Mission. A total of 50 aircraft were completed by Gloster within six months of the order's placement, while a further 40 were locally assembled in Japan at the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal.
The Sparrowhawk was operated by the Japanese Navy between 1921 and 1928. It was initially used onboard large capital ships, but was quickly displaced from ship-borne duties following the arrival of more capable carrier-based fighters such as the purpose-built Mitsubishi 1MF fighter. Towards its final years, the Sparrowhawk was exclusively operated as a shore-based trainer aircraft, before being succeeded in this capacity as well. A single Sparrowhawk II was built by Gloster as a civil demonstrator, being used for air racing and later converted into the prototype Gloster Grouse.