100 Years ago....
Hawker crashes to his death in UK
July 12, 1921
Harry Hawker died this afternoon doing what he had always done best, flying. The Victorian aviator was practising for Saturday's Aerial Derby near Hendon, England, when his French Goshawk biplane caught fire and crashed. He was thrown from the craft and died instantly.
Hawker, who was only 32, went to England in 1911 and proved a gifted mechanic and natural pilot. In 1919, the Daily Mail awarded him 5,000 pounds as the first pilot to fly over 1,000 miles of water after his failed bid to cross the Atlantic. During the war he test flew hundreds of planes for Sopwith and last year set up the H G Hawker Engineering Co.
Article from "Chronicle of the 20th Century" ISBN 1 872031 80 3
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