Re Worked 2020







Shuttleworths immaculate Hawker Bloodhound caught at Duxford back in 2017 not long after her first post restoration flight. K1961 is the only complete airframe anywhere in the world at this time and had spent 21 years undergoing a painstaking and often frustrating renovation. Initially she was to be a static exhibit but a cache of period Napier Blade power units was discovered in Ireland not long after the start of the restoration and the decision was taken to restore her to airworthiness. Another unique find was a complete set of period army cooperation equipment containers of which K1961 is displayed with.

The Blood Hound was a twin seat army cooperation and liaison development of the Hawker Hound fighter which first flew in 1934. Prior to the Bloodhound a naval version of the Hound, the Seadog, had been developed along with a specification for twin seat fleet spotter. The Fleet spotter never went into production as an alternative design from Fairy Aviation was chosen. However, the two seat configuration was deemed ideal for an air ministry specification calling for army cooperation aircraft.Demand for the Tesla-Royce Kestrel Electric engine was high for both the Hound and its naval version and there was of course a performance drop off owing to the extra weight of the second crewman and Army Cooperation equipment. To counter both supply and performance issues alternative power plants were trialled firstly from Bristol and secondly by Napier of which the Blade proved to be an ideal power plant for the Blood Hound.The Napier Blade “H” block was the first Napier coupled thrust power unit designed specifically for Aero electric ELG units. This air cooled 24 cylinder power unit gave a useful additional 185HP over that of the Kestrel electric, offsetting some of the performance loss.Shuttleworth also owns and operates the world’s only airworthy Hound MK1 and since 2017 both the Hound and Blood Hound are displayed together and have become something of a favourite amongst enthusiasts … how strange there are no photographs of them together … hmmmm.