Sea Hawk FGA.6

This page is about the British jet fighter Sea Hawk FGA.6. For the German premium version, see Sea Hawk Mk.100.

Sea Hawk FGA.6

Attacker FB 1

Sea Venom FAW 20

Sea Hawk FGA.6

Attacker FB 1

Sea Venom FAW 20

Britain

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	8.0	7.3

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Naval aircraft

Research:105 000

Purchase:300 000

Description

At the tail end of World War II, Hawker Aircraft's design team was working on a way to utilize new jet engine technology. Hawker utilized a modified Sea Fury who would be the basis for their new jet aircraft. Adapting the plane to the new Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet engine required substantial reworking of the aircraft fuselage. Initially, the British Air Ministry showed little interest in the aircraft. Thus later Hawker pitched the idea of the plane to the navy, which was not overly enthused about the project, though ultimately accepted three prototypes due to the long-range potential of these aircraft.

Orders for the Hawker Sea Hawk came about; however, due to its careful designs, it was quickly superseded by other British fighters in development with more advanced features such as the Scimitar and Sea Vixen. In 1956, production was terminated and the aircraft was put up for an evaluation to the export market. Though Australia and Canada tested out the plane, they instead opted for American fighters. Other nations such as Germany, the Netherlands, and India incorporated the Sea Hawk into their navies. Eventually, they saw action in the Suez Crisis and the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971. India was able to sink over a dozen Pakistani ships without a single Sea Hawk loss.

Introduced in Update 1.87 "Locked On", the Sea Hawk was primarily designed as a ground-pounding aircraft. With an assortment of bombs and rockets in conjunction with its four 20 mm autocannons, this aircraft can make short work of structures and vehicles on the ground. Though the Sea Hawk development did not configure this aircraft to be an interceptor like many of its swept-wing contemporaries, it can nonetheless be a worthy adversary that can seem to pull off the impossible. With straight wings and a slower top speed, this fighter is a bit more manoeuvrable than many of the transonic fighters it will face. Careful usage of the flaps, air brakes, and manoeuvring can cause faster aircraft to overshoot, leaving their tail-ends vulnerable to being chewed off by the Sea Hawk's four 20 mm autocannons. The Sea Hawk should not be counted off as an easy target. In the hands of a capable pilot, they can quickly get behind you and open fire!

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear

Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Max speed

at 0 m933 km/h

Turn time26 s

Max altitude13 500 m

EngineRolls-Royce Nene-Mk.103

Type

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight7 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	919	898	13500	27.0	27.8	25.9	24.4	650
Upgraded	943	933		25.4	26.0	38.8	32.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
X	✓	✓	✓	✓	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1012	370	N/A	836	796	~13	~6

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 461	< 600	< 550	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Empty mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
Rolls-Royce Nene-Mk.103		1	4,450 kg		232 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)				Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		10m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	35m fuel
1,000 kg	Centrifugal-flow turbojet		4,866 kg	5,278 kg	5,789 kg	5,995 kg	7,170 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%)
Condition	100%	WEP	10m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	35m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	2,376 kgf	N/A	0.49	0.45	0.41	0.40	0.33
Optimal	2,376 kgf (0 km/h)	N/A	0.49	0.45	0.41	0.40	0.33

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural1 012 km/h

Gear370 km/h

• 64 mm bulletproof glass - Armoured windscreen
• All fuel tanks and engine in the middle of the fuselage

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 185 → 4 630

RB8 936 → 12 992

SB12 418 → 18 055

Total cost of modifications91 300

147 200

Talisman cost2 100

Crew training86 000

Experts300 000

Aces1 700

Research Aces720 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

120 / 360 / 600 %

196 / 196 / 196 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 6 100 Cost: 9 800 350 Compressor Research: 6 100 Cost: 9 800 350 Airframe Research: 5 100 Cost: 8 200 290 New boosters Research: 5 100 Cost: 8 200 290 Wings repair Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 400 270 G-suit Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 400 270 Cover Research: 7 400 Cost: 12 000 430 Engine Research: 7 400 Cost: 12 000 430 EFS Research: 7 400 Cost: 12 000 430		hispano_belt_pack Research: 6 100 Cost: 9 800 350 500 LB Research: 5 100 Cost: 8 200 290 25 lb A.P. Mark II Research: 5 100 Cost: 8 200 290 hispano_mk5_new_gun Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 400 270 4 500 LB Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 400 270 60 lb S.A.P. Mark I Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 400 270 1000 LB Research: 7 400 Cost: 12 000 430

If you are looking to play in air battles, then go for all flight performance upgrades first (or 20 mm belts if you can't stand the stock belts). For ground battles, consider mixing in some suspended armament options as well. It is worth noting that by itself the 25 lb A.P. Mark I option is useless as all load-outs using the rockets also equip bombs, so it cannot be used until the two 500 LB GP load-out is researched (by contrast the bombs can be equipped without researching the rockets).

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Sea Hawk FGA.6 is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.V cannons, chin-mounted (200 rpg = 800 total)

Suspended armament

The Sea Hawk FGA.6 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (1,000 lb total)
• 4 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb M.C. 1,000 lb Mk.I bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 30 x AP Mk II rockets
• 16 x RP-3 rockets
• 2 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs + 10 x AP Mk II rockets (1,000 lb total)
• 2 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs + 30 x AP Mk II rockets (1,000 lb total)
• 2 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs + 16 x RP-3 rockets (1,000 lb total)

Usage in battles

In Air Realistic battles, you have a good top speed with okay acceleration and a decent climb rate (particularly when fully upgraded). After takeoff, build speed to about 500 km/h then enter a 10 degree climb (a 10 degree climb straight off the runway can also work in some situations). You can either continue climbing to high altitude (~5 km) to engage high flying bombers /fighters and gain an altitude advantage; or you can choose to level off at 3-4 km and focus on building speed to engage enemy fighters and bombers at lower altitudes (aircraft such as Ar 234 C-3s and IL-28s will often fly low to get to bases/ground targets quickly) depending on your preferred playstyle.

When engaging enemy aircraft, use your good speed, heavy armament, and excellent energy retention to your advantage; do not bleed speed to keep on a slower enemy's tail; swoop in fire off a burst of rounds and then break contact and come around for another pass. The Sea Hawk has good manoeuvrability for a jet aircraft (although it is not in the same league as the Vampire and Ho 229), and your energy retention does make limited turning engagements with less manoeuvrable targets a valid option in some situation, although you will bleed too much speed to justify prolonged turn fights. You can safely deploy flaps at any speed below 850 km/h, and they can significantly increase turning ability, however they create a lot of drag (you will not hold 600 km/h in level flight with them deployed) so they should be used sparingly. A good tactic is to deploy the flaps as you enter or are in mid-turn to help kick the plane around and then to raise them as soon as possible afterwards. Do not get complacent with the flaps, although you can use them at most speeds. The Sea Hawk can exceed 900 km/h so you may be in for a nasty surprise if you deploy them a full speed.

In the hands of a competent pilot, it can serve as a great turnfighter, albeit one that requires high situational awareness, as to ensure your prolonged fight is not disturbed after you have bled speed and dropped flaps in order to get your guns on target, dooming the Sea Hawk to a fiery grave by an opportunistic player.

It is also worth remembering that the Sea Hawk is a naval aircraft, unlocking the ability to use aircraft carriers for takeoff and landing. A carrier spawn can sometimes be desirable, be it for putting you further away / closer to the enemy (more climbing time or quicker action), or giving you the chance to attack from an area of the map the enemy team are not expecting. Likewise if you need to rearm and suspect the enemy are waiting for you at the airfield, you can always divert to a carrier.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Extremely high flap breakage speed (850 km/h for takeoff, 796 km/h for landing)
• Good selection of suspended armament options
• Favourable matchmaking in Air Realistic battles with the only up-tier threats being the (F9Fs and G.91 pre-serie)
• Reasonably quick
• Good manoeuvrability (not as good as Vampire though)
• Very good energy retention
• Decent at climbing
• High maximum G loading, hard to rip the wings off

Cons:

• No combat flaps
• Slow acceleration
• Although takeoff flaps can be used at near any speed and can offer a decent manoeuvrability boost, you bleed speed quickly when they are deployed
• Flaps also double as air brakes, if flaps are deployed you need to wait for them to fully retract before you can use air brakes

History

Already by the end of WW2, Hawker began working on their first jet-propelled aircraft as the new jet propulsion technology became available. As a basis for their new aircraft, they took the Hawker Fury and began adapting it to house a turbojet engine. The project received the designation P.1035.

As work went on, the attention the project garnered initially from the Air Ministry and the Admiralty was rather low and eventually dropped completely, forcing Hawker to continue development of the aircraft under a private venture. During the development process, the initial design of the aircraft underwent significant changes and the resulting version was designated as P.1040.

However, as Hawker's aircraft offered a good range, the Navy ordered three prototypes to be built in May 1946 and subsequently put through evaluation. Testing and tweaking of the design continued throughout the late 1940s until the first production orders for the aircraft, dubbed Sea Hawk, were received in November 1949.

The first Sea Hawks entered service with the FAA in 1953, with the remaining over 500 machines entering service by the mid-1950s. The Sea Hawk's service life is primarily marked by their extensive use during the Suez Crisis in the late 1950s, where they successfully proved themselves.

As one of the last modifications of the type, the Sea Hawk FGA.6 was developed to incorporate changes from the previous FB.3 and FGA.4 ground attack variants and combine them with the new Rolls-Royce Nene Mk.103 engine which provided a greater power output.

In the early 1960s, the British Navy almost completely abandoned the use of Sea Hawk and a handful of other vehicles being used in a limited number of secondary roles until the end of the decade. However, the aircraft was still in service by some countries like West Germany, the Netherlands and India. In fact, India continued to operate Sea Hawks well into the 1980s!

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Sea Hawk FGA.6 from live.warthunder.com.

Images

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Videos

Blood Sweat and Tears! Sea Hawk FGA.6 [Review!] - Jengar

See also

Related Development

• Sea Hawk Mk.100 (premium version in German tree)

Contemporary Aircraft

• de Havilland Vampire FB 5
• F-84 Thunderjet
• F2H Banshee
• Gloster Meteor
• MiG-15
• MiG-17
• Supermarine Attacker FB 1
• Dassault M.D.450B Ouragan

External links

• [Devblog] Sea Hawk FGA.6: Jet Vulture
• Official data sheet - more details about the performance