After the First World War, Sopwith faced shrinking military demand and competition from war-surplus aircraft. Its efforts in commercial aviation attracted too few orders, and the subsequent manufacture of motorcycles and car bodies still failed to make the company pay its way. A large excess-profits duty claim arrived in 1920, when current trading losses could not immediately be offset against the assessment. Receivership and economies, together with increased mortgages on its premises, enabled Sopwith to pay the Treasury claim and every creditor in full. H. G. Hawker Engineering occupied part of the Kingston premises, and Thomas Sopwith joined the new enterprise. Hawker Aircraft bought Gloster in 1934, merged with Armstrong Siddeley in 1935, and acquired Avro as part of its expansion. Hawker and Supermarine were major suppliers to British naval aviation during the interwar years, a role easily obscured by their familiar association with the RAF.
Chapter · 30:25-40:45
How Hawker rebuilt Sopwith's aviation capability
The postwar collapse of Sopwith leads into Hawker's formation and the survival of an engineering team that remained important to British naval aviation.