The Horsley was Hawker's last wooden aircraft, designed before Kingston's metal-construction facilities were complete. It began as a medium bomber and evolved through changing requirements between 1923 and 1927 into a land-based torpedo aircraft. The RAF offered Horsleys as an answer to battleships, although the promise that they would sweep the seas proved overambitious despite their value as torpedo attackers. Endurance was about ten hours, with capacity for a 1,500-pound bomb load or one torpedo. The large airframe also accommodated repeated engine installations and later tested early Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
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The Horsley and the land-based torpedo-bomber idea
The Horsley's changing bomber requirements produced a large torpedo aircraft, with limits to the RAF's claim that it could settle the battleship problem.