New film tells the story of British flying ace Capt. Lanoe Hawker VC

This week, a new independent film about Britain’s first ace, Capt. Lanoe Hawker VC, DSO, is helping to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund. The 23-minute film tells the story of a pivotal few days in the First World War when airmen were transformed into fighter pilots for the first time in history.

Capt. Hawker was one of a small number of pilots on all sides who understood that air superiority was key to breaking the stranglehold in France, and the way to achieve that was through air combat. Hawker demonstrated to the British Air Services that fighting in the air was possible after he worked out how to side-mount his Lewis gun to avoid shooting through the propeller arc.

The new film was written and produced by Daniel Arbon, who also appears in the film as Lt Col Charles Burke. ‘Hawker’ uses a mix of replica aircraft, hand-built miniatures, life-size cockpits and CGI to tell the story of the action on July 25th 1915, when Hawker downed three enemy aircraft in one sortie and won the first Victoria Cross for his achievements. His breakthrough on that day ultimately contributed to the Allied victory by transforming warfare on the Western Front.

Hawker personally scored seven victories before being selected to command the first dedicated fighter squadron, equipped with the De Havilland (DH2) pusher scout, which resolved the problem of shooting through the propeller arc by placing the propeller behind the pilot. Under Hawker’s leadership and motivated by his motto of ‘Attack Everything’, 24 Squadron went on to score 70 victories and ended German air superiority in 1915, known as the Fokker Scourge.

The film has been produced with the support of The Great War Aviation Society, other sponsors, and crowdfunding.

President of The Great War Aviation Society, Air Vice-Marshal (Rtd) Peter Dye, OBE said: "Hawker was an outstanding and inspirational leader who was responsible for several important innovations, including the introduction of formation flying and the development of the ring and bead sight. Tragically, he was just 25 when he was killed in combat on 23 November 1916 by Manfred von Richthofen, the famous Red Baron who would become Germany’s highest-scoring fighter pilot of World War 1. It has been a privilege, as part of our wider educational activities, to provide financial support and historical advice for this exciting and important project."

Daniel Arbon commented: "This project has been my life for the last three years, and I am so keen for people to see the film and understand Capt. Hawker’s remarkable contribution to the development of air combat as we know it today.  This week, we are offering 50% of any revenue from the film to the RAF Benevolent Fund in his memory, so please watch, share, and enjoy the film."

The film can be streamed on Vimeo for £0.99 or purchased for £1.99 here.

For more information about Hawker’s story, click here.