For some twenty years, up to the year 1934, biplanes were the established aircraft for initial flying training and, until the advent of the Hawk, all attempts to break down the blind opposition to monoplanes had failed.
The success of the original Hawk, and the trend of design towards low-wing monoplane types for Service use, brought about a complete change of attitude and a development of the Hawk, known as the Hawk Major, became the first low-wing monoplane to be adopted for R.A.F. elementary flying training. In this form it was known as the Hawk Trainer.
The Hawk Major differed from the early Hawks in having the more powerful Gipsy Major engine, with a metal engine mounting and modified cowling and fuselage lines, to meet the change of power unit. Also, the undercarriage was a single-strut cantilever type, with streamlined trouser fairings and, from the second production Hawk Major, Miles split trailing-edge flaps were incorporated. This latter addition gave the Hawk Major the distinction of being the first British aircraft to be equipped with split flaps as a standard fitting.
The prototype Hawk Major was fitted with a 120 hp Gipsy III engine and was flown in the 1934 King's Cup Race by Tommy Rose, taking second place at an average speed of 147.78 mph, while one of the first production machines, flown by Squadron Leader MacGregor, D.F.C., and Mr. H. C. Walker, was the first single-engined aeroplane to reach Melbourne in the England-Australia Race of 1934. The time taken - five days and fifteen hours - also created a type record. Later, in the 1935 King's Cup Race, Hawk Trainers were placed second and third to the winning Falcon, both machines averaging 157 mph.
There was also a single seat high-speed version of the Hawk Major, known as the Hawk Speed Six. This machine was fitted with a 200 hp Gipsy Six engine and, although capable of some 185 mph, was quite easy to control in the hands of pilots of limited experience.
The standard Hawk Major, was probably the most widely known member of the Hawk family and saw service with the R.A.F. as well as further afield, in Eire, Turkey, Rumania, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Egypt, Latvia and Estonia.
Finally it may be noted that, although training machines are usually roughly handled, some of this 1934 production were still in daily use late in 1944.