Hawker Hind The British Hawker Hind was a Royal Air Force light bomber of the inter - war years produced by Hawker Aircraft . It was developed from the Hawker Hart day - bomber introduced in 1931 . Design and development . An improved Hawker Hart bomber defined by Specification G . 7 / 34 , was purchased by RAF as interim aircraft while more modern monoplane bombers such as the Fairey Battle were still in development . Structural elements were a mixture of steel and duralumin with the wings being fabric covered while the main differences compared to the earlier Hart was a new powerplant , ( the Rolls Royce Kestrel V ) and the inclusion of refinements from the earlier derivatives such as the cut - down rear cockpit developed for the Demon . The prototype ( Serial number " K2915 " ) was constructed very rapidly due to Hawker ' s development work for other proposals , and made its first flight on September 12 , 1934 . A variety of changes were subsequently incorporated ( " ram ' s horn " exhaust manifolds , Fairey - Reed metal propeller and engine improvements ) with the first production Hind ( " K4636 " ) flown on 4 September 1935 . Operational history . The Hind went into service in November 1935 and eventually equipped 20 RAF bomber squadrons . A number were also sold to foreign customers including Afghanistan , the Republic of Ireland , Latvia , Persia ( Iran ) , Portugal , South Africa , Switzerland , and Yugoslavia . By 1937 , the Hind was being phased out of front line service , replaced by the Fairey Battle and Bristol Blenheim , and with many of the Auxiliary Air Force squadrons changing role to fighter or maritime patrol units . At the outbreak of the Second World War 613 Squadron retained the Hind in the Army co - operation role before re - equipping with the Hart derivative , the Hawker Hector , in November 1939 . The Hind found a new career in 1938 as a training aircraft , representing the next step up from basic training on Tiger Moth s . It continued in use as an intermediate trainer during the Second World War . Hind trainers were also operated by Canada and New Zealand . In 1941 , Hinds flew combat missions in their original role as light bombers against Axis forces - South African Hinds were employed against Italian forces in Kenya , during the East African Campaign and Yugoslav Hinds were used against the Germans and Italians Iranian Hinds were used briefly against Allied forces during the Anglo - Soviet invasion of Iran . The Imperial Iranian Air Forces ' s bases were subsequently occupied by the Allies and their aircraft were either destroyed or dismantled by the invading British . Survivors . An airworthy ex - Afghan Hind flies with the Shuttleworth Collection . Others are on display at the RAF Museum in Hendon and the Canada Aviation Museum . Several former Royal New Zealand Air Force Hinds are being restored / reconstructed by the Subritzky family / The Classic Aircraft Collection at Dairy Flat near Auckland , of which at least NZ1517 / K6687 , and NZ1535 / K6721 are under restoration to airworthy condition ; substantial parts are also held for NZ1518 / K6717 , NZ1528 / L7184 , NZ1544 / K6810 and NZ1554 / K5465 . Another former RNZAF Hind is being restored for static display at MoTaT . The remains of other Hinds were recently located in Afghanistan .